It's been a story shared with visitors to his office, with schoolchildren learning where their food comes from, with Rotary and Kiwanis clubs across the state. On Aug. 2, Black shared the story with a room full of Atlanta-area sustainable agriculturalists at the Sustainable Atlanta Roundtable.
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| Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Gary W. Black addresses attendees at the Sustainable Atlanta Roundtable on Aug. 2. |
The side most known by Georgians features an arch and the state motto, but the other side pictures agriculture and commerce.
"It's mentioned in the Code [of Georgia]," he said. "[Agriculture] is still of major, major economic importance and quality of life importance. ... We're interested in it at least three times a day."
Black was joined by moderator Donn Cooper of Georgia Organics, Jenni Harris of White Oak Pastures and Julia Gaskin with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, on a panel to discuss pressing issues affecting the state's agriculture industry.
Most importantly, Black said, there's a place for everyone at the table.
"This is the Department of Agriculture for all of agriculture in all of Georgia," he said. "It's not going to be the Department of Agriculture of the past. ... We're building a system we hope you're proud of."
With programs such as Georgia Grown and Feed My School for a Week, food, fiber and associated products grown and produced within state lines are getting more and more attention.
"Your preference is Georgia-grown products. It's about building the pride and understanding the quality of what's produced in Georgia," Black said.
In order to increase the focus on Georgia-grown products, Gaskin called for more "place-based research" applicable to organic and small producers in the Southeast, as well as a way to develop food hubs for small to mid-size farms that produce quantities between commercial growers and farmers markets.
"[Food hubs] typically try to match supply and demand," she said. "If you don't have that attempt to match supply and demand, everybody grows heirloom tomatoes and the market is saturated with heirloom tomatoes, and what happens to the price?"
Questions raised by the audience included concerns about food waste, food sale regulation and the grass-finished beef industry.
Harris said before her family got involved in raising grass-finished cattle, the movement was slow.
"Everyone wanted to talk about it, but nobody really wanted to do it," she said. "I believe -- this is just based on our business -- that the grassfed beef industry is growing and it will be here for a very long time."
Both Harris and Black addressed a question regarding the rising age of the farming community.
"It is a part of our past, but let no one fool you ... it's where the opportunities are in the future," Black said. "We're seeing young people really catch this vision at a greater pace than any time in my lifetime."
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| From left, Donn Cooper of Georgia Organics, Jenni Harris of White Oak Pastures, Julia Gaskin of the University of Georgia and Commissioner Gary W. Black |
They said a major hurdle for beginning farmers dealt with was capital -- or rather, the lack thereof -- as well as the cost of on-farm processing to get more local meats on the market.
"We lost our tail for the first two years in not being able to sell enough beef. Now proudly today we're operating at capacity. That's a wonderful thing," Harris said. "It takes a tremendous amount of capital to build a processing plant. ... The government does not say, 'No, you cannot build a processing plant on your farm.' But your banker might say no."
No matter what production method producers choose to use, Black said there's no doubt in his mind the "umbrella is local," and it all goes back to consumers' desire to know where their food comes from.
"The market allows you to choose what you would like to do," he said. "Where the energy and that sustainability in my mind really is, is the whole local nature, and that's why we wanted to kick off Georgia Grown so much. People will respond in the marketplace."
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