SBDC Client Wins 2019 Entrepreneur of the Year
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]On April 1, 2019 Mr. Will Harris, fourth-generation cattleman and owner of White Oak Pastures in Bluffton, Georgia was presented with the UGA Small Business Development Center’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award. The award is sponsored by Cadence Bank, N.A., and Senior Vice President Ruby Lalani along with UGA President Jere Morehead presented it to […]
Financial Future Secure for Ellijay Family Orchard
Ellijay farmer John Reece can see the house he grew up in from the Apple House at his Ellijay business, BJ Reece Orchards. John and his wife Rachel have grown the business his father started with 30 acres into a popular 130-acre agribusiness attraction known for its “world-famous” fried apple pies, so named by their […]
Grass-Fed Beef Producer Revives Old Business Model and Creates New Jobs
Will Harris’s day starts much like his father’s and his grandfather’s and his great-grandfather’s did: with his boots planted firmly in the same fresh-smelling, fertile soil of his ancestral farm in Early County, Georgia. Like a cherished family tradition, the natural cattle-raising method Harris follows at White Oak Pastures resembles that practiced a hundred years […]
UGA Outreach Program Helps Farmers Build a Better Business
Dennis Hollingsworth was fresh out of college the first time he tried running a farm. It was the early 1980s in south Georgia, and he stuck with it for four years in some of the roughest economic conditions since the Great Depression. Then he left for an IT job. “I went to Atlanta and I […]
Small Business in Agriculture
In the 2017 edition of the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center’s publication, “Small Business and Its Impact on Georgia,” the article below titled, “Spotlight Industries in Georgia: Agriculture,” was featured. Georgia is well known for agriculture. Farming has been a way of life for generations in the south, and Georgia is no different. […]
Financial Modeling Offers Clear Path to Expanded Production for Alma Blueberry Grower
Blueberries have become Georgia’s leading fruit crop. Their production, at 96 million pounds this year, outpaces peaches and has a $1 billion impact on the economy. But what to do with all those berries? Alma farmer Shawn Davis, vice president of Southern Press and Packing, is doing his part to increase sales and develop new […]
Small Business in the Craft Beer Industry
Craft beer breweries have sprung up across Georgia in recent years. Currently, there are 45 craft beer breweries in the state. Demand is expanding for high quality and full-flavored beers, and Georgia craft breweries are helping meet this demand. In 2014, the economic impact of craft beer hit over $1 billion. There are 365,015 barrels of craft beer produced per year in Georgia.(1)
Importance of Agriculture in Georgia
The business of Agriculture has long been an important part of Georgia’s economy and will continue to be a driving force at the local, state, and national level. Georgia has the unique attribute of being home to a diverse array of food and fiber production and a rich assortment of the related economic sectors that make the entire system work. Together, these directly and indirectly related industries account for over $74.3 billion dollars in output contribution to Georgia’s $907.7 billion economy. This economic role also includes over 411,500 jobs for 2014.