Georgia Department of Agriculture
Georgia Department of Agriculture was established in 1874. They are the oldest state department of agriculture in the U.S. and it is not a branch of USDA.
The department's mission is to provide excellence in services and regulatory functions, to protect and promote agriculture and consumer interests, and to ensure an abundance of safe food and fiber for Georgia, America, and the world by using state-of-the-art technology and a professional workforce. The department protects consumers, promotes agriculture both locally and globally and assists our customers using education, technology and a professional workforce.
Georgia has the largest land mass east of the Mississippi and uses it for diverse purposes. Georgia is ranked first in the nation in broilers, peanuts, pecans and watermelons. It is second in cucumbers, spring onions and rye, third in bell peppers, cabbage, cantaloupes, cotton, snap beans, squash, sweet corn and tomatoes.
The Georgia Department of Agriculture regulates, monitors, or assists with the following areas: grocery stores, convenience stores, food warehouses, bottling plants, food processing plants, pet dealers and breeders, animal health, gasoline quality and pump calibration, antifreeze, weights and measures, marketing of Georgia agricultural products domestically and internationally, pesticides, structural pest control, meat processing plants, seed quality, Vidalia onions, state farmers markets, plant diseases, nurseries and garden centers, fertilizer and lime, potting soil; feed, boll weevil eradication, apiaries, Humane Care for Equines Act, bottled water, and other responsibilities. The department publishes a bi-weekly newspaper: The Farmers and Consumers Market Bulletin, which is available online as well as in printed form.
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Top 5 agriculture commodities, 2007
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|
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Value of receipts
thousand $
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Percent of state total
farm receipts
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Percent of US value
|
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1. Broilers
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3,187,848
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46.8
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14.9
|
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2. Cotton
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536,775
|
7.9
|
8.7
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3. Chicken eggs
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437,491
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6.4
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6.6
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4. Greenhouse/nursery
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350,000
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5.1
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2.0
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5. Peanuts
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324,324
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4.8
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42.5
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All commodities
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6,813,539
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2.4
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Farm income and value added data
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|
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2006
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2007
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|
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Number of farms
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49,000
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47,500
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|
|
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Thousands $
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Final crop output
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2,216,862
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2,401,233
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+ Final animal output
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3,576,946
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4,332,599
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+ Services and forestry
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1,371,008
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1,425,397
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= Final agricultural sector output
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7,164,816
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8,159,229
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|
|
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- Intermediate consumption outlays
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4,201,500
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4,417,628
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+ Net government transactions
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350,885
|
197,519
|
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= Gross value added
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3,314,201
|
3,939,120
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|
|
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- Capital consumption
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551,669
|
569,850
|
|
|
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= Net value added
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2,762,532
|
3,369,270
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|
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- Factor payments
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702,005
|
734,159
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Employee compensation (total hired labor)
|
317,884
|
339,618
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Net rent received by nonoperator landlords
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95,840
|
85,283
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Real estate and nonreal estate interest
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288,281
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309,258
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|
|
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= Net farm income
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2,060,527
|
2,635,111
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http://www.ers.usda.gov/StateFacts/GA.HTM
http://agr.georgia.gov