LULA - For the third year in a row, a group of state officials, including the President of the University of Georgia, toured several agricultural interests in the state. Wednesday's Georgia Department of Agriculture and UGA Farm Tour focused on Northeast Georgia.
Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black and UGA President Jere Morehead conduct the tours to highlight agriculture's $72 billion economic impact on the state.
The morning agenda included stops at Hillside Orchard Farms and Tiger Mountain Vineyards, both in Rabun County.
"There's a food safety and food science element there in that great processing facility that Robert Mitcham has up there and certainly the Ezzards are a award-winning vineyard up there (that) was impressive," Black said.
John and Martha Ezzard and John and Marilyn McMullan own the vineyard and Red Barn Cafe.
The lunch stop for the tour was Jaemor Farms and farm market in the Lula area.
"It doesn't get better than Jaemor Farms here. Drew and Mr. Jimmy and the whole family do a marvelous job," Black said.
In addition to highlighting the agriculture industry's economic impact in the state, officials said the tour also helps connect the dots between the education component at UGA and the ag industry.
"Candidly, there's nothing more important to the University of Georgia than its linkage with the agricultural industry, and so this gives the university a chance to showcase what the university does to support the agricultural industry in the state," Morehead said.
Morehead started the tour initiative when he became the university president.
"I have to say, we've gone to some very interesting places today. Certainly Jaemor farms, this has been a fantastic visit," Morehead said.
The tour also included stops at the Georgia Poultry Lab in Hall County and King's Hawaiian Bakery in Flowery Branch.
Other members of the tour group included J. Scott Angle, Dean and Director of the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Terry England, Georgia House Appropriations Committee chairman, Tom McCall, Georgia House Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman and John Wilkinson, Georgia Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman.
