Curt Pate: Building Trust Through Stockmanship
By 2025 Sunbelt Ag Expo Social Media Intern, Shelby Wentz Curt Pate, a well-featured and honored speaker in the cattle industry, is known for his engaging clinics and real-world ranching insights. From the beautiful state of Montana, Pate travels across the country sharing profitable, sustainable...
A Taste of Georgia: Cooking at the Sunbelt Ag Expo
By Amy Herring and Ashlyn Thompson, 2025 Sunbelt Ag Expo Social Media Interns Day two of the Sunbelt Ag Expo brought both smoke and flavor with the 33rd annual Young Farmers Que-Fest, as well as cooking demonstrations hosted by the Georgia Young Farmer Wives. A full-on BBQ celebration that drew...
Hay Field In Action
By Samantha Shackelford, 2025 Sunbelt Ag Expo Social Media Intern The Expo hay field bustled with energy from cutting, tedding, raking, and forage sampling today. Students, producers, and equipment dealers gathered to watch tractors, balers, and other equipment in action. After the demos,...
Kicking off Expo Awards
By Samantha Shackelford, 2025 Sunbelt Social Media Intern Samantha Shackelford This morning at the Sunbelt Ag Expo opening ceremonies, individuals were honored for their dedication to the agriculture industry. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tyler Harper, and...
Nick Place Defends Title in Annual Milking Contest
By Ashlyn Thompson, 2025 Sunbelt Ag Expo Social Media Intern The milking competition was an exciting highlight at today’s Sunbelt Ag Expo. In this friendly contest, three competitors each had 1 minute per cow to collect as much milk as possible. In between each cow, the milk was poured into a...
Family, Fun and First Catches: Goat Roping at Expo
By Lydia Hill, 2025 Social Media Intern Attendees and exhibitors were buzzing with excitement on the first day of the Sunbelt Ag Expo. There's so much to do, see, and experience in just three short days. Goat roping at the Equine Pavilion was a fan-favorite event where attendees learned a new...
Kicking off Expo with Energy and Education
By Amy Herring, 2025 Sunbelt Ag Expo Social Media Intern Day one of the Sunbelt Ag Expo opened with energy and excitement as the three-day event got off to a strong start. Jimmy Youngblood led the charge with an engaging youth cattle fitting demonstration that drew a crowd and set a high bar for...
Kent Hamilton Named 2025 Farmer of the Year
By Shelby Wentz, 2025 Sunbelt Ag Expo Social Media Intern Exciting news! This afternoon at the Willie B. Withers Sunbelt Ag Expo Farmer of the Year Luncheon, the new Farmer of the Year was announced. Kent Hamilton of Southern Valley Fruit and Vegetable, Inc. in Norman Park, Ga., was named the 2025...
KENT HAMILTON NAMED 2025 SOUTHEASTERN FARMER OF THE YEAR
Kent Hamilton, of Norman Park, Georgia, has been selected as the overall winner of the Sunbelt Ag Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year award for 2025. Kent Hamilton is CEO of Southern Valley Fruit and Vegetable, Inc., based in Norman Park. Kent said, “It was founded in 1987 and is a...
2025 Southeastern Hay Contest Winners Announced
PRESENTED BY MASSEY FERGUSON Lisa Baxter, UGA | Liliane Silva, Clemson | Katie Mason, UT | Uttam Saha, UGA The Southeastern Hay Contest (SEHC) has proudly recognized our regional producers who grow and harvest high quality hay for the last 21 years. The contest was originally developed by...
Fresh Ideas Take Root at the Sunbelt Ag Expo’s Backyard Garden
By Amy Herring, 2025 Sunbelt Ag Expo Social Media Intern You won’t want to miss what the Backyard Garden has to offer this year at the Sunbelt Ag Expo. Located just on the west side of the Expo grounds, Flint River Fresh will be hosting interactive demonstrations every day. From flower clippings...
Curt Pate Demonstrations at the 2025 Sunbelt Ag Expo
By Lydia Hill, 2025 Sunbelt Ag Expo Social Media Intern This summer, I had the honor to interview Mr. Curt Pate and feature him in my "Stocking up on Stockmanship" article. Pate is a professional livestock handling expert from Ryegate, Montana. He spends his time conducting livestock handling...
Raking My Way Through Expo
By Samantha Shackelford, 2025 Sunbelt Ag Expo Social Media Intern As a first-year Sunbelt Ag Expo Intern, I am extremely excited for the Southeastern Hay Contest and the in-field hay demos. I have been following the Southeastern Hay Contest on social media for the last year now. I am so excited to...
Timeless Tractors at the Sunbelt Ag Expo
By Ashlyn Thompson, 2025 Sunbelt Ag Expo Social Media Intern The Antique Tractor Pull and Parade are back at Sunbelt Ag Expo this year, showcasing vintage machines that each carry unique stories passed down through generations of farmers. Each day of the Expo, antique models from 1965 and earlier...
Showcasing the Peach State: Sunbelt Ag Expo’s Spotlight State
By Shelby Wentz, 2025 Sunbelt Ag Expo Social Media Intern As the 2025 Sunbelt Ag Expo gets started, the Expo is excited to highlight Georgia agriculture in the Spotlight State building. Being able to see the state of Georgia’s producers, agribusinesses, and communities of the agricultural industry...
Meet the 2025 Sunbelt Ag Expo Interns – Photography
Meet the Photography Interns We are excited to partner with the University of Georgia and its Agricultural Communication program, with seven young professionals who will cover the 2025 Sunbelt Ag Expo on on the grounds capturing every part of the Expo through their camera lens. REAGAN BALDREE...
Meet the 2025 Sunbelt Ag Expo Interns – Social Media
Meet the Social Media Interns We are excited to partner with Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and its Agricultural Communication program, with six young professionals who will cover the 2025 Sunbelt Ag Expo on Facebook, Instagram, and the blog. AMY HERRING MAYO, FL | SENIOR CLUBS: ACT MAJOR...
Standing Strong in Agriculture: Supporting Farmers When They Need Us Most
By Amy Herring, ABAC Agricultural Communication Long days filled with sweat, sacrifice, and heartache, all poured into the mission of feeding America. Farmers, often overlooked, remain the backbone of America. Behind the barns and tractors are real people quietly bearing emotional, physical, and...
From Pond to Plate: Aquaculture
By Lydia Hill, ABAC Agricultural Communication If your nose leads you to the Aquaculture Building, you can thank Chef Chris Wilton. Each year, Auburn Extension invites Wilton to create new, exotic catfish recipes for live cooking demonstrations, turning fresh fillets into mouthwatering dishes...
2025 Sunbelt Ag Expo Top 10 Innovation Award Winners
2025 Sunbelt Ag Expo Innovation Award Winners Learn more about each Top 10 product below. These are in alphabetical order by company name and not an official ranking of the top 10. To learn more about the Sunbelt Ag Expo Innovation Award, visit https://sunbeltexpo.com/innovation-award/.COMPANY:...
What to see at the Sunbelt Ag Expo
Ag Teachers Check out all of these amazing opportunities for your students: Wednesday, October 15 Youth Educational Challenges sponsored by Hays LTI Contest from 9:00 am - 1:00 pm Lunch at 11:00 am Award Ceremony at 2:00 pm Advocacy in Action Contest sponsored by Georgia Farm Bureau Georgia...
Trouble with the Bermudagrass Stem Maggot?
By Dr. Lisa Baxter, UGA State Forage Extension Specialist Bermudagrass hay producers throughout the region are currently battling the bermudagrass stem maggot, or BSM. This pest has damaged bermudagrass forage each summer since it was first discovered back in 2010. The adult flies are most easily...
2025 Farmer of the Year – Steve Hopkins – Virginia
Steve Hopkins Virginia Farmer of the Year 2025 Seven generations of Hopkins family members have worked to maintain and grow their Riverview Farms Cattle operation in Louisa. Steve and sons Blake and Garrett run the 1200+ acre cattle, crops, and poultry operation as partners—each contributing his...
2025 Farmer of the Year – Jeff Wilson – South Carolina
Jeff WIlson South Carolina Farmer of the Year 2025 Cotton Hills Farm in Lowrys has been operating continuously since 1882, when the original 100 acre home place was gifted to Theodosia Abell by her father on the occasion of her wedding to Joseph Wilson. Cotton, small grains, and corn were some of...
2025 Farmer of the Year – David “Harrell” Overman – North Carolina
David "Harrell" Overman North Carolina Farmer of the Year 2025 Harrell Overman is a sixth-generation Wayne County farmer whose grandfather rented him a 13-acre tobacco farm to work when he was just 14 years old. He and his wife, Lorenda, have been farming row crops and raising swine in Goldsboro...
2025 Farmer of the Year – Kent Hamilton – Georgia
Kent Hamilton Georgia Farmer of the Year 2025 Kent Hamilton is CEO of Southern Valley Fruit and Vegetable, Inc., based in Norman Park. Kent said, “It was founded in 1987 and is a women-owned and family-operated corporation that’s spent generations growing, packing, and shipping fresh produce with...
2025 Farmer of the Year – James “Jim” Alderman – Florida
James "Jim" Alderman Florida Farmer of the Year 2025 A fourth-generation Floridian, Jim Alderman was one of eight children born into a farming family that first came to Florida in the 1820s. As a child he worked in the orange groves and helped out with his father and uncle’s cattle operation. Jim...
2025 Farmer of the Year – Jeremy Allen – Arkansas
Jeremy Allen Arkansas Farmer of the Year 2025 Jeremy Allen of Bismarck has deep family roots in Hot Springs County. His grandfather started a dairy in the 1950s, and his parents were poultry farmers who built three chicken layer houses. Jeremy bought his first set of cattle at the age of fourteen...
2025 Farmer of the Year – Dr. Issac “Nealy” Barrett, Jr. – Alabama
Dr. Issac "Nealy" Barrett, Jr. Alabama Farmer of the Year 2025 Bar Neal Farms in Wetumpka is a fifth-generation farming and ranching operation with deep roots in central Alabama. Nealy Barrett Jr. started his own cow herd at the age of thirteen with twelve stocker calves. He continued to farm...
Research in Motion: Trials at the Sunbelt Ag Expo Research Farm
If you ride anywhere in rural South Georgia, you are bound to see dust in the air and tractors and planters in the field moving full-speed ahead…well, really at a tortoise pace. An unseasonably cool, dry spring has farmers in this area of the country a bit behind at the start of the season. And...
The “Old-Fashioned” Way of Doing Business
It’s so easy to pick up our phone or computer, pull up our favorite search engine, type in a term, and search for what we want to know. Directions, a recipe, the best way to do something, the latest trend, how to fix something, the best price for an item - you name it, it’s at our fingertips. ...
SUNBELT IN REVIEW 2024: CAROLINA’S FIELD, FOREST & WATER
CAROLINA'S FIELD, FOREST & WATER - Season 3, Ep. 8 SC Governor's School for Agriculture at De la Howe In this special edition of our student-led podcast, our host Dell Brockman and field reporter Carson Griggs go on-location to the annual SUNBELT AG EXPO in Moultrie, Ga. They talk with the...
Georgia Peanuts: A Tasty Tradition
By Whitnie Yoder, 2024 Sunbelt Ag Expo Social Media Intern Since 1986, the Georgia Peanut Commission has supported the Sunbelt Ag Expo and served their tasty, grilled sandwiches to the hungry attendees. These two simply go together, just like peanut butter and jelly. Having a noticeably strong...
Local Marketplace: The Family Living Building
By Shelby Wentz, 2024 Sunbelt Ag Expo Social Media Intern At the Sunbelt Ag Expo, the Family Living Building stands out for showcasing a variety of small and local businesses. Here, you can explore a mix of shops offering handmade goods, including clothing, jewelry, kitchen essentials, and more....
Expo Showcases Mental Health and Wellness Resources for Farm Communities
By Peyton Coursey, 2024 Sunbelt Ag Expo Social Media Intern The Sunbelt Ag Expo offers vital support to farmers and their families, yet one topic often unaddressed is farmer mental health and well-being. This year, the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine of South Georgia (PCOM) partnered...
Long-Standing Traditions at the Sunbelt Ag Expo
By Bethany Champion, 2024 Sunbelt Ag Expo Social Media Intern Mr. Jerry Tillman is a long standing friend of Sunbelt Ag Expo, marking this as his 31st year as a field demonstration volunteer. Tillman can be found in the peanut or cotton field managing a demo, giving a lesson about how peanuts...
Mastering the Art of Cattle Operations
By Colleen Barber, 2024 Sunbelt Ag Expo Social Media Intern The Sunbelt Ag Expo has an interactive experience to offer in the beef pavilion. Both the beef pavilion and the Priefert booth had vendors, equipment, and expert had advice to offer Expo attendees to broaden and advance their operations....
Dust, Dirt, & Drones
By Whitnie Yoder, 2024 Sunbelt Ag Expo Social Media Intern The Darrell Williams Research Farm is known to be a busy spot at the Sunbelt Ag Expo, and today was no exception. A tractor-driven trolly pulls attendees out to the fields every 15 minutes to view the harvest, tillage, and equipment...
Safety Behind the Wheel in Rural Areas
By Shelby Wentz, 2024 Sunbelt Ag Expo Intern This morning, Tyler Harper, Georiga's Agriculture Commissioner, spoke at the Georiga Agriculture Building about safety behind the wheel during harvesting season. During harvest season, it was mentioned that paying attention to the road is essential as...
Growing Your Gardening and Beekeeping Skills at Expo
By Peyton Coursey, 2024 Sunbelt Ag Expo Intern Day 2 of the Expo was buzzing with family-friendly activities, and one of the crowd-pullers was the Backyard Garden. This exhibit, a collaboration between the SOWEGA Beekeepers and Flint River Fresh, offered visitors a chance to see fresh produce...