The Sunbelt Ag Expo includes important involvement from special sections like Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and Georgia Grown. The participation and support bring visitors to the Expo and provide opportunities for students.
In 1964 the Sunbelt Ag Expo looked very different. It was referred to as “Dealer Day” and was hosted by the Agricultural Engineering Technology (AET) club at ABAC.
It was an event to serve students with networking opportunities and provide dealers to showcase their equipment. It took less than ten years for Dealer Day to outgrow ABAC and move to somewhere that could better serve the community.
In 1978 the event was moved to Spence Field in Moultrie and renamed the Sunbelt Ag Expo. The Expo continues to provide students and dealers opportunities and has not lost hold of its mission.
Dr. Mark Kistler, Dean of the School of Agriculture and Natural Resources at ABAC, said ABAC has always served in some capacity at the Expo.
“The AET club and ABAC faculty played a big part in redesigning Spence Field from an Army Air Corps base to what it is today,” Kistler said. “Today, ABAC is still an integral part of the Expo.”
The Georgia Farm Bureau and Georgia Grown have partnered with the Expo for the past ten years and provided great benefits to the Expo.
The Georgia Grown program promotes what farmers in Georgia grow. At the most recent Expo, Georgia Grown products were showcased in a new Georgia Grown Marketplace in the Family Living Building. This marketplace is a one-stop-shop for all different Georgia Grown Products.
In the marketplace, visitors have the opportunity to learn where their food comes from and support local and small farms.
The market also features a cooking stage where Georgia Grown Executive Chef Holly Chute, accompanied by local farmers, will include Georgia Grown products and cook a delicious meal.
The Sunbelt Ag Expo brings together people to create a community that love rural Georgia and hopes to see agriculture grow.