According to a University of Georgia news release, University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) economists recently gathered for the 2015 Georgia Ag Forecast, where optimism was on full display for the state’s largest industry.
Georgia’s robust agriculture industry and its impact on the state’s economy is only expected to grow in the near future as some crops move from drought-stricken areas out west towards states like Georgia that have the climate, knowledge base, and resources to support production. The economists at the event explained that agriculture has an impact of $13.3 billion on the economy and by the time food gets to the plate and clothes on backs, this number rises to about $72.5 billion.
CAES Dean J. Scott Angle, said in the release, “We are becoming the bread basket of the world. California agriculture is starting to go out of business because of lack of water, but the world’s population is growing... A lot of what happens here in the Southeast—but particularly in Georgia because we are the largest state—is going to be critically important… This is the most important place to be in agriculture right now.”
The participating economists pointed towards agri-technology as one of the primary reasons Georgia continues to emerge as a national agriculture leader. Both the University of Georgia and the Georgia Institute of Technology continue to analyze agri-technology’s potential through groundbreaking research.
The future appears to be bright for Georgia’s agricultural producers as seen at the 2015 Georgia Ag Forecast. The combination of emerging opportunities and continued investments into agri-technology have the industry poised for continued growth.