MoCo FFA Officers Attend Local Agriculture Industry Tour
Courtesy of Montgomery County FFA
On Wednesday, July 24, members of the Montgomery County High School Future Farmers of America (FFA) Officer Team participated in our third annual local agriculture industry tour. During this tour, students travel to different agribusinesses in our local community that we are very grateful to have to engage with stakeholders and learn more about the different kinds of agriculture found right here at home.
The officers – Chapter President Hannah Williamson, Chapter Secretary Evan Hardeman, and Chapter Vice Presidents Nora Cartwright and Kadan Williamson — began their tour at the Georgia Forestry Commission post in Ailey, GA. There, the officers were greeted and toured by Matthew O’Connor, Ken Braddy, and Paul Beasley, who are all employed by the Georgia Forestry Commission. They spoke to our officers about the purpose of the Commission and what careers could be found there. They also shared about the local impact they have by helping landowners create management plans for their timber stands and about the responsibility of helping to contain and manage wildfire outbreaks.
Then, the officers traveled to a bee yard owned and managed by Hardeman Apiaries, where we met with Jonathan Hardeman. He spoke with them about the apiculture industry and the focus that Hardeman Apiaries has on grafting and producing queen bees to catch and ship all across the country. He also taught them about the tools they use to manage their over 5,000 hives across our county and others. The officers were able to see these hives in person and watch as he searched for their highly sought after queens in each hive.
The last stop of the tour took the officers to Morris Farms in Uvalda, GA, where officers were met by Randall Morris. He informed the team about their family row crop farm and how they produce popular crops in our area like peanuts and cotton, but the main focus of this visit was about their production of the famous Vidalia Sweet Onion. They learned about how the onion is planted, grown, harvested, processed, and packaged. Morris also spoke with them about the importance of networking in FFA and building relationships while reflecting on his own time in the blue jacket and serving as a Georgia State FFA Vice-President from 1976-1977.
Overall, the students learned about many different areas of the agricultural industry that we can find in our own county lines and make an effort to support local agribusinesses.
CROPS & FFA EXPERIENCES – Morris Farms Owner Randall Morris spoke to the Montgomery County FFA Officers about his own time as an FFA officer during the group’s visit to the farm. L to R: Kadan Williamson, Evan Hardeman, Randall Morris, Hannah Williamson, Nora Cartwright.
LOCAL APIARY – Hardeman Apiaries Representative Jonathan “Spanky” Hardeman taught the FFA officers about producing queen bees within the business. L to R: Nora Cartwright, Kadan Williamson, Evan Hardeman, Jonathan “Spanky” Hardeman, Hannah Williamson.
