Georgia Ag Commissioner Discusses Citrus, School Nutrition, Onions

Photo courtesy of GA Dept. of Agriculture

“Man, what a great opportunity,” said Georgia Agricultural Commissioner Gary Black in regards to the 2017 Georgia Agribusiness Council’s State Legislative Breakfast that was held just steps from the Capitol building in Atlanta.

Black  was just one of several elected officials in attendance. Others included:

• Georgia Governor Nathan Deal
• Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle
• Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee Terry England
• Speaker of the House David Ralston
• Chairman of the House Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee Tom McCall
• Chairman of the Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee John Wilkinson

Black addressed the crowd of members and mentioned several different exciting topics that are in the works. “Everyone is still focusing on what the budget is going to be this year. But some of the high points we wanted to hit [at the breakfast] is some of the things that have taken place in our marketing division just this last week,” Black said.

Black said there is a new initiative on citrus in Georgia. “We’ve got our plant industry director taking the lead on our role in the industry and working with the universities. The citrus industry has a bright future in the state of Georgia.”

He also mentioned that the “finishing touches” for the first-ever Georgia-grown school nutrition source show have been made and the show will be happening in late February. Seventy school systems and 37-plus vendors have registered for the show. Black said officials are really trying to connect the dots on how to get Georgia agriculture products into school systems.

Before wrapping up, Black added, “We’ve also got some Chinese brokers very excited about Vidalia onions.” Black said that everyone is definitely excited over the possibilities.

About the Author

Kelsey Fry

Reporter / Writer / Digital Services Assistant for AgNet Media

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Sep / 2023