Aug 22, 2024

Growers named to head Georgia commodity commissions

Growers have been appointed to lead Georgia’s Agricultural Commodity Commissions.

Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper made the appointments, which include vegetables as well as apples, blueberries, peaches, pecans and wine and grapes .

The following are the appointments:

Apple Commodity Commission:
Andy Futch and John Reece, both of Gilmer County, were reappointed.

Blueberry Commodity Commission:
Jerome Crosby of Atkinson County and John Strickland of Clinch County were reappointed. Mike Bruorton of Clinch County will continue serving as special appointee with his term ending in 2025.

Peaches Commodity Commission:
Drew Echols of Jaemor Farms in Hall County and Lawton Pearson of Pearson Farm in Peach County were reappointed.

Pecan Commodity Commission:
Brenda Evans of Peach County was reappointed. Arren Moses of Montgomery County and Jena Ellis Wright of Dooley County were appointed. Jeff Worn, Will Easterlin, and Cason Anderson were appointed as advisory members with terms expiring in 2025.

Vegetable Commodity Commission:
Bill Brim of Lewis Taylor Farms in Tift County was reappointed. Courtney Hamilton Griffin of Southern Valley Fruit & Vegetable in Colquitt County and Ben Herring of Lowndes County were appointed. Brad Calhoun will continue as an advisory member with his term ending in 2025.

Wine & Grape Commodity Commission:
Gary Engel of Gilmer County and Eric Miller of White County were reappointed.

The appointments were publicized in an Aug. 21 news release.

Appointments to commodity commission boards are made by the ex-officio committee which includes Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper, Georgia Farm Bureau President Tom McCall, Russ Moon, an appointee of the Georgia Senate Committee on Agriculture and Consumer Affairs, and Al Pearson of Pearson Farm, an appointee of the Georgia House Committee on Agriculture and Consumer Affairs.

Georgia’s Commodity Commissions collect per-unit assessments from producers, as allowed in that commodities marketing order, to support growers by funding research, education, and marketing efforts.