Senior USDA Advisor on Racial Equity To Headline The Sherrod Institute’s 2023 Farm Field Day

ALBANY, Ga. – The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) top advisor on racial equity will deliver the keynote address at The Sherrod Institute’s Farm Field Day next month.

Dr. Dewayne Goldmon will travel from Washington to Albany to address area farmers on his work of removing racial barriers, rooting out discrimination and ensuring USDA has a workforce that reflects all of America.

“We’re delighted that Dr. Goldmon will be coming to talk with our farmers, fielding their questions and concerns,” said Sherrod Institute CEO Shirley Miller Sherrod.

“What Dr. Goldmon has to say will resonate with our core constituency, especially since like most of them, he’s Black and comes to farming honestly.”

The 2023 Farm Field Day will be held Thursday, April 20, 2023 starting at 8 a.m. at The Sherrod Institute’s main campus at Cypress Pond, 801 Old Pretoria Road, Albany, Georgia.

While the event is free and open to the public, attendees are asked to register online at The Sherrod Institute website.

Now in its third year and cosponsored by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), The Sherrod Institute’s Farm Field Day will offer a trolley-guided tour of the more than 1600 acre Cypress Pond.

The tour will feature visits to multiple university cosponsored demonstration projects regarding climate-smart approaches to growing blueberries, pecans, muscadines and other fruit and vegetables.

Also offered is a robust lineup of agricultural workshops focusing on beekeeping, solar farming, egg production, drone technology in agriculture and the profit potential of growing hibiscus.

A special workshop will be held for youth interested in careers in agriculture, to be hosted by Zandria Chambers, an Albany native and natural resources specialist with NRCS’s Americus office.

In addition to Chambers, several senior Georgia-based USDA officials will be on hand, including State Conservationist Terrance O. Rudolph, Farm Service Agency director Arthur L. Tripp, Jr. and Rural Development director Reggie A. Taylor.

The Georgia Forestry Commission will also be represented by Assistant Regional Director Chad Pritchett.

Attendees will also be given an update on the current farm bill, known as the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, from the office of U.S. Representative Sanford Bishop.

Before holding his current position, Dr. Goldmon came to agriculture honestly.

He grew up on a Southeast Arkansas farm and has more than 30 years’ experience in the agriculture sector.

Before being appointed by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in March 2021, Goldmon served as executive director of the Washington, DC-based National Black Growers Council (NBGC) which he helped found, advocating on behalf of Black row crop farmers.

He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Arkansas and his Ph.D. from Iowa State University, all in agronomy.

After graduation, Goldmon served in several capacities doing industry-based research. His employers included American Cyanamid, Monsanto and Bayer, where he led diversity initiatives and maintained working relationships with land grant universities and community based organizations.

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