Sunbelt Ag Expo 2023: Cultivating agricultural innovation and growth

MOULTRIE, Ga. – Now, we turn our focus to the heart of the agricultural landscape by exploring the Sunbelt Ag Expo, where innovation meets agriculture.

That’s where we find CBS 44 Reporter De’Andra Jacobs with all the details…

Farmers and agribusiness leaders cultivate innovation and growth, placing a spotlight on the latest advancements in the world of agriculture. Join us, as we uncover the seeds of change sown at this year’s Sunbelt Agriculture Expo.

The Sunbelt Agriculture Expo stands as a preeminent and long-standing agriculture exposition within the southeastern United States. It’s overarching mission, to showcase cutting-edge agricultural technology, equipment, and practices to farmers, agribusiness professionals, and the general public.

Companies participating in the Sunbelt Ag Expo provides valuable opportunities for networking, allowing them to connect with potential customers, distributors, and collaborators within the industry.

“It’s really important to Kawasaki to be here because we are out in front of our consumers, and our consumers come to these events. It just gives us time to spend with them and to explain our products to them. You know, it use to really kind of small and it keeps growing. It’s one reason why we really enjoy coming here, is because we see the growth of it, and we also see what happens six months, a year later with the sales. It does provide the people with a place to come see our vehicles. Also, too we have a demo-track, so they can test the vehicle on a little track,” said John Rall, Kawasaki Motors, Four Wheel Product Supervisor.

The Sunbelt Ag Expo further enriches its offerings through educational seminars, workshops, and presentations that cover a wide range of agricultural topics, which serve as a valuable resource for industry professionals and farmers.

Jeff Ingram, Outside Sales Representative for Evans Machinery, provides insight into the company’s latest innovations and advancements in their operations.

“We manufacture some pull behind spreading equipment, as well as some bulk hauling equipment. From four to five ton spreaders, up to six or eight ton spreaders. One of the biggest things we’ve started doing is on our units we use a lot of stainless. So, the spinners on the back, the bumper system, everything at the back that takes a lot of abuse from the fertilizer spreading, is all stainless. That is helping the longevity of the units as well as our market place and being able to get the units out there,” said Jeff Ingram, Evans Machinery, Outside Sales Representative.

The expo also plays a unique role in promoting and fostering an appreciation for agriculture among the youth, encouraging them to recognize the significance of the industry.

Madison Shipley, an agricultural teacher at Fullington Academy, discusses the process through which her students constructed a tractor for the expo.

“Every year at the Georgia National Fair, they have an ag mechanics contest for the ag programs around the state of Georgia to build different projects. This is what we did here, this is our middle school project that we built and we decided to bring it to the Sunbelt Ag Expo this year. The students had to collaborate to come up with an idea of what they wanted to build, and it took us about three weeks to construct the whole thing,” said Madison Shipley, Fullington Academy, Agriculture Teacher.

Students Ellis Campbell and Landon Cobb talk about what they enjoyed most about constructing the tractor.

“Definitely painting,” “We just had to put it piece by piece together,” said Ellis Campbell, Landon Cobb, Fullington Academy students.

Madison Shipley emphasizes the significance of imparting agricultural knowledge to the younger generation.

“Agriculture is the number one industry in the state of Georgia and it feeds the entire world. So, it really is a vital part of education in that state of Georgia and in the United States, in general. In my classroom we cover we’ll cover just about anything in the agriculture industry. These projects, we covered ag mechanics, we’ll cover animal science. So, I think it’s really important, because the students are not only learning about life skills, but they are learning about the agriculture industry as well,” said Shipley.

De’Andra Jacobs reporting.

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