February 12, 2026
www.gfb.org
Vol. 8 No. 3
GFB MEMBERS DELIVER DIFFICULT MESSAGES TO STATE LEGISLATORS Georgia Farm Bureau Day at the Capitol, held Feb. 10 in Atlanta, was lauded as a highlight of the Georgia General Assembly’s legislative calendar, and GFB’s leaders received warm welcomes all around. Proclamations were issued in both the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia Senate, and state constitutional officers praised GFB for its efforts to engage with elected officials. GFB took nearly 600 members from around the state to visit the Gold Dome, interacting with legislators outside the House and Senate chambers and at lunch in the Georgia Freight Depot. “We’re the only group that comes here and fills the Depot from wall to wall,” GFB President McCall told the assembled GFB members and guest legislators at lunch, where the GFB group also heard messages from Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper, Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones. McCall, along with his wife, Jane, and GFB Vice Presidents Daniel Johnson and Ralph Caldwell, received the House and Senate proclamations. McCall, who served in the Georgia House for 26 years, was widely celebrated during visits to both chambers. While meeting with their legislators, GFB’s farmer members delivered a somber message to legislators: The state’s farmers and ranchers are in dire straits, and they need help. “The past few years in agriculture have put unprecedented pressure on all our producers,” GFB President Tom McCall said. “From the generational losses brought by Hurricane Helene coupled with the severe economic downturn, the past few years have brought challenges that most of today’s farmers have never faced in their lifetime.” GFB’s priority issue, shared with members who were asked to pass it on to their legislators, is the financial sustainability of Georgia’s farms. In 2025, Georgia farmers sustained approximately $800 million in lost profits, and farm production costs have exceeded farm revenue in 11 of the past 14 years. The United States incurred a $50 million ag trade deficit in 2025. Stagnant prices and increasing costs suggest a negative outlook for most of Georgia’s major crops. According to an agricultural lender survey conducted by the American Bankers Association and Farmer Mac, less than 45% of agricultural borrowers were profitable in 2025, with no expectation of improvement in 2026. Georgia’s legislators were asked to support the state’s farmers by: