Photo by Logan Thomas
March 13 , 2024
www.gfb.org
Vol. 6 No. 5
DISCOVER GEORGIA AGRICULTURE WITH GFB FARM PASSPORT Looking for more adventure in your life? Discovery is made simple with the 2024 Georgia Farm Bureaau Farm Passport. All you need is an open road and a tank of gas to discover where your food comes from and the people who grow it. See towns not yet visited. Explore your next favorite trail. Stop at a new restaurant. For the sixth year, Georgia Farm Bureau (GFB) is offering its farm passport program. Chances are you’re within an hour of a GFB Certified Farm Market (CFM) and straight-from-the-farm goodness, whether it’s strawberries or peaches in the spring, fresh vegetables in the summer, apples in the fall or Christmas trees at year’s end. The farm passport guides travelers across Georgia to farms that offer food items for virtually any taste. Travel with the passport to live out your love of discovering Georgia, supporting local farmers and experiencing fresh food. Passport holders will learn about Georgia’s agricultural diversity firsthand as they get their passport stamped at each farm visited. “It was something we thoroughly enjoyed. It was an inspirational trip. We love the farmers. That’s the main thing. Their trials, tribulations, hope and faith they showed. They were all so willing to share their farm lives with us,” said Anne Gauthier, who traveled with her husband, Mark, to all 93 CFMs in 2023. Anne said they drove approximately 5,500 miles for the CFM visits. Last April, the Gauthiers visited seven CFMs in one day and 25 over a five-day span. At Hillcrest Dairy in McDuffie County, they met Caitlin Rodgers, whose family owns and operates the dairy. “We pulled up and there was no one else there,” Anne Gauthier said. “She came riding up on her tractor and she got off of her tractor to see if she could help us. She stopped everything. She was in the middle of delivering hay to the cattle. She stopped and she gave us a 35-45 minute tour. She told us all about it, how it worked. She demonstrated it. She was wonderful.” The Gauthiers, of McDonough were one of 10 participant pairs who visited all 93 markets across the state, earning them elite Travelers Jackets. The others were Ken & Nicki Ross of Newnan, Robert & Mary Rockwood of McDonough, Mike & Gaby Martin of Phenix City, Alabama, and -continued on next page