More than 70 Farm Credit workers from across Georgia will set stages, cook, judge contests, shuttle conventioneers and host events at the Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie this October.
The Sunbelt Ag Expo is an annual farm show that attracts about 100,000 visitors primarily from the Southern states of Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. The 2009 Expo runs Oct. 20-22.
The show includes livestock demonstrations, educational seminars, competitions, equipment displays and entertainment. The convention’s 1,680-acre permanent site at the former Spence Field airbase includes cultivated farmland used to demonstrate new technology, crop varieties, fertilizers, equipment and farming techniques.
Farm Credit, a national system of farmer-owned lending cooperatives, is a regular participant. Farm Credit built a permanent event venue at the Expo last year.
The major agricultural lender will sponsor Farm Bill Update seminars on Wednesday, led by Bridges Sinyard, legislative aide for U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss. Sinyard will provide updates on changes to the Farm Bill.
Farm Credit has hired local South Georgia entertainer Kirsten Underwood, an up and coming star in country music, to perform inside the building and around the Expo grounds.
The Farm Credit “Keepin’ It Rural” roving stage will make its way through the Expo to host musical performances, ceremonies, announcements and other amplified presentations.
Each morning before the show, Farm Credit employees will haul the Keepin’ It Rural roving stage to the main gates where Kirsten Underwood will entertain arriving visitors.
The Farm Credit crews will also be cooking pork chops for the Expo Luncheon and the Young Farmers’ Dinner.
Lighter duties include offering directions, roasted peanuts and water to guests and handing out free Farm Credit backpacks. Visitors are invited to stop by the Farm Credit Building B-9 or look for the crews in the matching “Keepin’ It Rural” red shirts.
Farm Credit serves all of Georgia through three borrower-owned Farm Credit associations: AgSouth, AgGeorgia and Southwest Georgia Farm Credit. These associations are participating jointly in 2009 Sunbelt Ag Expo, along with AgFirst Farm Credit Bank based in Columbia, S.C.
AgSouth Farm Credit is one of the largest lending cooperatives in the Southeast. As of Dec. 31, 2008, AgSouth had more than 6,800 members; $1.5 billion in assets; and $228 million in capital and allocated accounts.
AgSouth provides loans for agriculture, real estate and rural homes, and offers leasing for automobiles, equipment, buildings and commercial operations. The association also makes secondary home loans for home purchases, home construction, home improvements, refinances and is an equal housing lender. For more information about AgSouth Farm Credit, visit www.agsouthfc.com.
For information about the 2009 Sunbelt Ag Expo, visit www.sunbeltexpo.com.
