MACON, Ga. — At the 2022 Georgia Farm Bureau Annual Convention, members from across the state met to discuss and vote on policy positions to guide our grassroots organization. Following the convention, the GFB Board of Directors identified priority issues the organization will focus on this year, topics of highest impact and importance to Georgia’s farmers.

These priorities focus on protecting farmers’ private property rights; access to and stewardship of natural resources; crucial tax programs such as the Conservation Use Value Assessment (CUVA), Georgia Agricultural Tax Exemption (GATE), ad valorem exemptions, the federal stepped-up basis provision; and a healthy regulatory framework that doesn’t unduly restrict agricultural practices.

The board took further action, elevating the passage of meaningful Right to Farm legislation to a spotlight issue for the 2022 legislative session. This issue, which has been discussed in previous years, would provide farmers with meaningful protection from nuisance lawsuits when they are simply farming the land in accordance with laws and regulations.

Agriculture in Georgia has seen an increase in this threat as population growth pushes development into traditionally agricultural areas. These new residents to ag communities then file complaints against the existing farming operations for the sights, dust, or smells that accompany farming.

Right to farm legislation is also important for rural development, to provide reasonable protection for new and young farmers to take on the intense capital investment required to begin farming. GFB is joined by multiple other agriculture organizations and allies in their support for passing Right to Farm legislation.

–Georgia Farm Bureau