TIFT JOBLESS RATE LOWEST ON RECORD

SINCE STATE TRACKED RATES NEARLY 30 YEARS AGO

Tift County 's 3 percent unemployment rate in April is the lowest for the county since the state began tracking monthly rates in 1990 .

The Georgia Department of Labor released the figures late last week and signify a trend of low unemployment rates in Tift County . An all-time low was previously set last May at 3.5 percent and again this past September at 3.3 percent .

"This is indicative of the strong economy that Tift County has and has had for quite a while," said  Brian Marlowe , president & CEO of the Tifton-Tift County Chamber of Commerce and the Tift County Development Authority .

"The leadership here has created a business-friendly climate, and our industries are growing . We are always working to bring good jobs to Tift County and will continue to do so," Marlowe said.

According to the labor department , there are  19,319  people in the Tift County labor force ; of those, 18,738 have jobs while 518 are unemployed. Statewide , the unemployment rate dropped to 3.8 percent in April .

Tift's jobless rate was 3.8 percent in March and was 3.9 percent one year ago .

Other counties in the Tiftarea also recorded lower jobless rates for the month of April . Irwin 's rate was 4.1 percent , down from 5.1 percent the previous month ; Worth was 3.3 percent, down from 3.9 percent ; Turner , 3.5 percent , down from 4.1 ; Berrien , 3.2 percent , down from 3.8 ; and Ben Hill County , 4.6 percent , down from 5.6 percent .

THE DIPLOMA DASH!

After 459 Tift County High School graduates walk the stage during commencement on Saturday at Brodie Field , they dash to the field house to actually get their diplomas . The graduates receive a diploma cover at the stage ; they later pick up their paper diploma following the ceremony .

The Georgia Peanut Commission hosted a "Peanut Palooza" at its Tifton headquarters Friday . The family-friendly community event offered numerous activities , peanut treats , music and a variety of vendors .

Irrigation is at work on the UGA Tifton campus. With little to no rainfall during the past few weeks, farmers are utilizing irrigation to water their crops.

SUMMER HEAT COMES EARLY

FOR GEORGIA FARMERS

With Georgia's temperatures rising and little to no rain , farmers are facing mid-summer type of conditions early

Georgia’s cotton producers are in the middle of planting this year’s crop, says Jared Whitaker , University of Georgia Cooperative Extension cotton agronomist.

“ Cotton is going to be the most sensitive crop to these types of conditions just because of the relatively poor vigor of cotton seedlings compared to other crops Georgia producers plant,” Whitaker said. “When soils dry and temperatures rise, it becomes increasingly difficult for producers, especially in nonirrigated fields.”  

Whitaker said producers are trying to minimize their risk from losses that could occur at harvest by planting some cotton earlier than usual. He is concerned that poor conditions could delay planting to the point that yields are affected .

The last substantial rainfall was recorded during the weekend of May 10-12 . Three days of rain yielded 1.5 inches in Tifton ; 0.81 inches in Alma ; 1.2 inches in Griffin ; and 1.52 inches in Vienna .

But since much of the state’s crops are grown in South Georgia’s sandy soils , any moisture the region receives is soaked up quickly .

UGA Extension peanut agronomist Scott Monfort says that approximately 65 percent of Georgia’s peanut crop has been planted . But like the state’s cotton farmers, peanut producers will need to monitor their crop’s water needs during this extremely hot and dry period.

“To have high temperatures this early is pretty tough . It means these plants are going to go through heat stress earlier than normal this year, and farmers are going to have stay on top of it as far as irrigating,” Monfort said. “While we normally wouldn’t irrigate this early , we might have to start if we lose too much moisture.”

FOREST LAKES

Directions From I-75 North - Exit 66, turn right on Brighton Road,

follow for 2 1/2 miles. Turn left on Old Ocilla Road, 

and follow signs from there!

Cabbage is being harvested on the University of Georgia Tifton campus . Andre Luiz Biscaia Ribeiro da Silva , a ssistant professor and Extension vegetable specialist, is conducting a fertility trial on the crop.

Gov. Brian Kemp swears in Jaclyn Dixon Ford to the Georgia Department of Economic Development Board of Directors. Ford is joined by her family in the governor's office.

ABAC TRUSTEE MEMBER NAMED TO

GA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOARD

Gov. Brian Kemp recently named Jaclyn Dixon Ford of Alapaha to the Georgia Department of Economic Development Board of Directors.

Ford , vice president and chief operating officer of Dixon Gin Co., is a member of the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College's Board of Trustees .

From 2011 to 2017 , Ford served on the Georgia Farm Service Agency State Committee , and also serves on the board of South Georgia Medical Center’s Berrien Campus Authority.

Ford is an alternate on the Cotton Board and former delegate for the National Cotton Council . She received her bachelor’s degree in agriculture from the University of Georgia and is a graduate of Leadership Georgia .

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