MOULTRIE, GA (WALB) -
Gates will open at 8:30 in the morning for day two of the 35th annual Sunbelt Ag Expo after a busy opening day.
Close to 100-thousand visitors are expected to attend 3-day event that highlights Georgia's leading industry.
What's billed as North America's premier farm show gives farmers a look at the latest technology and equipment used to produce America's food and energy sources.
Manufacturers have demonstrations of equipment, field techniques, fertilizers, and plant varieties to produce the largest yield.
Amanda Gassett brought her four children from Upson County to learn more about agriculture and new ideas to run their 68-acre farm.
"It is. We try our best to live sustainable and grow our own food as much as possible. And just to find out where our food comes from is important to us, said Gassett.
Like the Gassetts, many entire families attend the Sunbelt Ag Expo, passing on to children more knowledge about agriculture and its future.
This year's Expo stresses the importance of small family farms and getting more people involved in agriculture.
Growers are not only talking about feeding their communities but the entire world.
Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black said by 2050 it will take more food to feed the fast growing world's population for that year, than has ever been produced in history. Producing enough food will be a challenge, and an economic opportunity for farmers and growers.
Calhoun Georgia farmers Brian and Hope Grogan check out a new sprayer at the Sunbelt Ag Expo. Their family poultry operation produces more than two million chickens a year....and they are looking for ways to grow.
Brian Grogan said "It's exciting to come down here and see the possibilities that is in the future for us."
The future for farmers are fast growing populations around the world with increased wealth demanding more healthy foods. And ag experts today said seafood is in growing demand.
Retired Auburn University Aquaculture Expert Dr. John Jensen said "As they have more wealth, what do they want? They want more meat and they demand more seafood. So there is a huge shortage of seafood seems to be developing in the world right now because of the rising middle classes."
Dr. Jensen said aquaculture, producing fish, is a diversification that could rival chicken production soon with new technology and hybrids.
Beef and dairy cattle are also an agriculture segment that experts say could see huge increasing demand soon. Experts today stressed producing food that can be verified as healthy.
University of Georgia Extension Beef Cattle Expert Dr. Lawton Stewart said "So what they are doing basically is getting better at documenting what they are doing, so they can pass on that information to the consumer. So they know where their product is coming from. That it was handled in a humane way, and it's a healthy product."
New and growing opportunities that the Grogans say they come to Sunbelt every year to learn, and use to grow.
Hope Grogan said "More ideas, new ideas. And it just helps us to advance in what we are doing back at home."
And experts say more farmers like the Grogans are needed as demand for farm products grows incredibly.
The Grogans say time is the biggest factor right now on their family farm. And any equipment that can help them do their work more efficiently, means new opportunities for their profits to increase.
Ag Commissioner Gary Black said new ideas and technologies are needed to keep up with the demand of feeding the world, and that's why the Sunbelt Ag Expo is vital.
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