Mayo Livingston and Waldine Scott were recognized for their dedication to Decatur County agriculture Thursday at the 11th annual Ag Luncheon, and cemented their memories as two of the best the county has had.

Joe Livingston, Mayo’s son, accepted the 2015 Ag Man of the Year award on his father’s behalf. Terril Scott, Waldin’s son, took the podium to accept his mother’s award.

The luncheon’s keynote speaker, UGA Associate Dean for Extension Laura Perry Johnson, praised Decatur County for their thriving agriculture industry and highlighted many of the Decatur County extensions office’s team members, including new extension agent Kyle Brown.

“We were thrilled to get someone of Kyle’s caliber,” Johnson said, continuing to say that the UGA office has a hard time finding people to go to the urban counties and a hard time finding people to go to the big production counties. “I am very proud of the team we have assembled here. I really feel like they have gelled as a team and I am so excited to have them serving you.”

Johnson said Georgia’s largest industry is agriculture, so it not only contributes to the economy of Decatur County, but to the entire state. Last year, Georgia’s farm gate value, or the value of crops leaving the farm, was $12.8 billion. This year it is $14.1 billion, a 3.5 percent increase.

“If you think about 2014, it was really noted for high cattle prices and low crop prices,” Johnson said. “So a lot of that came from the increase in cattle prices. Livestock and agriculture was up 35 percent. Forestry was up 18 percent. Ag tourism across the state was up 10 percent, and a lot of that can be attributed to the department of agriculture and some of the efforts there.”

Though there are rises in Georgia’s farm gate value, Johnson said the future trends are showing the nationwide agriculture industry is heading toward a level it hasn’t been at since 1983.

“While our farm gate value will potential be down next year, I like to think the strong extension program has helped our producers make good decisions, and we are working to make you viable during these challenging economic times,” Johnson said.

To help Georgia’s ag industry grow, Johnson said the extension offices will work one-on-one with producers this year.

“So Kyle (Brown) will call you up and say, ‘Hey, can I come to your farm and visit with you about your situation and give you some information to make sound production decisions?’”