Andy Bell from Climax will receive the 2019 Master Farmer Award on April 5 at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College during the annual ABAC Alumni Association awards luncheon at 12:30 p.m. in Gressette Gym.

The ceremony will recognize ABAC alumni who impacted the college and their communities in significant ways. Tickets to the event are $25 per person. The deadline to purchase tickets is March 27. There will be no tickets sold at the venue on the day of the event.

Tickets can be purchased from the College Advancement Office on the web site at www.abac.edu/homecoming. For more information on the 2019 Homecoming Week, interested persons can call (229) 391-4900.

The ABAC Master Farmer Award is presented by the ABAC Alumni Association in recognition of alumni who have distinguished themselves as outstanding farmers. The award is based upon leadership in the home and community as well as the use of wise and unique ideas in farm management and operations. Service to the college is also taken into consideration. The Master Farmer Award was first presented in 1955, making it the oldest of the awards presented by the Alumni Association.

Bell, a 1980 ABAC graduate, farms a diversified operation of row crops and cattle in partnership with his brother, Buster. They currently grow approximately 1,100 acres of cotton, 750 acres of peanuts, 150 acres of corn, 150 acres of pine timber, 15 acres of pecans and 350 acres of hay and pasture land.

Bell is a founding director of the grower owned peanut shelling plant, American Peanut Growers Group, located in Donalsonville. He was named the Ag Man of the Year in Decatur County, received the Georgia Young Farmers Association President’s Award, and earned his FFA American Farmer Degree.

Bell has been farming his entire life since he was raised on a farm. His operation started after his grandfather gave him 50 acres of land. He used the space to start a hog production and plant a small acreage of row crops. He purchased his first tractor in 1986, which he still owns today.

During his time at ABAC, Bell served as a student senator and was a member of the ABAC Rodeo Club.