CAES Newswire

 College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences UGA Cooperative Extension
Menu
Published on 09/10/19

Bill Brim, Foster Rhodes to be inducted into Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame

By Clint Thompson

This year’s Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame inductees have impacted Georgians from the dinner table to the fairgrounds.

Bill Brim, a Tift County farmer and strong advocate for Georgia agriculture, and Foster Rhodes, who was instrumental in establishing the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter in Perry, Georgia, will be inducted into the Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame as part of the 65th University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) Alumni Association Awards banquet on Oct. 4.

The Alumni Award of Excellence and Young Alumni Achievement Award recipients will also be honored. The public is invited to attend the event, which will be held at The Classic Center in downtown Athens, Georgia. Tickets are required and must be purchased by Sept. 13.

“The UGA CAES Alumni Association is extremely proud of this year’s inductees into the Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame and looks forward to celebrating them on Oct. 4. Mr. Brim and Mr. Rhodes are so deserving of this distinguished honor for their lifetime of impact on their businesses, their communities and our state,” said Brent Marable, president of the UGA CAES Alumni Association Board of Directors. “The continued contributions that each of them makes to the agricultural sector are helping secure food, fiber and shelter for the next generation and beyond.”

Inductees are nominated by the public and selected by the CAES Alumni Association’s awards committee. Nominees must possess the following characteristics: impeccable character, outstanding leadership, noteworthy contributions to Georgia’s agricultural landscape, and recognition for achievements in agriculture, among others.

This year’s recipients — Brim and Rhodes — will be honored because of their long history of agricultural impact in Georgia.

Brim established himself as an industry leader when he, along with Ed Walker, purchased Lewis Taylor Farms in 1985. Over the next five years, Brim helped transform Lewis Taylor Farms into a diversified transplant and vegetable production farm operation.

When Brim became a co-owner of Lewis Taylor Farms, it had only 87,000 square feet of greenhouse production space. The farm now boasts 81 greenhouses with more than 649,000 square feet of production space.

With Brim’s expertise in vegetable production, he was a natural fit to collaborate with scientists from the UGA CAES in various research projects with far-reaching implications.

“Bill Brim is obviously one of the best produce and agronomic producers in the world. He took me under his wing and helped me learn not only how to identify, but how to grow and produce vegetables,” said Stanley Culpepper, UGA Cooperative Extension weed specialist.

Brim’s most important attribute may be his willingness to speak his mind and stand up for farmers everywhere at the state and federal levels.

He served on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency State Committee, where he and fellow committee members reviewed and interpreted USDA policy and guidelines relating to farm bill programs and the implementation of on-the-farm applications for farmers and agricultural businesses across Georgia.

“Somebody’s got to speak up. I just happened to be the one that wasn’t scared to speak up and talk about what we needed down here,” Brim said.

Rhodes helped establish the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter in Perry, Georgia, working from the conceptual state in the mid-1980s to the first Georgia National Fair in 1990. He served an important role in the fairgrounds’ early years as the point person with city council members, county commissioners and state leaders in securing the land needed for the agricenter.

Because of Rhodes’ leadership and dedication, Georgia’s youth have a facility to showcase their projects and the state’s agriculture industry can be promoted. Since the Agricenter opened in 1990, it has attracted approximately 22 million people and made a $1.5 billion economic impact. Approximately 850,000 people visit the fairgrounds and agricenter annually, giving them some exposure to agriculture.

Rhodes’ efforts were previously recognized in 2016 when the fairgrounds’ Beef and Dairy Arena at the Georgia was named the “Foster Rhodes Beef and Dairy Arena.”

“Professionally and personally, I have the utmost regard for Foster. He is an outstanding member of the Georgia agricultural community and is highly respected by his peers,” said Chip Blalock, executive director of the Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition and a former Extension county agent. “I know Foster to be a strong Christian family man and I admire his integrity and honesty. There is no one more dedicated to and supportive of Georgia agriculture. He always goes beyond the norm to make a positive impact on his community and state.”

This year, recipients of CAES Alumni Awards of Excellence include Charlie Broussard, Ken Foster, Jaime Hinsdale Foster and Andrea B. Simao. CAES Young Alumni Achievement awards will be presented to Sara Dunn, Tamlin Hall and Franklin West.

Register to attend the banquet at www.caes.uga.edu/alumni or call Suzanne Griffeth, director of alumni engagement, at 706-542-3390.

Sponsors of the event include the UGA CAES Alumni Association, UGA CAES and Farm Credit Associations of Georgia.

For a list of past inductees into the Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame, see https://t.uga.edu/5dV.

Clint Thompson is an agriculture writer based in Tifton, Georgia.

Authors:
Clint Thompson
Experts/Sources:
Suzanne Griffeth
Brent Marable
Bill Brim will be inducted into the Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame on Oct. 4. Foster Rhodes will be inducted into the Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame on Oct. 4.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
Download Image
Some of the University of Georgia's extended campuses saw damage from Hurricane Helene. (Photo courtesy of Adam Fouche) CAES News
Relief efforts continue after Hurricane Helene 10/04/24
The University of Georgia community has rallied in the wake of Hurricane Helene, coming together to address damage done to campus facilities while also lending a helping hand to friends and neighbors hit hardest by the storm. While UGA’s main campus weathered the storm with relatively minor damage, the same could not be said for the Tifton campus, where heavy rains and high winds brought down trees and power lines, leaving the campus and surrounding area without power.
The University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education & Hotel saw some damage from the winds and rain of Hurricane Helene. (Photo by Andrew Davis Tucker/UGA) CAES News
UGA weathers Hurricane Helene 09/27/24
The University of Georgia’s main campus was fortunate to emerge relatively unscathed after Hurricane Helene barreled through the state early Friday morning. However, the impact was more significant at our extended campus locations. While the UGA Griffin campus reported no major damage, UGA-Tifton was hit much harder, with dozens of downed trees and power outages, as well as flooding in several buildings. Damage to farm operations across south Georgia appears to be extensive.
Yangxuan Liu, associate professor of agricultural and applied economics, reflects on her journey from medicine to agricultural economics. Her work supports farmers across Georgia while also empowering residents in her local community of Tifton. CAES News
CAES economist recognized as emerging leader for work supporting farmers 09/09/24 Claire Sanders Kinnard
For Yangxuan Liu, her career as an associate professor of agricultural and applied economics feels like equal parts coincidence and fate. “I was initially involved in agriculture because of my family farm in China. During breaks from school as a child, I would go visit my grandparents and work in their fields where they grow corn, wheat, cotton and other crops. This really gave me respect for the value of working the ground,” Liu said.
Nino Brown stands in front of a peanut field holding up a red net bag of harvested peanuts above his head as he speaks to participants in the Georgia Peanut Tour in 2022. CAES News
CAES experts study oil production to boost Georgia’s peanut power 09/05/24 Maria M. Lameiras
A new study by experts in the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is seeking to increase the value of Georgia’s peanut crops for new markets while reducing losses caused by aflatoxin, a consistent threat to the No. 1 peanut-producing state in the United States. The four-year, $490,000 grant will take a systems-based approach toward developing high-oil peanut varieties bred to withstand the unique climate and pest pressures of the Southeast.
Recent rankings from Forbes and The Princeton Review demonstrate continued excellence. CAES News
UGA ranks among best universities in the nation 08/30/24
The University of Georgia continues to solidify its position among the nation’s most prestigious institutions of higher education. “The University of Georgia’s impressive rankings by a host of national publications reflect the tremendous talent and hard work of our exceptional faculty, staff and students,” said UGA President Jere W. Morehead. “While individual rankings can fluctuate from year to year, UGA’s consistently strong performance across a wide range of criteria speaks to our position among the nation’s leading universities.”
Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium CAES News
Keep on the grass 08/29/24 Emily Cabrera, Scott Michaux
When the University of Georgia Bulldogs step between the hedges at Sanford Stadium, the grass on Dooley Field needs to look perfect. More importantly, though, it needs to help safeguard the health of athletes who compete on it. Gerald Henry plays a big role in the latter. The UGA Athletic Association’s endowed professor in environmental turfgrass leads a research team in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences committed to creating sports fields that look good and perform well to limit the occurrence of injuries.