On Tuesday, Governor Brian Kemp signed two agriculture-related bills into law, meant to boost the state’s citrus fruit production and farmland conservation efforts.
House Bill 545, carried by Rep. Chas Cannon and Sen. Sam Watson, creates the Agricultural Commodity Commission for Citrus Fruits, which will help fund research, education and promotion programs for the industry.
Senate Bill 220 , carried by Sen. Russ Goodman and Rep. Robert Dickey, creates the Georgia Farmland Conservation Fund which will provide matching grants to support agricultural conservation easements.
Both HB 545 and SB 220 received broad bi-partisan support in the legislature.
As Georgia's largest industry, agribusiness and related fields provide an annual economic impact of over $73 billion and sustain roughly 341,000 jobs throughout the state.
