Georgia Magazine - July 2019 - 15

Georgia's EMCs
salute agriculture

Young visitors hear about
electricity from Mitchell
EMC representatives
Heather Greene (from left),
Nathan Ireland and Sherrie
Adams at Third-Graders
Learn Ag on March 20 at the
Mitchell County Ag Pavilion.

eorgia's electric membership cooperatives (EMCs) celebrated Georgia Ag
Awareness Week in a variety of ways March 18-22.
Mitchell EMC in Camilla collaborated with Mitchell County Extension, Baker
County Extension and other organizations to sponsor several activities, including
Third-Graders Learn Ag, an informational event for more than 300 third-graders from
local schools. Mitchell EMC contributed an exhibit at which students learned how
electricity is produced and delivered.
The EMC also sponsored the Mitchell County Agricultural Photography Contest,
which awarded ribbons to the winners and honorable mentions in four age categories
(third through fifth grade; sixth through eighth grade; ninth through 12th grade; and
adults) and cash prizes to the first-place winner of each category ($50) and to the overall winner ($75). There were 22 participants in the contest, and the overall winner was
"Quality," a photo of American metal signs by Isabella Holley.
For the second straight year, Tucker-based Georgia EMC partnered with the Georgia Farm Bureau to provide copies of an agriculture-related book to all public libraries
in the state. This year's selection was "Right This Very Minute: A Table-to-Farm Book
About Food and Farming" by Lisl H. Detlefsen.
Some EMCs celebrated Georgia Ag Awareness Week with social media posts
about the agriculture-related projects under way at local schools using grants from the
cooperatives. Diverse Power in LaGrange shared a photo of students at Heard County
High School in Franklin working in the school's greenhouse. Jackson EMC in Jefferson
spotlighted a garden tower at Twin Rivers Middle School in Buford that is meant to
demonstrate growing healthy food in small spaces.
Several Georgia EMCs commemorated the week on social media with tributes
to farmers and facts about the state's agriculture industry. Here are a few of the facts
shared in "did you know?" posts by EMCs:
* Each Georgia dairy cow provides an average of 2,533 gallons of milk per year. The
peach is a member of the rose family. -Carroll EMC in Carrollton
* Georgia is the nation's leading pecan producer, averaging 100 million pounds per
year. Three of every four Georgia counties are involved in poultry and egg production. Every Georgia county has cattle farms. Each ear of corn has an average of 16
rows and 800 kernels. -Hart EMC in Hartwell
* Corn is grown in every Georgia county. A bale of cotton weighs about 480 pounds.
Nearly half of the peanuts grown in the nation are from Georgia. -Sumter EMC in
Americus
Debra Cox of Mitchell County Extension contributed to this article.

COBB EMC

DEBRA COX / MITCHELL COUNTY EXTENSION

SHORTTakes

Ready for its close-up: Mariettabased Cobb Electric Membership Corp.
(EMC) played a role in the recent renovation of Cyclorama: The Big Picture at the
Atlanta History Center. Close observers
will see "telegraph wire" that really is
aged, oxidized copper wire donated by
the cooperative. Above, Kevan Espy, senior vice president of electric operations
at Cobb EMC, displays the wire.
Camp scholarships: Jackson-based
Central Georgia EMC donated $2,000
in Operation Round Up funds to Butts
County 4-H to provide scholarships for
youngsters to attend its summer camp.
In Operation Round Up, members opt to
round their monthly bills to the next dollar, and the difference is put into a fund
for charitable causes.
Fueled by electricity: Tri-County EMC
in Gray and the Milledgeville-Baldwin
Chamber of Commerce co-hosted EV19,
an event to introduce the public to the
benefits of electric vehicles, on April 26
at Central Georgia Technical College's
Milledgeville campus. About 150 people
attended the event, at which they could
test-drive and learn more about the
vehicles.
Travel agents: The Wrens-based
Jefferson Energy Cooperative Foundation
presented $3,654 in Operation Round Up
funds to the Wrens Elementary School
Junior Beta Club. The funds supported
the school engineering team's trip to the
National Junior Beta Club Convention in
June in Oklahoma City.

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Georgia Magazine - July 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - July 2019