One hundred and fifteen people from Georgia and South Carolina attended a U.S. Department of Agriculture-sponsored Presidential Roundtable Forum on job creation at Augusta State University earlier this week.

About 25 community leaders brainstormed solutions to high unemployment numbers and the impact on rural areas, while extra chairs were added as people continued to arrive.

“This forum provides an opportunity to share ideas on creating jobs and economic opportunities,” said Shirley Sherrod, state director of USDA Rural Development in Georgia.  “Government can help lay the groundwork for economic growth, but the best ideas for continued growth and job creation often come from local communities. We need the best ideas to share with the Obama Administration.”

The roundtable included business owners, residents, state and local officials, union members, non-profit organizations, community leaders, economists, educators and others interested in job creation and economic stability. Fred Smith, District Director of the Georgia Department of Labor, provided the state’s perspective, including the most current statistics on unemployment and the most promising areas of job growth – healthcare and education.

Representatives from Senators Isakson and Chambliss, and Congressmen Barrow and Broun were present. Congressman Broun sent a statement to be read by his representative, Nicole Avecedo.

“The primary purpose is to put South Carolinians back to work,” said Vernita F. Dore, state director of USDA Rural Development in South Carolina. “We all know that unemployment in our state is one of the highest in the nation, and this forum brings the opportunity to change that. It gives us the chance to remind rural America about the many programs that Rural Development has to address this economy’s problem.”

“Moreover,” Dore continued, “it gives Rural Development the opportunity to remind rural communities that Rural Development stands poised with direct and guaranteed loan and grant programs to finance and help to create jobs and stimulate the economy. We believe that this forum will truly generate ideas for job creation and economic expansion in our state.”

“Our rural areas have been hit very hard in some counties,” Sherrod said. “Most communities need more economic diversity to sustain tough times like this, and that usually means small businesses need more support. Rural Development does have programs to help rural areas address this issue.”

Willie Paulk, president of the Dublin-Laurens County (GA) Chamber of Commerce and Development Authority, listens as Jerome Tucker, Executive Director of the Southeast Agricultural Coalition, talks about the importance of regional leadership and a regional approach to solutions.

Mayme Dennis, City Council Member in Sandersville, GA, stresses the importance of streamlining government paperwork as Grace Fricks, President of Appalachian Community Enterprises, Inc. listens. Fricks agreed, suggesting that the 25% matching fund for Rural Development's Intermediary Relending Program be decreased or eliminated during the economic downturn. Frick's ACE makes micro-loans to small rural businesses in North Georgia.

Dr. Mark Miller, Dean of the James Hull College of Business at Augusta State University, talks about the importance of keeping education fully funded to prepare students for tomorrow. "There will be jobs in industries that have not yet been thought of using technologies that haven't been invented yet." He's seated next to Reginald Barner, President and CEO of The Barner Group in South Carolina.

Submitted by EJ Stapler and Marlous Black, USDA Rural Development

To learn more, go to the Rural Development and FSA Job Roundtables Schedule, and the News Release, “USDA to Host Roundtables on Jobs, Economic Growth”

While it was a bye week for the Georgia Bulldogs football there was plenty crunching of heads as Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan held a roundtable discussion at the University of Georgia College of Agriculture and Environmental Science. Deputy Secretary Merrigan traveled to Georgia to discuss USDA’s ‘Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food‘ initiative.

The roundtable focused on ways to educate the next generation of farmers, ranchers and consumers, and let them participate in the national conversation about how to develop local and regional food systems to support small and mid-sized farms and reinvigorate rural communities. The Deputy Secretary was joined at the table by Dean Scott Angle, Terry Coleman (Georgia Deputy Commissioner of Agriculture), Hobby Stripling (Georgia State Executive Director, USDA Farm Service Agency), Shirley Sherrod (Georgia State Director, USDA Rural Development), Bryan Barrett (Georgia Area Resource Conservationist, NRCS), University students and faculty and local agriculture leaders.

The University of Georgia is already actively promoting the principles of the ‘Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food’ initiative through farm to school programs, their Center for Urban Agriculture, a Certificate Program in Organic Agriculture, service learning, and through the promotion of community gardens on campus. Beyond campus, the school is reaching out to farmers and ranchers across Georgia via the UGA sustainable agriculture website and a newsletter.

Deputy Secretary Merrigan emphasized the expertise that exists out in the countryside and made it clear that USDA wants to bring those ideas together because what works in one region may not work well in another and letting local communities determine what works for them makes the initiative stronger. Georgia recently received agricultural support through the Specialty Crop Block Grants and used part of the funding to invest in new crops. Georgia now boasts over 110 acres of olives under cultivation. The local leaders stated that they were witnessing the start of a new era of farmers, younger farmers that want to produce new foods and diverse crops.

The first community garden in the newest city in the United States, founded in 2008, celebrated its grand opening during National Community Gardening Week. Read more »