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Thu., April 11, 2013 8:00am
Two high-ranking officials at the state Agriculture Department resigned after being accused of holding a drunken party that ended in skinny dipping with a female employee. The employees were at Lake Blackshear in south Georgia for training.
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Wed., April 10, 2013 7:52am
Two high-ranking officials have resigned at Georgia's Department of Agriculture. Chief Operating Officer Billy Skaggs and the director of the food safety division, Oscar Garrison, both resigned on March 30.
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Thu., February 28, 2013 3:57pm
Georgia has seen so much rain in the last two weeks, that there are no more areas of extreme or exceptional drought in the state. That helps farmers long-term, but some have had to delay planting due to all the rain.
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Wed., January 23, 2013 7:36pm
After cracking down on illegal immigrants, Georgia may eliminate a program meant to help farmers navigate the complicated process for getting visas for migrant laborers. Republican Gov. Nathan Deal's budget plan calls for cutting $150,000 in funding for two liaison positions at the Department of Agriculture. The employees were supposed to work as go-betweens, helping farmers use federal programs that grant visas to migrant laborers.
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Mon., December 31, 2012 1:42pm
Starting Tuesday, Georgia farmers will need a special card to get their sales tax exemption on seed, fertilizer, and other so-called "farm inputs." Until now, they’ve only had to fill out a form at the cash register attesting that they are eligible for the tax break.
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Fri., November 30, 2012 11:00am
State officials are offering funding to groups interested in running spay and neuter programs for pets. Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black said the money is intended to make pet sterilization more affordable to ease the strain on Georgia's animal shelters.
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Wed., November 14, 2012 11:13am
Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black will appear Wednesday at the Georgia Farm Bureau in Macon to urge growers to apply for a break exempting them from paying sales tax on the materials needed to grow their goods. That tax break starts Jan. 1 and is part of a package of tax changes that state lawmakers approved this year.
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Wed., August 22, 2012 11:45am
State agriculture and health officials are warning Georgians to take safety precautions while attending state fairs and other events this fall due to human infections from a flu virus normally found in pigs.
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Wed., July 11, 2012 6:00am
A state audit released last month said the Georgia Department of Agriculture isn’t doing enough inspections of the highest-risk food processing plants in the state. The department is changing that this month by starting to inspect the riskiest plants more often.
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Fri., October 7, 2011 3:34pm
A Southeast Georgia gas station chain is taking Georgia's Agriculture Commissioner to court over signs for gas prices. Parker's Market chain owner, Greg Parker, says Commissioner Gary Black's office told the chain not to post a lower gas price for people using the chain's debit card. Parker says, Black is overstepping his authority.
