TIFTON, GA – Congressman Austin Scott (GA-08), a senior member of the House Agriculture Committee, today released the following statement congratulating James Vaughn of Forsyth, Georgia for being named the 2018 Georgia Farmer of the Year at the Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie, Georgia.

“I’d like to congratulate Mr. James Vaughn for being named the 2018 Georgia Farmer of the Year. This is certainly a prestigious award, and it proves that although we have fallen on hard times in recent years, the farm economy in Georgia continues to grow, innovate, and thrive,” said Rep. Scott.

A native of Forsyth, Georgia, Vaughn operates a 5,590-acre diversified farm. Working as a team, Vaughn and his wife, sons and daughter grow Bermuda grass hay for the local and wholesale market, raise cattle for the specialized beef market, sell bred heifers and registered bulls, grow 4,000 acres of timber, and train cutting horses. Vaughn also provides legal assistance in farm-related areas as a partner in the law firm of Vaughn, Wright and Boyer LLP.

Since its inception in 1990, the Swisher Sweets / Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year Award has evolved into the most prestigious honor in the southeast and nation with 245 outstanding agribusiness leaders being honored for their “excellence in agriculture.” Ten states participate in the program: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

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