Doerun farmer recognized for four decades of tilling the land

Feb. 18—DOERUN — For Bart Davis, taking over the family farm at the ripe age of 18 wasn't a choice. It was a role he was thrust into.

"When I was a senior in high school, my daddy found out he had cancer in the fall of '81," the 58-year-old farmer said.

On Dec. 7 of that year, Davis' father was scheduled to have surgery for lung cancer when another tragedy struck.

"My mom died with a stroke that morning," he said. "I turned 18 on Feb. 21 in '82. Daddy died April 23. I took over the farm. I took over the farm at 18."

Since that time, Davis' family and farm have grown. He married his wife Paula at age 20, and now sons Lakyn, Jedd and Trey are part of the operation, as are son-in-law Taylor Butler and a niece and her husband.

Paula Davis has been a part of the farm operation from the beginning as well.

This year Davis was recognized by the University of Georgia as the Georgia Farmer of the Year. Along with that honor, Davis is the Georgia entry in the Southeastern Farmer of the Year competition, an annual event at the Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie.

"We're a family farm," Davis said. "Daddy was farming 800 acres; now we're farming about 7,500 acres. We normally employ 10 to 14 people."

The Davises' operation includes cotton, the primary crop, as well as corn, peanuts and cattle.

Among the factors that brought Davis statewide recognition is his environmental stewardship and industry leadership roles.

He is the current chairman of the Georgia Cotton Commission Board and is a voting delegate on the National Cotton Council. He also represents his home state with Southern Cotton Growers and Cotton Incorporated. Davis also chairs the Georgia Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation.

On the conservation side, Davis was recognized as the Quail Forever and Pheasants Forever's Precision Farmer of the Year in 2021.

The family operation incorporates cover crops and is nearly 100% irrigated using low-pressure irrigation to save water and soil water sensors to monitor soil moisture that allow for applying irrigation where it is needed most.

"Conservation is important because of taking care of your land and taking care of your environment," he said. "Farmers are the best conservationists out there. That's how you make your living, plus you want to protect it for future generations."

Another conservation effort has seen the farm take low-yield acreage out of production and devote it to growing flowering plants for pollinators like bees. While none of his crops requires bees for pollination, it has a benefit for other species.

Farming has become a battle of production, as prices have remained about the same even as the costs of all of the modern equipment and farm inputs have skyrocketed. The war in Ukraine that started a year ago cut off supplies of fertilizer, and shortages meant low supplies and sticker shock for farmers.

Hurricane Michael in 2018 devastated the cotton crop during harvest season, but good prices since that time have enabled most farmers to recover, Davis said. This year prices are looking down, so managing operations will be even more crucial.

"What's kept us in business is the yield," Davis said. "A lot of the time we're selling it for the same thing (as) 40 years ago."

Davis said he is appreciative of the recognition and of four decades in the business.

"This will be my 42nd crop this year," he said. "We're real blessed and fortunate. I'm a second-generation farmer. My children's the third generation on this farm. That's what we do. That's what we love. We love farming."

Davis' farm is worthy of the recognition, Colquitt County extension agent Jeremy Kichler said.

"It's well-deserved," he said. "He's a great guy. It's a family operation. They're good, business-minded people."