FITZGERALD — The Middle South Georgia Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), a local agency dedicated to the conservation and stewardship of the area’s natural resources, honored the 2022 Conservationists of the Year in each county within its area. The service area includes Ben Hill, Brooks, Colquitt, Crisp, Irwin, Thomas, Tift, Turner and Worth counties. The Conservationist of the Year Banquet was held at The Fitzgerald Pillars in Fitzgerald, Ga on Thursday, March 16, 2023.

 Congratulations to Caleb Overman for being awarded Tift County’s Conservationist of the Year. His conservation practices include implementing cover crops without tillage, strip-tilling row crops, using chicken litter as an organic fertilizer source, terraces, grass waterways and field edges. He operates with a strong conviction that although producing crops on the land is vitally important, the real value is in the land itself.

The Middle South Georgia Soil and Water Conservation District is a unit of state government that directs natural resource management programs in Ben Hill, Brooks, Colquitt, Crisp, Irwin, Thomas, Tift, Turner and Worth counties. The Conservation District works with farmers, landowners, and with other units of government to educate and actively promote programs and practices that support the conservation, and use and development of soil, water, and related resources. More information can be found at www.gacd.us/middlesouthgeorgia.