QUITMAN —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 2023 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 Brooks County USDA Service Center in Quitman, Ga on Thursday, March 21, 2024.

Congratulations to Russell Griffin for being awarded Tift County’s Conservationist of the Year. His family owns and operates a sixth generation family farm involved in the production of cotton, peanuts, pecans, hay, and cattle. Over the last several years their operation has utilized the NRCS EQIP and CSP programs to help further their conservation efforts. They use the practices of terracing, grassed waterways, and buffer strips around field edges to reduce erosion.

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