There is, arguably, no single individual who has brought more national attention to agriculture and the state of Georgia than Jimmy Carter, 39th president of the United States, who grew up in the tiny farming community of Archery, Georgia, about 3 miles outside of Plains.
A member of the Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame, which is housed at the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Carter is revered for his activism, compassion and overarching humility, as well as his influence on agriculture and public health.
After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1946, Carter served as a submariner in the U.S. Navy’s Atlantic and Pacific fleets before returning to Georgia with his wife, Rosalynn, and their children in 1953 to run the Carter family peanut farm and warehouse in Plains.
He began his political career on the local level, serving on the school board in Plains before his 1962 election to the Georgia Senate. In 1971 he became Georgia’s 76th governor. On Nov. 2, 1976, Carter became the first native Georgian elected to serve as president of the U.S. During his time in political office, Carter remained a steadfast supporter of Georgia agriculture.
Georgia Farm Bureau President Tom McCall said that former President Carter’s contributions to agriculture have helped shape the way others think about agricultural production.
“The former president is easily recognized as the most famous peanut farmer, and his work in and out of the fields in south Georgia have given others a different level of respect for farming and agriculture,” said McCall, who was inducted into the Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame in 2022. “Mr. Carter’s national campaign 47 years ago helped others better understand the plight of rural Americans. For those connected to Georgia’s No. 1 economic driver, we can all appreciate that.”
“It is with deep gratitude that Mr. Carter dedicated himself to a rural lifestyle and tirelessly worked on behalf of…
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