Georgia Agriculture
Agriculture 
Facts & Firsts

Agriculture reaches from Main Street in your hometown to Wall Street and beyond!

 
  • The first agricultural experiment farm and station was established
  • The first silk from the colonies was shipped from Savannah and made into a dress for the Queen of England.
  • Georgia was the first colony to cultivate grapes.
  • Go Dawgs!Georgia was the first state to charter a state university, the University of Georgia, in 1785.
  • The first export of American cattle was from Savannah in 1785.
  • The first export of cotton to England was from St. Simons Island in 1788. 
  • The cotton gin was invented near Savannah in 1793. 
  • Georgia was the first state to grow cotton for commercial use and the first southern state to operate a commercially successful cotton mill.
  • Georgia was first to create a state department of agriculture.
  • The first southern school of forestry was established at the University of Georgia in 1906.
  • The first state forestry center and forest fire lab were established in Macon, in 1959.

  • President Jimmy CarterJimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States, grew up on a peanut farm in the small farming community of Plains, Georgia.

  • The first agricultural exhibit at any Olympic games was hosted by Georgia in 1996. The exhibit was located at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta.