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Abstract
The landscape of agriculture in Georgia in recent years has been changing. Low commodity prices, rising input costs, and recent droughts, along with a host of other factors, have caused Georgia producers to consider alternative enterprises in an effort to generate additional value from the land. Further, the continued population growth and growth of metropolitan areas has altered the perception and role of agriculture in the State of Georgia. These factors have created both opportunities and potential problems for agriculture. Opportunities exist for producers to market their products and services for the enjoyment of a rapidly growing population. Potential problems occur as the growing population and producers learn to co-exist in the same areas. In response to these issues, researchers in the Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development in the Department of Agriculture and Applied Economics at the University of Georgia conducted a survey. Survey questions were asked over the telephone by the University of Georgia’s Survey Research Center in January and February of 2001. During the survey period, 858 randomly selected households were contacted. Of those eligible households, 395 gave complete responses to the survey, which yields a 46% response rate. This publication summarizes the general characteristics of the survey population. It covers the basic facts about those surveyed, such as age and sex. A very basic comparison to the population of Georgia is also made in this paper. In general, it appears the sample group is slightly more educated, wealthy and white as opposed to the population of Georgia. However, these differences appear to be minor. The similarities are enough to indicate the results of this survey are reflective of the general Georgia attitude.