South East Farm Press Logo

The Sunbelt Expo will take place Oct. 18-20 in Moultrie, Ga.

Brad Haire, Executive Editor

October 10, 2022

5 Min Read
jerry-tillman-1-c.jpg
Brad Haire

Jerry Tillman likes to meet people, especially those who annually visit the Sunbelt Ag Expo each October. It is no stretch to say over the last three decades he has passed along the good word about Southeast agriculture and the Expo to thousands of people from all walks of life.

“Everyone at the Expo and the visitors I’ve ever met over the years were good, respectful people and really wanted to know more about agriculture and what happens in the fields at the Expo. I think the Expo draws a special type of person,” said Tillman, sitting under the shade of his farm shop in early August, just a few miles down the road from the Expo’s main gate.

Each year for three days in October, the Sunbelt Ag Expo attracts visitors from across the country and world to Spence Field in Moultrie, Ga. One of the show’s primary draws is the Expo’s 600-acre Darrell Williams Research Farm. The real-working farm’s popular field demonstrations become the place to see firsthand how the region’s crops are harvested and handled in the fall.

The Sunbelt Expo will take place Oct. 18-20.

Also at the Expo farm, land-grant university and industry agronomists and scientists conduct research to improve the production of the region’s major row crops, like peanuts, cotton, corn, soybeans and forages.

Demonstrations

In 1993, Darrell Williams, the Expo’s long-serving farm manager and the farm’s namesake, asked Tillman and his son, Anthony, if they’d help with the Expo’s harvest demonstrations and maybe help tend to the crowds who came to watch them. Tillman and Williams grew up together and were friends. Williams has since passed.

“One of the mainstays of the Expo since 1993 is Jerry Tillman in the field demos. Jerry’s love of people and knowledge of agriculture make him a real asset on our team,” said Chip Blalock, executive director of the Sunbelt Expo.

Over the years, Tillman has helped at the Expo’s cotton and peanut harvesting demonstrations, assisted exhibitors from across the country setup in the fields, and happily tended to the visitors during the show. Over the last few years, he has manned the tillage demonstrations. It is coincidence his last name perfectly fits that post.

He said ever encounter with visitors is unique, but a few have stood out.

One year, a group of Russian farmers arrived at the field demonstration site. Through an interpreter, Tillman and the Russians had a good talk about how Georgia produces the best and most peanuts in the United States. They kept asking questions.

Another year, Tillman met two African American men. Getting to know them a bit better, he learned they were heading to meet their father and other siblings at the flight tower on the grounds to recreate a photo they took at the Expo when they were children. “That was really interesting and special for them,” he said.

He said one of the biggest surprises was the year three Osprey helicopters fly low over his head in the demonstration fields. He later learned it was then-Vice President Mike Pence arriving to give an unannounced speech to the crowd at the Expo’s opening day luncheon. Tillman didn’t see or meet Pence but said it’s just another example of the people the Expo draws.

Farmer

Tillman, 74, has farmed his whole life, along with his family for several generations, down the road from the Expo. Years ago, the Tillman farm was based on tobacco and peanut production. In 1966, he and his father, Otis, were recognized for highest peanut yield in the state, hitting 4,400 pounds per acre.

In the early 2000s, the old federal tobacco and peanut quota systems faded away, along with a good bit of tobacco production and infrastructure in the area. Peanuts remain a major crop for the region.

“Tobacco and peanuts helped pay for a lot of farms and other good things in our area,” he said.

Tillman is semi-retired from farming now, but he doesn’t sit still. He’s a natural machinist and tinkerer, and over the years he’s honed his skills working on and ‘improving’ his farm equipment. But also there in his shed was a recently well-put-together log splitter he manufactured, along with a handy, practical nutcracking machine with adjustable parts for different types of nuts. Several other projects were in the works.

But if you really want to get him going, ask him about the ‘garden’ tractors parked under the shed. He has several nice ones he built, ranging from 12 horsepower to 25 horsepower.

Puller

He’s involved in the garden tractor pulling association, a community of like-minded folks who enjoy souping up garden tractors and figuring ways to have fun out-pulling each other on the track. He had a pull in a nearby town the coming weekend. The garden tractors pull a sled weighing anywhere from 3,500 to 5,000 pounds, he said.

Drawing on his personable skills with people, Tillman over the last four decades each Sunday afternoon has visited friends and soon-to-be friends at the nine assisted living facilities in the area. It’s part of the ministry for his church. “Covid interrupted our visits for a while, but we’ve been able to do what we can and still make those visits when and where we can,” he said.

Agriculture has changed a lot over the last three decades, he said. The tractors and equipment are bigger, more precise and more technical to operate. At the Expo over the years, Tillman has had a good position see the technological evolution.

“To think about what we had two or three decades ago, which we thought then was pretty good, to what is in fields today is something else. It’s changed,” he said.

Tillman doesn’t plan to make any changes to his relationship with the Sunbelt Ag Expo. So, grab a shuttle to the field demonstrations during the Expo, and when you are out there, look for Mr. Tillman. He’d be happy to visit with you.

“I plan on being there every year for as long as they’ll have. It’s something I still enjoy and look forward to,” he said.

Tillman has been married to Diane for 53 years and they also have a daughter named Allison.

About the Author(s)

Subscribe to receive top agriculture news
Be informed daily with these free e-newsletters

You May Also Like