BRANTLEY COUNTY, Fla. — We’re hearing how the Highway 82 wildfire is impacting farms in Brantley County.
Agriculture is Georgia’s number one industry.
Rebecca Morris is the owner of M & B Farm and Hatchery in Brantley County.
“We bought the property in November of 2019,” said Morris. “We have a hatchery here where we do a lot of our feathered friends, and we also have sanctuary animals that stay here with us forever.”
They sell baby birds, animals, and they are USDA certified to sell beef and pork to a local butcher shop.
“Our biggest seller is all of our baby birds,” said Morris. “From March to about June, that’s when everybody wants baby birds.
When the Highway 82 fire broke out, Morris was luckily able to evacuate most of her animals. Her pens and coops survived the fire. However, she’s not able to sell her baby birds or meat right now.
“Most people, I think, are just not calling us right now because they know that we’re in the middle of a crisis,” said Morris.
But she’s not just worried about right now. She’s worried about the years to come because fire burned all of the hay.
“Long term, we’re going to have to find different places to outsource hay that’s going to come from further. So it’s going to make prices go up,” said Morris.
Despite the difficulty that lies ahead, Morris says she is confident that her business will continue to carry on.
We reached out to Georgia’s Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper to find out how much damage the wildfires in Southeast Georgia have on the state’s AG industry. We are still waiting to hear back.
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