Extension leaders, farm advocates honored at Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference

Specialty crop growers across the Southeast depend on Extension agents and industry partners to help them overcome agronomic challenges and produce an abundant harvest.

At the 2026 Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference, held Jan. 10 in Savannah, the Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association (GFVGA) honored those who have gone above and beyond to support the region’s fruit and vegetable industry.

Honoring excellence in Extension

The Donnie Morris Excellence in Extension Award went to Gopinath Munisamy, a distinguished professor of agricultural marketing in the University of Georgia’s Department of Agricultural & Applied Economics.

Munisamy compiled data points into a report that was shared with several lawmakers at the state level, proving the immense impact of Georgia’s fruit and vegetable farms to the state’s economy, according to GFVGA executive vice president Chris Butts.

The D.W. Brooks Award for Excellence in Publish Service Extension Programs was awarded to Jeff Cook, an agriculture and natural resources agent for University of Georgia Extension.

Cook is known across the Peach State as a leader in specialty crop research and education and has dedicated his career to serving farmers and rural communities. Cook has also mentored many extension agents, students and interns, helping to shape the future of Extension in the state.

Honoring growers

The 2025 Grower Achievement Award was presented to Aries Haygood, the owner-operator of A&M Farms, a Vidalia onion farm and packing operation in Lyons, Georgia. Haygood has held several executive positions on the GFVGA Board over the years and is also a member of the 2022 Fruit + Vegetable 40 Under Forty class.

“I try to stay humble about things but I kind of started to understand what it takes to get here, and I could tell that a lot of people had confidence and faith in me, and what I am trying to do is just make an impact,” Haygood said after winning the award. “It feels good, it feels really good.”

Haygood says growers in the southeast must band together to help overcome the tough times many in U.S. agriculture are experiencing.

“We have to really come together and communicate, talk about our struggles and listen to others. And take what folks are saying and work together to try to come up with the direction that we need to take the industry in, because it’s tough right now,” he added. “We all like to think we can do it on our own, but we can’t.”

Mark Sanchez, CEO, Lane Southern Orchards (Fort Valley, Georgia) was officially recognized as the 2026 Mr. Peach Award winner.

The Sunbelt Ag Expo Farmer of the Year award was presented to Kent Hamilton, CEO, Southern Valley Fruit and Vegetable (Norman Park, Georgia). Southern Valley stretches across 8,500 acres from Georgia to the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. The farm grows green beans, cabbage, trellis cucumbers, a variety of peppers and squash, sweet corn, trellis pickles and eggplant and owns 100 head of cows.

Dorothy Miles, along with her husband Allen, were honored with the Dan Bremer Service Award for the families’ advocacy on behalf of ag employers and farm workers. The Mileses own and operate Miles Berry Farm in Bexley, Georgia, along with their son Jamin. The family signed on to a GFVGA legal action as grower-plaintiffs to help the industry challenge H-2A regulations.

“I tell people my blood runs red, I’m a patriot, and I live in south Georgia so I got a lot of red clay between my toes; my granddaddy said not to worry about it, you don’t have to wash it out, it just kind of sticks with you…Farming is who I am, and I’ve raised my son to be the same way,” Miles said. “So, I think we’re a pretty good fit.”

Tifton, Georgia, vegetable farmer Bill Brim, president and owner of Lewis Taylor Farms, received the inaugural Charles Hall Leadership Award. Hall was the executive director emeritus of GFVGA and the founder and former CEO of Association Services Group, a LaGrange-based association management company. Hall passed away on January 20, 2025, at the age of 74.

“I was looking around the room for Charles yesterday, and I just miss him so much. He was such a dear friend to me,” Brim said. “I really appreciate this award.”

Rising professionals recognized

GFVGA also officially recognized members of the Fruit + Vegetable Growers News 40 Under Forty Class of 2025:

• Jordan Carter, Leger & Son.
• Joshua Dawson, Fort Valley State University Extension
• Garrett Hibbs, University of Georgia
• Zack Snipes, Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service

Two additional industry professionals earned recognition from Produce Business magazine’s 40 Under Forty:

• Jordan Carter, Leger & Son
• Marianna Skrine, Nickey Gregory Company

LAST YEAR – Southeast fruit and vegetable industry awards recognize leaders