COLUMBUS, Ga. – The Georgia Organics Conference planted its roots in Columbus this year. The conference brought together close to 1,000 folks to learn, eat and network with each other.

Local farmer Chris Jackson, who attended the conference, works on Jenny Jack Sun Farm in Pine Mountain. He grows a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, and raises pigs and chickens for eggs.

He says when people are spending their food dollars with a local farm, they are keeping those dollars close to home.

“Also, our food is grown close to home and so it’s not traveling in a truck thousands of miles away so it’s fresher. It’s more nutritious. I think it tastes a lot better because it was just picked,” Jackson said.

Jackson says they focus on improving soil from year-to-year. He does this by cover cropping and using compost. He thinks improving soils helps improve the taste of fruits and vegetables.

Jackson says the Georgia Organics Conference has been important to him over the past nine years they’ve been farming. He credits the conference with helping him grow relationships with farmers across the state.

The conference wrapped up with the “Farmers Feast” where folks enjoyed food grown by farmers and prepared by local chefs.