The cattle industry is possibly Georgia’s oldest agricultural pursuit dating back to the Georgia Colony established in 1732 by King George ll. The colony, the last of the original 13 American colonies, was governed during its first 20 years by the Georgia Trustees, appointed by the king. One of its key members was General James Oglethorpe who spent ten years in Georgia. Among the inducements to attract settlers from Europe to the colony was an offer of free passage, land and cattle.
Even though agriculture is no longer the largest employer in the state, cattle have played an important role throughout the ups and downs of our agrarian history. Today the Georgia cattle industry is big business. Cattle are raised in all 159 Georgia counties. Beef cattle is the fifth largest commodity produced in Georgia after poultry, cotton, peanuts and timber. According to the Georgia Cattleman’s Association, there are approximately 15,000 cattle producers in the State, most of which have fewer than 100 head, yet, according to the US Department of Agriculture farmers raised 478,000 head of beef cattle plus 92,000 milk cows in 2023. Cattle farm revenue, or gate value, is about $658 million according to the USDA.
The North Georgia Cattleman’s Association is one of 75 county and area cattlemen’s associations in the state. The goal of the organization is to protect and preserve the state’s cattle heritage.
For more than ten years until his retirement last year, Billy Martin was president of the North Georgia association. At one point he was the largest cattle operator in the area with more than 200 head of Hereford beef cattle on rented land and on his 100 acre farm, or ranch, in the Free Home community where North Fulton, Cherokee and Forsyth counties come together. He calls his farm Sunset Ridge. Like many cattlemen, Billy took to cattle raising…
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