GA Agriculture Commissioner speaks on crops

TATTNALL CO., GA (WTOC) - Tourism isn't just for the big cities anymore. Plenty of people want to see farms and small towns for a change of pace.

Communities along one of our local highways hope they can draw people off the bustling interstates.

U.S. Highway 301 used to be the road Northern Snowbirds took to Florida before I-95 opened. Now, towns along that corridor hope they have the idea to get those travelers to come back.

Businesses from Screven County to Charlton brought what they sell as they celebrated a new effort to combine Georgia Grown crops and regional tourism. Each county teams with Georgia's tourism and agriculture departments to showcase reasons to visit the small towns, and take some of the local flavor with them.

"This could be the biggest shot in the arm for rural Georgia in a couple of generations, because people want to buy from local people," said Commissioner Gary Black, Georgia Department of Agriculture.

They will hang signs along the road and at the businesses who take part. They also find new businesses that thought they were too small to be a tourist draw, and help them grow.

Communities hope the folks who would prefer to enjoy their trip instead of racing through it will stop and see what they have to offer.

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