Critical Issues Facing the Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resources Industries in the State of Georgia

Throughout the United States, the agricultural, forestry, and natural resource industries are facing a multitude of challenges. While each industry is facing unique challenges on a national level, these challenges vary in scope and topic, and they are not necessarily generalizable to smaller geographic regions. Based on the socio-economic importance of agriculture in the state, along with five distinct geographic regions ranging from coastal to mountainous, this study compiled a comprehensive list of critical issues facing the agricultural, forestry, and natural resource industries in the state of Georgia. The study used the Delphi methodology with an expert panel composed of agricultural, forestry, and natural resource opinion leaders. Using a three-round consensus-building process, a total of 40 critical issues were identified with eight items receiving 100% agreement amongst the panelists. The final list of items were then analyzed using the constant comparative method to identify themes within the retained items. Six themes emerged based on the analysis, including (alphabetically) economic considerations, operations and infrastructure, policy, public perceptions, regulations, and workforce. The proposed themes, and subsumed critical issues, represent a heuristic framework within which to facilitate dialogue amongst agricultural, forestry, and natural-resource-related industries, as well as inform future research and praxis oriented efforts.