OMEGA, Ga. — Brian Ponder, co-owner of Pond-O-Gold Farms and Brian and Ken Ponder Farms located in Omega, Georgia, has been named the 2022 Conservationist of the Year by the Georgia Association of Conservation Districts (GACD) for his outstanding contributions to natural resource conservation.

Ponder is a fourth generation farmer from Tift County. He still lives on the original farm that his great-grandfather moved to in 1884, which began as just 96 acres, according to a press release about the award from GACD.

The farm has been in the family for 138 years and the Ponders still find something to do every year to try and make it more productive while taking care of it, the release said. The family farm — what is now 3,000 acres of peanuts, cotton, corn, watermelons, pecans, and pine timber — embodies a “commitment to conservation” including reduction of water usage and erosion control through strip tillage. Ponder’s father was big on conservation back in the 1970s and instilled those practices in Brian and his brother, Ken. Their dad always said, “If you take care of this land, it will take care of you.”

Brian and Ken take that to heart in making decisions for their farm on a day-to-day basis. Ponder said he is very proud that he and Ken were the first farmers ever to strip till cotton into cover crops in Tift and Colquitt counties. They are passionate about taking care of the land and using innovative ways to do it, the press release said.

Soil health, conserving water, and reducing diesel emissions are a few of the factors that go into the management of Ponder’s farm, the GACD said. All of the peanuts and cotton on the farm are strip-tilled into cover crops which reduces soil disturbance and erosion. Additionally, they are working towards getting all cover crops in without any tillage. He uses the installation of terraces and waterways to reduce erosion and has even helped other local farmers with installing terraces and waterways. In terms of conserving water, all of their irrigation systems have drop nozzle technology and regulators, are low pressure, and almost all have been converted from diesel pumping systems to electricity. All of these measures are to help reduce water usage and to improve efficiency. He also uses organic matters for fertilizers such as chicken litter and gin trash.

Beyond conservation measures put in place on his farm, Ponder has been very active in the conservation community with outreach and awards. He has been a district supervisor for 20 years for the Middle South Georgia Soil & Water Conservation District and serves as Group 3 Vice President for GACD. He has been Conservationist of the Year for Tift County, Tift County Farmer of the Year, ABAC Alumni of the Year, and served on the Conservation Tillage Alliance.

When asked what his biggest honor has been, Ponder responded with a story about a widowed neighbor. He rented land from her and eventually was able to purchase her land when she passed. Word got back to Ponder that she had been telling people in the community all of the conservation efforts he was putting in place and that a lot of people were going to owe him for all that he was doing for the land. Brian was so honored that she had such incredible things to say.

“Simply put, he loves land and works every single day to better take care of it,” the GACD said. “His willingness to put in place conservation practices and sharing how important he believes it is with the community speaks for itself. People like Brian are critical to the future of conserving our land.”

“Brian and his family embody the ‘commitment to conservation’ this award was designed to acknowledge,” said Mark Masters, president of GACD. “By embracing best management practices and other technologies, his operation is a prime example that a strong conservation ethic can still translate to consistently good yields and productivity. We congratulate them on this honor and wish them luck as they compete to represent Georgia for the national Friend of Conservation award to be announced next month.”

The mission of the Georgia Association of Conservation Districts (GACD) is to advocate for the conservation of Georgia’s natural resources by providing organization, leadership and a unified strategic direction to the Conservation Districts of the state. For more information on GACD or to explore opportunities on how you can support its efforts, please visit us online at www.gacd.us or on Facebook @GACDConserve.