SAVANNAH — Georgia Association of Conservation Districts elected Brian Ponder as vice president at their annual meeting held on Aug. 6-8, in conjunction with the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) Southeast Region Meeting in Savannah.

As vice president, Ponder will assist with leading GACD as they work with federal and state partners of the United States Department of Agriculture and with all 40 Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Districts in the promotion of natural resources conservation, the GACD said in a press release.

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. 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 press release said

Ponder and his family farm what is now 3,000 acres of peanuts, cotton, corn, watermelons, pecans, and pine timber. The farm embodies a “commitment to conservation” including reduction of water usage and erosion control through strip tillage, the GACD said.

“Brian’s father was big on conservation back in the ’70s and instilled those practices in Brian and his brother, Ken,” the press release said. “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. 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.”

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 21 years for the Middle South Georgia Soil & Water Conservation District and has served 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. This year, he was awarded Conservationist of the Year by GACD as well as the National Association of Conservation Districts Friend of Conservation award.