KENT HAMILTON | 2025 GEORGIA FARMER OF THE YEAR
Cultivating a legacy
from South Georgia to the Sunbelt Expo
by Akilah C. Clarke | photography by Jill Stringfellow Photography
Before dawn, mist drifts across hundreds of rolling rows laid under black plastic, each ridge barely visible until the first amber glow of sunrise paints the horizon. A lone tractor hums, its headlights dancing through dew-tipped leaves of pepper plants, and somewhere beyond the Georgia pines, a grower pauses to take it all in. This is the world of Kent Hamilton, the 2025 Georgia Farmer of the Year, whose hands-on journey began long before formal titles or recognition.
In mid-October, Kent will carry Georgia’ s governor-appointed slot to the Sunbelt Expo’ s Southeastern Farmer of the Year competition. He’ ll stand before judges alongside growers from Alabama, Florida, and beyond— each representing their state’ s proudest produce traditions.“ It’ s a big honor for our organization to be able to represent Georgia in this year’ s Farmer of the Year,” he said.
Raised on the edge of cultivated fields and construction lots, Kent didn’ t plow full time as a child. Summers spent helping his father, Benny, build custom homes and remodel local houses taught him the value of hard work and craftsmanship. His mother, Wanda, came from a long line of growers— her father and brother were farmers, and young Kent sometimes joined them in the fields during school breaks.“ My grandfather and my uncle farmed, and sometimes during the summer we would work with my daddy doing construction work, and other summers we would work with my uncle,” he explained.
When college life led Kent toward dentistry for two and a half years, the grind of lecture halls and lab coats dimmed the joy in his days.
“ I got burnt out on school, and I kept questioning if that was really what I wanted to do,” he admitted.“ I decided to take a break and come back home.”
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