Rayburn lauded for conservation efforts

November 17, 2009

Staff report The Times Enterprise Tue Nov 17, 2009, 10:52 AM EST

The Middle South Georgia Soil and Water Conservation District and its cooperating banks held the 2009 Conservationist of the Year Awards Banquet on Nov. 5 at the Tifton Agrirama. With more than 100 people in attendance to recognize the conservationist winners, Thomas County was represented by Brian Rayburn.

Rayburn owns and operates a 1,300-acre row crop farm in Thomas County that includes family land dating back four generations. The farm consists primarily of cotton and peanuts, but also includes such diversified crops such as corn, wheat and soybeans. Some cropland is also left uncultivated to provide for wildlife habitat.

He utilizes a number of techniques to minimize soil erosion and conserve natural resources — including the planting of winter cover crops, strip-tillage, maintaining terraces, grassed waterways, and a good crop rotation.

Recently, a pivot irrigation system on the farm was retrofitted with low-pressure nozzles in order to conserve and use water more efficiently. Rayburn follows a nutrient management plan that includes annual soil sampling and utilization of variable rate applications of lime and fertilizers.

He also works closely with his local NRCS representatives to always ensure that good stewardship of natural resources remains a priority on his farm.

He has been married to his wife, Sherri, for five years. She is a certified public accountant who works in Thomasville.

She provides the important accounting and financial information and detailed record keeping the farm needs in making quick decisions. He graduated from Thomasville High School and attended The University of Georgia.

He began farming with his grandfather, Carl Rayburn, who was honored as Thomas County’s Farmer of the Year in 1990.

After a lifetime of watching and learning from his grandfather, Brian began farming on his own in 1998.

The Rayburns attend First Baptist Church in Thomasville.