Georgia Farmers and Consumers Market Bulletin: History, Classifieds, Content and Staff
Profile updated November 2026
The Georgia Market Bulletin, formally the Farmers and Consumers Market Bulletin, has served Georgia agriculture since 1917. Published by the Georgia Department of Agriculture, it is a market in print where farmers and rural Georgians buy and sell cattle, goats, hay, tractors and land through short subscriber classifieds, alongside department news and stories of rural life.
| First published | 1917, under Commissioner J.J. Brown |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Georgia Department of Agriculture |
| Frequency | Every two weeks, 26 issues a year |
| Subscription | $10 a year, print and digital |
| Reach | About 40,000 paid subscribers plus GATE cardholders |
| Editor | Jay Jones, since 2022 |
| Official website | AGR.Georgia.gov |
History of Georgia Farmers & Consumers Market Bulletin
Commissioner of Agriculture J.J. Brown, who served from 1917 to 1927, launched the Bulletin in 1917 as a market in print at a time when the boll weevil, which reached Georgia by 1915, was wrecking cotton and pushing farmers to diversify. Similar bulletins had appeared in South Carolina in 1913 and West Virginia in 1916, and Mississippi followed in 1928. No issues from before January 1926 survive.
For almost 70 years the Bulletin was weekly and free to anyone who signed up, and circulation peaked at about 230,000 before cost controls. It also had political moments: Eugene Talmadge, agriculture commissioner from 1926 to 1932 before becoming governor, used it for attacks on opponents until the Legislature limited it to ads, and he moved his views to the Southern Cultivator.
The department marked the Bulletin's centennial in 2017 with a Georgia House resolution, reprinted archival ads and articles, and a social media campaign. The Digital Library of Georgia, based at the University of Georgia Libraries, has digitized thousands of historic issues.
Georgia Farmers & Consumers Market Bulletin Today
The Bulletin now publishes 26 issues a year in print and online for $10, with a searchable archive and digital access for subscribers and for farmers holding a GATE card under Georgia's agricultural tax exemption program. A staff of two produces it, and Jay Jones, a former reporter for the Statesboro Herald, Savannah Morning News and Valdosta Daily Times, has edited it since 2022.
Classifieds are limited to 30 words, run in two consecutive issues and must fit an agriculture-related category, some of which require documentation. The department, headed by Commissioner Tyler J. Harper, also sells display advertising through a media kit.
What Georgia Farmers & Consumers Market Bulletin Is Publishing Now
Subscriber classifieds
Livestock, poultry, hay, equipment, farmland and farm jobs, from Hereford bulls to fainting goats, peafowl and reclaimed barn wood. Restorers of old tractors are now a large share of the machinery market.
Department news
Food safety, animal and plant disease alerts, regulatory notices and Georgia Grown program updates from the Department of Agriculture.
Rural life and calendar
Feature stories on Georgia farm people and history, plus a calendar of agricultural events edited by Jones.
Georgia Farmers & Consumers Market Bulletin Editors and Staff
The Bulletin and its publisher name these people:
- Jay Jones - Editor (since 2022)
- Tyler J. Harper - Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture
- J.J. Brown - Founding Commissioner (1917-1927)
The department lists MarketBulletin@agr.georgia.gov for general inquiries.
Who Reads Georgia Farmers & Consumers Market Bulletin
Readers are Georgia cattle and goat producers, hay growers, small landowners, tractor collectors and rural families, plus GATE-qualified farmers. Georgia is the nation's leading broiler state and a top producer of peanuts, pecans and cotton, and the Bulletin's categories reflect that diversity. Nationally, cattle made up 37% of animal product receipts in 2021, according to USDA ERS.
The Market Bulletin has carried ads for fainting goats and peafowl, which tells you its readers already have a sense of humor. farm.FM adds farm satire about Georgia peanut country, farm humor about tractor-parade restorers and ranch humor for Hereford breeders around Statesboro. Its farm jokes do not require a 30-word limit or a GATE card.
Part newsroom, part radio dial, farm.FM bills itself as America's first satirical farm site and plays Tractor Tunes, its country music for farmers. Browse a farm.FM writer's back catalog to see the style.
Georgia Farmers & Consumers Market Bulletin Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Georgia Department of Agriculture: Market Bulletin - subscriptions, classified rules and contacts.
- Statesboro Herald: Market Bulletin editor reviews its colorful past - history from editor Jay Jones.
- University of Georgia Libraries: historic agriculture bulletins online - the Digital Library of Georgia project.
- Athens CEO: Market Bulletin celebrating 100 years - the 2017 centennial.
- USDA ERS: Animal product receipts - national livestock income data.
Georgia Farmers & Consumers Market Bulletin FAQ
When did the Georgia Market Bulletin start?
In 1917, under Commissioner of Agriculture J.J. Brown.
How much does a Georgia Market Bulletin subscription cost?
$10 a year for 26 issues, including online access and classified ad placement.
How long can a classified ad be?
Up to 30 words; ads run in two consecutive issues and must fit an agricultural category.
Who edits the Market Bulletin?
Jay Jones, editor since 2022.
After more than a century, the Georgia Market Bulletin remains the place where Georgia farmers find each other, one short ad at a time.