The eminent visionary and innovator in American agriculture, D.W. Brooks, was born in 1901 in Franklin County at Royston (pop. 578). From an early age he developed an affinity for farming on his father’s red clay farms located near Royston.
Over a long and exemplary life, his interest never lessened. It deepened and strengthened.
After entering the University of Georgia at age 16, he earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in agronomy. He then taught in the College of Agriculture until 1925. The academic years convinced him better farming methods could elevate both lives and the ag economy.
Innovations and improvements were badly needed.
Throughout the southern region, and well into the 1930s, conditions were appalling, caused mainly by collapse of farm prices following World War I. They would not fully recover until the outbreak of World War II. Agriculture and rural America sank into the Great Depression two decades before the 1929 crash on Wall Street.
Beginning in the 1920s and causing plenty of pain, was an unwanted visitor-the black-snouted boll weevil. The outrageous pest had wrecked Georgia’s vast cotton commodity.
By 1932, per capita income for Georgia farmers fell to $72.
Farm foreclosures became common sights, while in Savannah, banks financing cotton production and the export market failed.
The few tourists who jostled their way across the Georgia countryside survived to tell of ramshackle farm structures, tumble down fences, eroded fields and anemic children.
Brooks believed farm cooperatives held promise. In 1933, in Carroll County, he and five farmers founded the Cotton Producers Association (CPA) — a farm cooperative.
As time passed, the CPA established a network of farm supply stores carrying seed, fertilizer and farm chemicals. Under Brooks’ leadership, CPA’s expansion included poultry, peanuts, pecans, soybeans, eggs and livestock — in markets worldwide.
For 47 years CPA suffered no losses. In 1974, it merged with Gold Kist.
The Georgia corn crop in Depression year 1935 was planted on 4,508,000 acres, with an average yield of 10.5 bushels per acre. Farmers received 67 cents per bushel. Then along came an ag miracle.
After years of persistent and extensive research, hybrid corn seed became available. Hybrid seeds produced more vigorous corn plants with higher yield and greater disease resistance.
At CPA farm stores and before farm groups and organizations, Brooks became a tireless disciple of hybrid corn.
His efforts — and those of others — produced results. Yields began to rise. By 1939, they averaged 24.6 bushels per acre. In crop year 2023, Georgia averaged 183 bushels per acre.
Higher yields also resulted from the use of better-quality fertilizers, in particular nitrogen-based fertilizers. Brooks was among their strongest promoters.
He was instrumental in motivating the Georgia poultry industry. According to the American Poultry Historical Society, Brooks determined that fish meal was an asset and that soybeans could be a staple in poultry rations. He was a proponent of processing, branding and exporting poultry products. Thus, influencing a model for the entire industry.
Today, Georgia is the nation’s leading poultry farming state. It is a key factor in the state’s ag economy, while contributing to both the state’s larger economy and to its global exports.
In recognition of his leadership and expertise, Brooks, served on four presidential agricultural advisory committees. The Progressive Farmer named him “1950 Man of the Year in Georgia Agriculture.” His many honors included induction in the UGA Agriculture Hall of Fame in 1972 — its first inductee.
D.W. Brooks died in Atlanta on August 5, 1999, age 97.
(Sources: UGA Georgia Agriculture Hall of Fame; New Georgia Encyclopedia, “D.W. Brooks;” American Poultry Historical Society; U.S.D.A. Ag Statistics Service.)
• Retired attorney Jim Thomas lives in Atlanta. Email jmtlawyerspeak@ yahoo. com
