Our Economy
The Importance of Agriculture
Agriculture and agriculture-related businesses are the backbone of the Macon County economy and Macon County's agricultural economy is quite diverse. In fact, Macon County is No. 1 in Georgia for dairy, peaches and sod (turf) production and ranked in the top 10 for livestock and aquaculture production and fruit and nut production.
Macon County produces more milk than any other county in Georgia, with a staggering 293.3 million pounds of milk produced in 2013, more than double the production of second place Putnam County.
Poultry has become a major business in Macon County. Tyson has a breeder farm, hatchery and feed mill in the county and more capital is invested in modern chicken houses and equipment each year.
Peaches have always been a mainstay in the county. Sam Henry Rumph of Macon County developed the Elberta Peach. This variety is responsible for establishing Georgia's reputation as the Peach State.
A wide variety of other crops is grown in Macon County including cotton, peanuts, soy beans, tomatoes, squash, bell peppers, pecans, corn, wheat, oats, peas, ... the list goes on.
Forest products play an important part in the local economy. Weyerhaeuser has a large pulp processing plant near Oglethorpe. This plant employees more than 500 people. Hundreds of others are employed by support industries such as trucking.
Southern Wood Suppliers has a large chip mill in Macon County that produces hard wood chips. These chips are used in the manufacturing of paper.