14 S G M A G A Z I N E | FA L L 2 0 1 8 Sarah Cook: Promoting Georgia’s Agricultural Industry Across the U.S. Sarah Cook is on a mission. From north to south and east to west, she is promoting Georgia’s robust agricultural industry across the country. As the new director of domestic trade with the Georgia Department of Agriculture, Cook is touting the importance of Georgia’s agricultural industry, which generates more than 383,000 jobs to the state’s workforce. On her cross-country travels, Cook is educating consumers about the products grown and produced in Georgia, as well as how to utilize them more often, especially out of season. “We all know that pecan pie is a great holiday tradition, but pecans have a lot of other uses like making pesto from pecans instead of pine nuts,” Cook said. “I often tell agritourism operators that what is normal to you, might be foreign to someone else.” Known for more than peaches, Georgia is a leading producer of commodities like broilers (chickens), peanuts, blueberries, and cotton. Also, Georgia has recently experienced a surge in value-added products that include wine, artisan cheeses, and olive oil. Through Georgia Grown we will continue to encourage Georgians to buy local products. Now we are taking it a step further and telling the rest of the country what we already know here in Georgia. - SARAH COOK Sarah Cook, director of domestic trade with the Georgia Department of Agriculture, is focused on promoting the state’s $74 billion agriculture industry.