b'outside the box, she says. Another Moving back home to the farm was themajor challenge for our generation is the growing disconnect between farmers best decision of my life, and I am thankfuland consumers, coupled with vast that I work in the industry that is such anmisinformation about our food system and the growing distrust it seeds in how important part of our familys heritage, asour food is grown. We have to learn how well as our future. to communicate more effectively with our consumers and demonstrate our strong - CASEY COX stewardship efforts.Extending beyond farming, agribusiness represents Mitchell Countys largest industry with national food production Though I grew up on the farm, it tookcontrol, so its critical for us to be creative incompanies like the Golden Peanut my years away in college for me to gainhow we adapt and think about the future.Company, a subsidiary of Archer Daniels perspective and appreciation for bothMidland Company, and Tyson Foods. my background in agriculture and theIt was a difficult lessonand one that came with tremendous expensewhen inContinuing to expand its Camilla facility significant opportunity I had to build on theOctober 2018, Hurricane Michael wreakedand grow more jobs, in 2019, Tyson Foods foundation my parents constructed throughhavoc on Southwest Georgia farmers,invested $34.2 million to create a new the years, says Cox, who represents Mitchellcausing more than $2.5 billion in damage tomega line, which prompted the company County on the board of supervisors for thecrops, especially pecans, cotton, timber, andto hire 100 team members as they ramped Flint River Soil and Water Conservationvegetables.up operations in the region.District. Moving back home to the farm was the best decision of my life, and I amHurricane Michael really opened my thankful that I work in the industry thateyes to what it means for our farm to be is such an important part of our familysresilient and sustainable for the long-heritage, as well as our future. term and motivated me to start thinking As part of an ongoing learning process, Cox understands that most challenges facing farmers are not new to her generation.I am grateful for a community that has embraced my return to the farm and opened so many doors for me to learn as well as serve in leadership roles within agriculture, she says. Though weve made significant strides and progress since my grandfather and father first began farming, my generation is facing a whole new set of challenges we are learning to navigate in real-time.I read one time, When Mother Nature is your business partner, you never know what to expect. The reality is that so many aspects of our businesslike weather and climateare completely outside of our BUSINESS + CULTURE 53'