Georgia's family farms should not be forced to sacrifice productive agricultural land when reasonable alternatives may exist.

We, the undersigned, believe that Georgia's family farms and private property owners deserve meaningful protections when their land is targeted for development, infrastructure projects, or acquisition through eminent domain.

Family farms are more than acreage on a map. They are homes, businesses, livelihoods, and often the result of generations of hard work and sacrifice. Landowners invest years improving their property, caring for livestock, producing food, and building a future for their families.

Too often, property owners are told what will happen to their land rather than being treated as partners in the process. While infrastructure improvements may sometimes be necessary, landowners should have a meaningful voice in decisions that permanently affect their property, businesses, and way of life.

We respectfully call on Georgia's elected officials to:

Strengthen protections for family farms and agricultural land.
Ensure private property owners have a meaningful role in decisions affecting their property.
Require genuine consideration of alternative locations before productive farmland is targeted.
Increase the burden on condemning authorities to demonstrate why a specific property is necessary.
Expand opportunities for public input before land acquisition decisions are finalized.
Protect working farms and agricultural businesses whenever reasonable alternatives exist.
Reform eminent domain laws to better safeguard family-owned farms and small businesses.
We support responsible growth and necessary infrastructure. However, no family should be forced to surrender productive farmland without having a meaningful opportunity to be heard and without all reasonable alternatives being fully explored.

Georgia's family farms are a critical part of our economy, our food supply, and our heritage. Protecting private property rights today helps preserve those farms for future generations.

This issue is not only about protecting private property rights across Georgia. It is also about protecting a working family farm located on Harmony Road in Silver Creek, Georgia. The Newberry family has spent years building and improving their cattle operation, growing their herd, improving pastures, producing hay, and investing in the future of their farm. This property represents years of hard work, sacrifice, and stewardship and is an important part of Georgia's agricultural community.

We support efforts to preserve this family farm and urge decision-makers to reconsider plans for a proposed electrical substation on this property. We believe productive farmland should be protected whenever reasonable alternatives exist, and that families who have dedicated themselves to agriculture should have a meaningful voice in decisions that could permanently alter their land, livelihood, and way of life.

By signing this petition, you are supporting both the protection of Georgia family farms and the preservation of the Newberry family farm on Harmony Road in Silver Creek for future generations.