Colby Royal is an ABAC School of Agriculture and Natural Resource Alumni from Telfair County. From a young age Royal grew up on a farm, he knew that he did not want to be confined to an ordinary office job. Royal said that “From watermelons to planting peanuts, farming is a very diverse and rewarding job in my opinion. My first initiative was to attend ABAC, get a degree and come home to the family greenhouse business.”
Royal started ABAC in the fall of 2011 where he chose to major in Diversified Agriculture. While at ABAC, Royal wasn’t involved in clubs or extracurriculars, since he would go back home and work. Although Royal was not involved in clubs, he did complete two internships. One was at Knight Farms Inc. in Milan, GA and the other was at Knight Greenhouses near the same location.
Then in Dec. of 2015, Royal graduated from ABAC and began a career as the Telfair County Agriculture and Natural Resource Agent. As a County Agent, Royal has many different duties: such as covering things like livestock, row crops, fish ponds and flower beds. Royal said that as a County Agent he also receives questions regarding forestry and home gardens.
Aside from answering questions about agriculture, Royal also collaborates with specialists from the University of Georgia as well as other agents to conduct different trials. One of the trials Royal is currently working on is a Pine Tip Moth trapping project which will run throughout the next year.
As a County Agent, Royal is also involved in working with the Telfair County 4-H Club. He helps the club with different projects and judging events such as District Project Achievement and the Pumpkin Decorating Contest. Royal also attends and serves as an Adult Leader at a summer camp for a week.
Royal works with an elementary school for Local Farm Day. At this event, he usually gives a presentation to kids about the importance of agriculture or forestry. Last year, Royal was able to team up with ABAC to present The Life of a Pine Tree. Royal also conducts peanut maturity check clinics with the ag students at Telfair County High School. During the clinic, he helps students learn how to determine the maturity of a peanut and when they are ready to be harvested.
To finish off Royal said his favorite thing about the job is “the diversity. Not doing the same thing every day and being outdoors keeps it interesting. Also, serving the community brings pride to this position.”
