Wes Briggs may not be a farmer himself, but he is as invested in the crops grown around Bainbridge as anyone. Briggs is a crop consultant, and he works with cotton, corn, peanut, small grain and some vegetable farmers to make sure that they produce the most crops possible.

For that work, Cotton Farming Magazine and Syngenta named him the 2015 Cotton Consultant of the Year.

“I contract with local growers and scout crops for insects, weeds and pests,” Briggs said. “I’m not medical doctor, but I am a plant doctor.”

Briggs and his five full-time employees make up Briggs Crop Service Inc. and they help growers monitor their crops.

“Soil fertility is a big part of what we do,” Briggs said. “We develop a plan, then scout the plants on a weekly basis for pests and weeds.”

Briggs and his staff work with his growers to make sure that they correctly time when to spray pesticides and herbicides. They also help growers develop long-term plans as the pesticides used on one plant could adversely affect a crop that will be planted on the same land in a different growing season.

“Have to be timely,” Briggs said. “You can do everything right, but it doesn’t matter if you are late. Have to be on time.”

The Cotton Consultant of the Year Award is voted on annually by the past winners. In order to be eligible a consultant must be nominated by the growers that he works with.

“It is nice to be nominated, it is humbling to win” Briggs said. “It is not just a Georgia award it is a national award. I was trying to a part of a legacy. Crop consulting started years ago and other people paved the way for people like me.”

Briggs has worked with crops in Georgia for 25 years after graduating from Mississippi State. He has been in Bainbridge since the 1995 growing season and he has owned/operated Briggs Crop Services since 2001.

They assist farmers throughout Georgia, the Florida Panhandle and into Alabama.

“I’m fortunate to have good growers and guys,” Briggs said.

As the recipient of the 2015 CCOY award, Briggs was honored at the annual Cotton Beltwide Conference in New Orleans last week.

Although he felt honored and humbled by the award, Briggs’ real joy comes from helping his growers have successful seasons.

“I enjoy what I do,” Briggs said as he was standing in a carrot farm in Florida. “As soon as we get done with one crop harvest, I can’t wait to get the next one planted.”