News Stories - Page 178

James Vaughn was named the 2018 Georgia Farmer of the Year during a ceremony held at the Georgia Freight Depot in Atlanta on Tuesday, March 20.  Pictured left to right are University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Dean Sam Pardue, Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black, Vaughn and Georgia Governor Nathan Deal. CAES News
Farmer of the Year
Monroe County, Georgia, cattleman James Vaughn has been named the 2018 Georgia Farmer of the Year. He has grown Vaughn Farms from a 500-acre cattle farm to a 5,590-acre diversified farm operation. Vaughn and his family grow Bermuda grass hay, raise cattle for the specialized beef market, sell bred heifers and registered bulls, grow 4,000 acres of timber, and train cutting horses.
UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Dean and Director Sam Pardue and Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black congratulate Drew, Melody and David Goodson with Governor Nathan Deal after they won the grand prize. CAES News
Flavor of Georgia
David and Melody Goodson, co-owners of Goodson Pecans of Leesburg, Georgia, have taken the grand prize at University of Georgia’s 2018 Flavor of Georgia Food Product Contest with the Goodson Pecans Honey Cinnamon Pecan Butter.
Professor Changying (Charlie) Li works with graduate students (L-R) Yu Jiang and Shangpeng Sun with a robot in a blueberry field. Li is heading a new research initiative at UGA, the Phenomics and Plant Robotics Center. The center will spearhead new research into using robots, sensing and data analysis to help aid the development of new crop varieties. CAES News
Robots in Agriculture
Automated data collection and analysis pipelines are changing the way humans generate and use information. At the University of Georgia, researchers harness the power of advanced sensing, robotics and big-data analytics to change agriculture.
Helga Recke, a Visiting Fellow at Cornell University's College for Agriculture and Life Sciences's AWARE (Advancing Women in Agriculture through Research and Education) program, will give the keynote address on April 2 at 3:30 p.m. at the Georgia Museum of Art. CAES News
Gender in Agriculture
Around the world, female farmers produce 20 to 30 percent less than their male counterparts, and experts believe that overcoming that gender gap will be key to feeding the world’s growing population.  
Picture of wheat research trial being conducted by Reagan Noland and Dennis Hancock. CAES News
Wheat Crop
Wheat prices are down, and wheat acreage in Georgia is dropping. To boost the state’s wheat industry and help producers get more out of their crop, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension small-grains specialist Reagan Noland is researching a dual-use system that would enable growers to use their wheat crop for grain and forage production.
Cotton roots infected with root-knot nematodes swell in response to the infection. These knots serve as feeding sites where nematodes (microscopic worms) grow, produce more eggs and stunt the plant's growth. CAES News
Nematodes
Mother Nature’s freezing January temperatures reduced nematode buildup in southern Georgia fields. But warmer temperatures this spring could spark nematode activity, according to University of Georgia Cooperative Extension plant pathologist Bob Kemerait.
Students peel hibiscus calyxes from the seed pods that form from the plant's showy flowers. The calyxes are used for brewing tea high in vitamin C. CAES News
Medicinal Herbs
Many gardeners keep an herb garden to stock their kitchens with parsley, thyme and cilantro. That same herb garden can turn out tasty, healthful teas.
Noelle Fuller, the UGArden Medicinal Herb Program coordinator and head herbalist, shows her interns how to propagate a horsetail plant. They cut pieces off already existing plants, and place them in water, to create new plants for their plant sale in May. CAES News
UGArden's Herb Garden
The UGArden medicinal herb garden is just a few rows of a field at the edge of the University of Georgia’s student-run farm, UGArden. But it’s become a refuge for students who want to learn about the benefits of medicinal plants and escape from stress.
Termites feed on pieces of wood in garden soil. CAES News
Pest Control Training
The University of Georgia Griffin Campus is hosting two intensive commercial Integrated Pest Management (IPM) training programs this spring, including a 1.5-day workshop on termite control and a 10-week Urban Pest Management Program course that will run from April to June.