News Stories - Page 33

Members of the Southern Region Program Leadership Network, Association of Extension Administrators and the Association of Southern Region Extension Directors, including those from the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, convened in Orlando, Florida, for the annual conference. This year, Laura Perry Johnson received the Association of Southern Region Extension Directors’ Award for Excellence in Leadership, a career-long service award for those who lead Extension programs across the Southeast.

In the fall of 2022, Annette Kleiser was looking for a new professional home. Her company, Dalan Animal Health, was developing the world’s first honeybee vaccine and needed a top research university that offered excellent veterinary and agriculture schools, honey bee research and an established animal health ecosystem. The University of Georgia was just what the doctor ordered.

State governments are asking people to be on the lookout for an invasive insect pest called spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula). University of Georgia experts say vigilant prevention strategies, early detection and timely interventions can help keep them from spreading into Georgia and elsewhere. While they do not bite or sting humans or animals, spotted lanternflies feed on host plants including grape vines, hardwoods, and ornamental and fruiting trees.

In the 1944 Athens High School yearbook, the quote beside senior Abit Massey’s name reads, “He who is persistent in his work, success will crown.” Now, nearly 80 years later, Massey is still going strong, still adhering to that simple credo, having assembled an even longer and more impressive list of accomplishments, experiences, colleagues, protégés and friends along the way.

When the two-time reigning national champion Georgia Bulldogs step between the hedges at Sanford Stadium this fall, Dooley Field needs to look the part. More importantly, though, it needs to help safeguard the health of athletes who compete on it. Gerald Henry plays a big role in the latter.

From the time that our ancestors began cultivating food in the Fertile Crescent thousands of years ago, agriculture has been a life-sustaining practice that has enabled early civilizations to evolve into modern societies. Today, the science behind agriculture and the decisions farmers and leaders make in production and policy affects every aspect of our lives.

The University of Georgia’s fall 2023 Signature Lectures series will feature a broad array of renowned scholars and thought leaders from the worlds of art, literature, law, health care, journalism, government, the sciences and more. “Each semester, this series brings groundbreaking speakers from a wide range of disciplines to campus to share their insights and expertise with faculty, staff, students and members of the Athens community,” said Provost S. Jack Hu.

While peach production in Georgia peaked in 1928 at nearly 8 million bushels, production has slowly dwindled ever since, and the blueberry industry, which started taking root in the state in the 1960s, has captured the top spot among the Peach State’s fruit crops. While Georgia ranks third nationally for both blueberry and peach production, the blueberry far outstrips it’s fuzzy cousin.

Peter G. Chiarelli has been awarded an Agriculture and Food Research Initiative predoctoral fellowship from the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture for his research on Georgia-caught cannonball jellyfish. Chiarelli is spearheading efforts to create a domestic market for collagen peptide powders derived from cannonball jellyfish.