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There is no doubt about it: The periodical cicadas have arrived. There is no doubt about it: the periodical cicadas have arrived. “Brood XIX (Brood 19) is Georgia’s only 13-year cicada. The Great Southern Brood is the largest periodical cicada brood in North America, covering at least a dozen states in the Southeast,” said Nancy Hinkle, professor in the University of Georgia Department of Entomology. “This year, millions of periodical cicadas are emerging in Georgia from now until Memorial Day.”

University of Georgia undergraduate students came together to showcase their individual research projects and achievements on April 8-9 at the Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities (CURO) Symposium. For 25 years, the CURO Symposium has served as an opportunity to highlight the breadth and depth of undergraduate research across multiple disciplines. CURO enables undergraduates to engage in faculty-mentored research as early as their first year, regardless of discipline, major, or GPA.

The interdisciplinary Rural Engagement Workshop for Academic Faculty, launched by Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost S. Jack Hu and Vice President for Public Service and Outreach Jennifer Frum, brings together academic faculty and public service faculty. This partnership expands the impact of UGA’s research and ties it to practical applications in rural communities across Georgia.

At the University of Georgia Tifton campus, the new Tifton Integrative Precision Agriculture Research, Education and Demonstration Laboratory will be the first of its kind in the Southeast to provide state-of-the-art collaborative spaces, top-of-the-line autonomous equipment and job training for the next generation of agricultural leaders. The $3 million project will include a working lab, electronic labs and office spaces to increase collaboration among graduate students, scientists and industry.

According to figures from the newly released Georgia Farm Gate Value Report for 2022, food and fiber production from Georgia’s 159 counties contributes more than $18 billion to the economy statewide. The Georgia Farm Gate Value Report offers a comprehensive analysis of the county-level production value for Georgia commodities. The report is compiled and published by the University of Georgia Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development within the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics.

Ten years ago, the Georgia Peanut Tour welcomed its first visitor from the southern African nation of Malawi, where peanuts are part of the local cuisine but are only grown in small gardens or bought in informal markets. Over the next decade, visitors from Malawi attended the tour every year, traveling halfway around the world to see how farmers, shellers, researchers and others work together to get a large crop of peanuts to consumers every year.

School lunches have come a long way from square pizza and fish sticks, and students across the board are benefiting from improved nutritional standards in the cafeteria. A new study from the University of Georgia found that children from all walks of life improved their diet quality when they ate school-prepared lunches following the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act nutritional guidelines instead of home-prepared lunches.

The field of medicine is ever-changing, and the use of herbal medicines may play a bigger role in health care as the value of natural remedies gain recognition in the Western world. Students at the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences are delving into the field of medicinal remedies through the class “Herbs, Spices and Medicinal Plants.” Offered to undergraduate students through the Department of Horticulture, the class helps students develop a deeper understanding of the connection between nature and health.

During the pandemic, labor problems became acute on many farms in Georgia and across the country. Farms once staffed by humans to bring produce from the field to stores for purchase were suddenly short-staffed, and the global supply chain was severely impacted. Working with UGA’s Vidalia Onion and Vegetable Research Center and A&M Farms in Lyons, Georgia, a team of researchers led by School of Computing Professor Prashant Doshi is designing collaborative robots to mitigate some of these potential challenges.