Southwest Georgia Research and Education Center

Scott Rogers Superintendent

Southwest Research and Education Center

swgeorgia@uga.edu 229-824-4375

Southwest Georgia Research and Education Center

108 Experiment Street, Plains, Georgia 31780

Our Work and Priorities

The 512-acre Southwest Georgia Research and Education Center is located near Plains, Georgia. Established in 1951, the station’s purpose was to stimulate the rural economy by helping area farmers diversify and increase crop yields in the upper coastal plain region.

The facility has heavy red clay soil that is sometimes difficult soil to farm but can be highly productive when carefully managed. Research here is geared to the 240-day growing season and an average annual rainfall of 48 inches. Current research focuses on every major row crop in south Georgia: peanuts, cotton, corn, soybeans, grain sorghum, wheat and canola. The center now has some form of irrigation on at least 90% of the cropland to maintain crops during the area’s frequent droughts.

Six full-time employees maintain research for college and USDA researchers. The employees also partner with the nearby Sumter County Extension office.

About us

We investigate the latest production and technological practices, striving for producer profitability and sustainability.

Research and Education Centers (RECs) are hubs for innovation and discovery that address the most critical issues facing agricultural production throughout the state. Ultimately, our findings are shared with stakeholders through the extension and outreach efforts of the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Agricultural Research Centers in Georgia Find your local county Extension Office

A student harvests red clover at UGArden.

CAES News

UGA horticulture class shows students the science behind herbal remedies

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.

CAES News

Using robotics to help sort onions on Georgia farms

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.

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CAES Events

UGA Center for Food Safety Webinar Series Norovirus: Surveillance for a nearly perfect human pathogen Guest speaker: Sara A. Mirza, Epidemiologist, Viral Gastroenteritis Branch at CDC Date: Friday, April 19th, 2024 Time: 10:30-11:30 a.m. ET In-person: UGA Griffin, Melton Building, Rm 174 Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/96544607876?pwd=WUt4T3diN2I1M1ovNEN2YjVjVHZhZz09 Hosted by Malak Esseili, CFS Assistant Professor About Dr. Sara Mirza: Dr. Sara Mirza is an epidemiologist who has been at CDC for nearly 20 years. She currently serves as the deputy team lead for the Epidemiology Team and lead for norovirus epidemiology programs in the Viral Gastroenteritis Branch, Division of Viral Diseases, at the National Center for Immunizations and Respiratory Disease (NCIRD). Sara earned her MPH from UCLA in epidemiology and biostatistics and her PhD in epidemiology from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. She has served in many roles at CDC, gaining significant expertise in establishing and evaluating surveillance systems and program management, both in the United States and globally. She currently leads surveillance efforts and projects to elicit a better understanding of the burden and epidemiology of norovirus.

Apr 19

10:30AM - 11:30AM Norovirus: Surveillance for a nearly perfect human pathogen Melton Building, GRIFFIN, GA

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Butterfly Trail Board of Directors

The Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail Board of Directors recently meet at the Southwest Georgia Research and Education Center in Plains, Georgia on Friday, July 23, 2021 to discuss the Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail landscape project. Pictured front row: LeAnn Smith, Mrs. Rosalynn Carter; back row: Julia Snipes, Willie Maxwell, Ernest Koone, Lonnie Wise and Annette Wise.

Book signing with Rosalynn Carter

Grace Wooten with Ragan-Smith Associates, Inc of Chattanooga, Tennessee and 2016 UGA Landscape Architecture graduate (pictured right) receives a signed gardening book by Rosalynn Smith Carter. The new garden for the Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail will be a 1930s era garden based on Mrs. Carter memories of her childhood garden.

Research committed to crop producers