News Stories - Page 128

While all industries have been seriously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, food and agriculture have been among the hardest hit segments of the U.S. economy. The primary reason lies in the composition of household food expenditures.

Tornadoes and heavy winds blew across Georgia in the early morning hours on April 13, killing eight Georgians, destroying homes, and leaving landscapes littered with downed trees and limbs. Strong weather is common in Georgia this time of year, and so is cleaning up after it, said David Dickens, professor of forest productivity with University of Georgia Cooperative Extension.

Three graduate students in the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) were recently honored with an E. Broadus Browne Award for Outstanding Graduate Research.

Researchers at the University of Georgia’s Regenerative Bioscience Center and their colleagues have found that “natural killer” white blood cells could guard against the cascade of cellular changes that lead to Parkinson’s disease and help stop its progression.

Across the state, flowers are blooming and the pollinators are out. A pollinator garden can be a great place for your family to explore, especially during stressful times.

With commercial citrus acreage on the rise in Georgia, producers should be aware of potential signs of citrus greening and the pests that carry the disease that has devastated the citrus industry in Florida.

In 2010, the Georgia 4-H Southwest District Program Development Coordinator, Laura Perry Johnson, established a collaboration with the AmeriCorps Volunteers In Service To America (VISTA) program as a way to extend the capacity of 4-H youth programs and strengthen the impacts in the Southwest District 4-H. To date, more than 55 full-time VISTAs have dedicated a full year of service to Georgia 4-H.

Each spring, thousands of K-12 students attend environmental education camps at Georgia 4-H facilities across the state. They hold snakes, hike through creeks and marshes, visit historic sites and enjoy nature; all with a goal of learning about the environment. Since the COVID-19 outbreak has public schools closed, school buses parked and Georgians sheltered in place, the Georgia 4-H Environmental Education Program is now being offered virtually.

While there is no evidence that the COVID-19 virus is a food safety concern, it is a worker health concern as it spreads via close person-to-person contact or by contact with contaminated surfaces.