News Stories - Page 214

March was drier and warmer than normal across Georgia, ushering in projections for a warmer and wetter than normal spring.

Debbie Murray, who has served as associate dean for extension and outreach at the University of Georgia’s College of Family and Consumer Sciences since 2012, has received the Jeanne M. Priester Award for exemplary, impactful leadership in the area of health and wellness.

Dumfries, Scotland, is about 4,000 miles away from the University of Georgia’s Athens Campus, but the population there faces the same problems as many Georgia towns, including food insecurity and health concerns connected to nutrition. As Georgians, we hear about these problems often, but it’s sometimes hard to put them into perspective. Over spring break last month, a group of 10 College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences students traveled to Dumfries as part of the college’s “Scotland: Food Insecurity Service-Learning Project,” to lend a hand and to put the problems facing their own communities into perspective.

Thanks to technology and manufacturers’ attempts to please the ever-demanding consumer, washing machines have become more “intelligent” and able to detect soil levels and water needs. Before buying a new one, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension home experts suggest asking yourself a few very important questions.

University of Georgia organic agriculture experts and economists are teaming up to present the Organic Farming Workshop to provide farmers with new ways to maximize the ecology and economical sustainability of their farm.

University of Georgia food engineer Fanbin Kong has been awarded a more than $496,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture to study the safety of nanocellulose and how it affects humans’ food digestion and nutrient absorption.

The Office of Global Programs has again awarded grants through its Faculty International Travel Funding Program that will allow 11 University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences faculty members to meet colleagues in eight countries during the next several months.

Sod farmers, landscape professionals and sports turf managers interested in learning more about the turfgrass industry’s latest innovations are invited to attend the 70th Annual Southeastern Turfgrass Conference.

Ann M. Steensland, deputy director for the Global Harvest Initiative, will deliver the keynote address at this year’s Sixth Annual International Agriculture Day reception. The event will be held from 3:30-5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 19, at the Georgia Museum of Art. Hosted by the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Office of Global Programs, the talk and reception are free and open to the public.