News Stories - Page 224

2015 saw one of the warmest Decembers since Georgians started keeping records, and the month was also much wetter than normal. The warm, wet conditions created havoc for Georgia farmers.

With December’s temperatures mimicking spring in most parts of Georgia, it’s no wonder that so many landscape plants are confused. Last month, gardeners in all corners of the state saw their azaleas blooming and their spring flowering trees forming buds. Since then, winter weather has returned and damaged some of these early signs of life. But there’s still hope for those way-too-early bloomers. The key is to be patient and wait to see what happens.

Service-learning is known to have a positive impact in the classroom, but a University of Georgia study shows it can help grow graduates' bank accounts as well.

When it comes to giving young pecan trees a jump-start, Georgia growers need to focus on improving the soil over applying fertilizer, according to University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Pecan Specialist Lenny Wells.

University of Georgia Cooperative Extension cotton economist Don Shurley says that Georgia cotton farmers can expect prices to remain low for their crop until worldwide demand improves. Shurley will give a detailed report on Georgia’s cotton crop at three of the 2016 Georgia Ag Forecast events set for January 2016.

The University of Georgia Tifton Campus Conference Center will host the fourth annual Unmanned Systems in Precision Agriculture Conference on Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 3 and 4, 2016. The conference will provide updates on the latest research regarding agricultural drone use and the proposed federal and state regulations.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts that over the next five years the annual demand for college graduates in agriculture and food industries will be 57,900 jobs per year. Unfortunately, American agricultural colleges, like the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of Georgia, only produce about 35,400 graduates per year.

Todd Applegate, associate head of the Department of Animal Sciences at Indiana’s Purdue University, has been tapped to lead the University of Georgia’s Department of Poultry Science. He will take the helm starting on Jan. 8.

Building CAES’s international reputation and a robust global community of support are the main goals of the college’s Office of Global Programs. With a full slate of research, academic and outreach activities and the introduction of a new strategic plan, 2015 has been a banner year for the office.