Society’s Role in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

The University of Georgia contributed $8.4 billion to the state’s economy in fiscal year 2024, an increase of $300 million from the previous year and a record for the state’s flagship university. The increased economic impact was powered by growth in the number of degrees conferred at the graduate and undergraduate levels, an increase in externally funded research and the positive effects of UGA’s public service and outreach efforts across the state.

A new cohort has been selected for the Rural Engagement Workshop for Academic Faculty. The award-winning interdisciplinary program leverages the community engagement experience of UGA’s public service and extension faculty to support collaborative academic research that benefits rural Georgia. The primary aim is to enhance partnerships with communities throughout Georgia by fostering collaborative, rural-focused research and scholarship.

From bringing more than 50 varieties to market to monitoring the growing economic impact of the blueberry, this series dives into the multidisciplinary University of Georgia research behind the top-10 Georgia commodity. “The UGA blueberry breeding program has been a key to the success of launching a significant commercial blueberry industry in Georgia in the 1980s and helping sustain it for four decades,” said Scott NeSmith, professor emeritus in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.