News Stories - Page 28

To meet the needs of a rapidly changing agricultural landscape and a growing campus population, the University of Georgia Tifton campus is undergoing crucial infrastructure upgrades to bring its more than century-old facilities up to 21st-century standards. Michael Toews, assistant dean for the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences on the Tifton campus, said the renovations will create an environment where faculty can thrive for the next 100 years.

A third-generation farmer, Jimmy Carter Jr. owns and operates Southern Belle Farm in McDonough, Georgia, with his son Jake, just as his father did with him a generation ago. But the operation looks a lot different than it did when Carter joined his father in business. The Carters have kept the family farm in operation for 85 years by consistently adapting and responding to changes in agriculture.

Researchers in the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences are working to engineer a better tomorrow. Faculty and staff with the CAES Office of Research are committed to discovering, innovating and delivering the science required to feed and fuel the world. Some of the most respected researchers in the world are working in our labs and teaching in our classrooms to facilitate the cutting-edge research activities that lead to better food, fuel, fiber and health for everyone.

Agriculture is dependent on nature. Even seemingly minor temperature variations have a significant impact on the precise mechanics of plants, animals and insects. As average temperatures have warmed by 3 degrees over the past century, the question remains — how will we adapt our agricultural practices to ensure that all people continue to have access to food, fiber and fuel now and in the future?

A swirl of red and white atop a coconut crust, the iconic strawberry ice cream pie at the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education & Hotel has been a highlight of the menu since the 1960s. Adding to the legacy, an alumni business, Rock House Creamery, is now the supplier of the famous strawberry ripple ice cream central to the pie.

It is no wonder that Marcus Jones owns five companies. Growing up in Decatur, Georgia, he has long had a knack for business, from selling candy in seventh grade to brokering real estate at the University of Georgia. By his senior year at UGA, he had launched an online clothing boutique with friends.

A one-year gap in access to WIC can have a significantly negative effect on the quality of some 5-year-olds’ diets. A new study from the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences found that when children age out of WIC after their fifth birthday, many families are left without food assistance support for up to a year. Until the child enters kindergarten, the nutritional quality of their diet takes about a 20% hit, according to the study.

Georgia has long been referred to as the Peach State, yet the fleshy fruit that adorns souvenirs and license plates isn’t counted among the state’s top 10 commodities. Blueberries join that list. University of Georgia blueberry breeder Scott NeSmith, professor emeritus in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Department of Horticulture, has released more than 40 varieties during his career at the university.

Has the heat got you inside looking out? Are you enjoying gardens and landscapes only from the comfort of your air-conditioned car? Indeed we are in the throes of summer in Georgia, but even though it’s brutal for us outside, there are many landscape plants that are in their glory this time of year.

Zhihan Xian’s innovative research into new methods of food origin tracing has been named this year’s winner of the Testing for Life Student Award by AOAC International, a nonprofit association that seeks to set standards of analysis to help ensure food safety globally. Xian, a doctoral student in food science at the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, is on the leading edge of research of food origin authentication.