News Stories - Page 340

Homegrown vegetables always taste better, but they’re even tastier when they’re prepared by the hands of a professional chef. To celebrate the end of the semester, Chef Rob Harrison — of the University of Georgia’s Georgia Center Hotel and Conference Center — turned vegetables grown by UGA’s Organic Agricultural Systems students into delectable plates of food, worthy of any foodie’s Twitter feed, Facebook post or Instagram account.

University of Georgia Extension agents of Fulton County will host a six-week Master Goat Farmer Certification course Aug. 5 through Sept. 13.

University of Georgia Extension joined with the university community and Georgians across the state this month to celebrate 100 years of community-centered information, education and service.

A parasitoid wasp controls kudzu bug populations in its native Asia. University of Georgia entomologist Michael Toews hopes those wasps will one day reduce the kudzu bug’s presence in the United States.

This spring when southeast Georgia farmers started pulling their signature sweet Vidalia onions out of the ground, Daniel Jackson and his staff were preparing their lab for the coming onion onslaught.

Tired of watching carpenter bees slowly gnaw through the wood on her porch, Deborah Harris bought a trap as an alternative to spraying pesticides. The traps can be bought at craft shows or online or, if you’re handy, made at home.

Despite a frigid, rain-filled winter, Vidalia onion farmers expect a good, quality crop this season.

University of Georgia Extension agents are often at the front lines when it comes to finding and defending crops from diseases and pests. Andrew Sawyer, an Extension agricultural and natural resources agent in Thomas County, made a timely discovery when he was the first to identify the presence of wheat rust in Georgia in 2013. His finding reduced yield losses on wheat, barley and rye.

Canning and preserving homegrown produce will be the focus of the next Saturday at the Rock workshop set for June 8 at Rock Eagle 4-H Center in Eatonton.

First-year students at the University of Georgia are learning about chicken by learning everything from where it comes from and how it is processed, down to what impacts it’s tenderness and how to make it tasty.