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UGA College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences Department of Crop & Soil Sciences
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2025 Year in Review

The Department of Crop and Soil Sciences reflects on a vibrant and impactful year in 2025, celebrating student engagement, academic excellence, and community outreach across Georgia and beyond. From spirited traditions like the Ag Olympics and new opportunities for student connection at events such as Athens’ Rock Lobsters Hockey Night, to national representation at the CANVAS conference and hands‑on learning during World Soil Day, 2025 showcased the energy, innovation, and collaboration that define our department. This Year in Review highlights the experiences, achievements, and partnerships that shaped another successful year for our CRSS community.


Athens Rock Lobsters Hockey Night

On April 3rd 2025, the Crop and Soil Science department sponsored a trip for students in the Crop and Soil Sciences Student Society (CRSSSS), Horticulture, and Turf clubs to go watch Athen’s local hockey team (Rock Lobsters) play in their last home game of the season.

Almost 30 students and faculty attended, and the event was a great opportunity for the club members to get to know each other and make plans to collaborate in the future. The game was very fun to watch and was a great bonding experience.  


CRSS undergraduate and graduate students stand together in a stadium aisle, posing and waving toward the camera while overlooking an ice hockey rink.

Ag Olympics 2025

Ag Olympics was held on October 24, 2025, at the UGA Iron Horse Plant Sciences Farm. Teams tested their brains and brawn through events such as corn shucking/dekerneling, human tractor pull, plant and tool identification, and haybale toss. Team members had lunch afterward. Dr. Levi’s Pedology Lab took first place. They hold the title of Ag Olympic Champions until next year. 


A large group stands on gravel in front of an open metal equipment-storage building, holding a red “Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, University of Georgia” banner at the center. A wooden triangular structure is held behind the group, and a sign on the right reads “Equipment Storage West #2.”





CANVAS 2025

CANVAS is a multi-day conference of the American Society of Agronomy, Soil Science Society of America and Crop Science Society of America. Members of these societies attend to connect, collaborate, and share research, teaching and outreach/extension related work through oral and poster presentations, workshops and field tours.

The 2025 meeting was held in Salt Lake City, Utah and CRSS was well represented with many students and faculty attending. 


The UGA Crop and Soil Sciences Information Table at CANVAS. Students stand behind the CRSS table with CRSS info and shareables, smiling for photo.
Back row left to right: Troy Loggins, Simone Gibson, and Shea Hoffman. Middle left to right: Madelyn Willis, Joshua Falkowski, Matthew Bruder, and Alexis Herring. Front row, left to right: Lily Chen, and Daniel Otten.





World Soil Day 2025

World Soil Day (December 5th) is the designated day to highlight and raise awareness of the importance of soil health and sustainable practices for soil management. The Department celebrated World Soil Day this year with our guest speaker, Terry Chandler, Madison County Farmer, and UGA alumni (Formerly called Agronomy, now called CRSS, Class of 83’).

UGA Faculty and Students from CRSS and Forestry partnered with the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service and Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Society to develop and man different stations set up to showcase all the different aspects of soil including a Microcosm display, Soil biology and infiltration, Soil Painting, the Soil Your Undies Soil Health Test, mini rainfall simulations, and freshly harvested vegetables to name a few of our booths.

Microcosms created by the Franklin and Hawkins Labs showed the difference in soil and plant health based on three soil covers with and without worms.

The three microcosms on the left contained worms; plants from left to right were cereal rye, crimson clover, and straw mulch. The three microcosms on the right did not contain worms; plants from left to right were cereal rye, crimson clover, and straw mulch. The microcosms with worms all increased forage productivity and increased rainfall infiltration. The displays helped visualize the importance of soil biology and biodiversity in soil. We are already looking forward to World Soil Day 2026!


Four people stand indoors in front of large glass windows overlooking a garden courtyard. They are positioned behind two raised planting beds filled with green plants and straw. A small seating area with wooden chairs is visible to the left, and the background shows trees and brick buildings outside the glass enclosure.
World Soil Day at the Franklin Lab. Pictured Left to right: Sultan Nawaz, Usman Khalid, Dr. Dory Franklin, Anish Subedi standing behind the two microcosms.





Anshul stands on stage while a photographer takes her photo after winning the UGA 3MT Grand Prize.
Anshul stands on stage while a photographer takes her photo after winning the UGA 3MT Grand Prize.

3 Minute Thesis (3MT®)

Three Minute Thesis is a professional and highly engaging international research communication competition for Master and PhD students. Better known by the acronym 3MT®, the competition requires contestants to explain their thesis or dissertation topic and its significance in three minutes or less using only a single static presentation slide. 3MT® is not an exercise in trivializing or ‘dumbing-down’ research but forces students to consolidate their ideas and crystalize their research discoveries. 

CRSS hosted our first ever departmental competition in 2025. Anshul, MS Student (Advisor: C. Pilon), CRSS won the 2025 UGA 3 Minute Thesis Competition Grand Prize for her presentation, “Peanuts: The Uncrushed Oil Potential.”






CRSS 3 Minute Thesis Award Recipients

CRSS held their first ever departmental 3MT and it was a great success! Students got to compete and showcase their work.

M.S. Category

  • 1st Place: Samantha Bowen (Advisor: T. Grey)
  • 2nd Place: Joshua Falkowski (Advisor: A. Thompson)
  • 3rd Place (tie): Michaela Lubbers (Advisor: J. Thompson) and Anshul (Advisor: C. Pilon and Tubbs)
  • People's Choice Award: Michaela Lubbers (Advisor: J. Thompson)

Ph.D. Category

  • 1st Place: Emmanuella Bredu (Advisor: J. Snider)
  • 2nd Place: Comfort Adegbenro (Advisor: J. Snider)
  • 3rd Place: Nushrat Niva (Advisor: L. Lacerda)

3 Minute Thesis participants and faculty standing outside surrounded by trees in front of the UGA Arch, Athens, GA.
3 Minute Thesis participants and faculty standing in front of the UGA arch.





Cotton Production Field Day 2025

Drs. Camp Hand (UGA Extension Cotton Specialist), Wesley Porter (UGA Extension Irrigation Specialist), Nick Basinger (Weed Science), and Leo Bastos (Precision Agriculture)  discussed their current trials at JPC during the 2025 Cotton Field Day.

Presentations focused on Precision Agriculture Practices, water use and weed management research in cotton production systems.


A four‑image collage shows an outdoor agricultural field day in a crop field. • Top left: Several people stand spaced out along crop rows while Camp Hand addresses the group near demonstration signs and equipment. • Top right: Wes Porter holds a microphone while speaking to attendees, standing near the edge of the field. • Bottom left: Nick Basinger speaks into a microphone while making a hand gesture, with crop rows in the background. • Bottom right: Leo Bastos speaks to a group of attendees in a field, surrounded by crop rows and trees.
Scenes from the 2025 Cotton Production Field Day (clockwise from top lef): Camp Hand, Wes Porter, Nick Basinger, and Leo Bastos.





Back to School Welcome

We held a “Back to School Welcome” day to celebrate the beginning of the Fall 2025 Semester. It was beautiful day outside for our activities.

We had food, informational tables, and even managed to prop up a volleyball/badminton net.

This was such a fun way to kick off the semester and for faculty, staff, and students to spend time outdoors!


People stand outside under a tree at a folding table, eating and making plates of food.
Welcome Day 2025