Browse General Agriculture Stories - Page 22

Proper management of a pine stand requires thinning in order to prevent disease and insect infestation and to maximize profit. Thinning is the process of cutting or removing certain trees from a stand to regulate the number, quality and distribution of the remaining trees.

The University of Georgia’s organic agriculture faculty members are hosting a two-day crash course in organic certification and sustainable growing practices April 22-23 in Athens, Georgia.

Many homeowners have a substantial investment in the various trees, shrubs and annuals in their landscape. Trying to keep these prized plants watered can sometimes be a challenge, especially in times of drought.

Cheered on by the more than 1,000 attendees at the 20th Anniversary Georgia Organics Conference, four fledgling Georgia farmers celebrated their graduation from Georgia’s Journeyman Farmer Certificate Program — an innovative training program for beginning farmers.

Exposed to weather and wildlife during the winter months, irrigation systems can incur a multitude of problems during the growing season if they are not addressed now, according to Wes Porter, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension irrigation specialist.

It may be a while before robots and drones are as common as tractors and combine harvesters on farms, but high-tech tools may soon play a major role in helping feed the world’s rapidly growing population.

UGA cotton breeder Peng Chee’s groundbreaking research in molecular genetics provides Georgia cotton farmers with root-knot-nematode-resistant cotton varieties. It has also garnered Chee national recognition.

More than 1,000 farmers, gardeners, health advocates and organic food lovers are expected to attend the 2017 Georgia Organics Conference and Expo. This year’s schedule includes farm tours, 10 in-depth workshops, 32 educational sessions, three daylong intensive workshops, two keynote addresses, one-on-one consulting sessions and a trade show. Registration ends on Monday, Feb. 6, for this year’s conference. The two-day annual event, one of the largest sustainable agriculture expos in the South, is set for Feb. 17-18 at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta.

Deadly storms that ravaged much of south Georgia Jan. 20-22 also damaged or destroyed many irrigation pivots that supply needed water to agricultural crops.

In 2017, Georgia row crop farmers will likely devote more acreage to the state’s tried-and-true commodities: cotton and peanuts. This and other agricultural projections for the year were the focus of the 10th annual Georgia Ag Forecast seminar series, held across the state Jan. 18-27.