News Stories - Page 34

A cotton farmer who uses yield maps while he finishes harvesting this year’s crop could potentially increase his yields next season while becoming more efficient with input costs, according to University of Georgia Precision Agriculture Specialist Wes Porter.

When the University of Georgia and the Georgia Institute of Technology interact, especially around Thanksgiving, they’re typically colliding on the football field for another historic round of clean, old-fashioned hate. But what you see on the gridiron is 180 degrees from the relationship the two schools share in Georgia farm fields where they work in harmony — and often full-fledged partnership — to improve the productivity and profitability of various sectors of Georgia agriculture.

When it comes to the goal of feeding the world’s growing population, the only certainty is that it will take a multipronged approach.

October saw the easing of drought conditions across the state, but many producers reported that the months of dry conditions had already harmed their crops.

A record 380 entries were submitted in this year’s Southeastern Hay Contest (SEHC), and the grand prize was awarded to Yon Family Farms of Ridge Spring, South Carolina. The winner received $1,000 from Massey Ferguson and the choice of the use of a new Massey Ferguson DM Series disc mower or RK Series rotary rake for next year’s hay production season.

The University of Georgia was among the first academic institutions to delve into precision agriculture when it emerged in the mid-1990s. A quarter-century later, UGA is stepping up efforts to expand its faculty, curriculum, research and outreach to again become a leader in the field.