As the second-largest economic contributor to the Georgia economy after agriculture, hospitality and tourism workforce development is critical. The University of Georgia is addressing the need and preparing the workforce of the future through partnerships and experiential learning. The UGA Center for Continuing Education & Hotel, a showcase for best practices in hospitality and tourism, collaborates with the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences for the bachelor’s degree program in hospitality and food industry management.

For decades, economists have studied the impact of immigration on domestic labor markets. As a shortage of domestic farm labor has led to increased participation in the H-2A visa program, a brief look back at past immigration policies helps frame why migrants from Central and South America have largely been associated with filling necessary agricultural jobs in the U.S.

Georgia’s geographic diversity — from beaches and swamps to mountains and flatlands —makes the state an attractive place to live, but each region is vulnerable to weather-related emergencies year-round. When disasters strike, navigating the milieu of steps to recover and rebuild can be difficult. With a presence in all 159 Georgia counties, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension is uniquely positioned to help communities prepare for and rebound from calamity.

The face of Ag Hill is changing, with millions of dollars in capital improvements and new facilities in the works, and both the University of Georgia and the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences are committed to supporting the mission and the tradition the hill represents. Now known as Science and Ag Hill to recognize the location as a hub for a variety of related disciplines on South Campus — including agricultural, poultry and food sciences as well as chemistry, biology, physics, statistics, geography and geology — the area holds both academic and historic significance.

Poultry has grown to become the top commodity in Georgia’s No. 1 industry, agriculture. Acquainting school-aged students with potential career paths in avian science is critical to staffing the state's poultry sector. Building on the foundation set by Avian Academy, the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences worked with the Georgia Department of Education to create middle- and high-school poultry science curricula.

Learning by Leading at the University of Georgia is a hands-on program developed for the botanical garden to increase leadership skills through a comprehensive experiential learning program. Students progress through a leadership ladder, gaining technical, human and conceptual skills while working alongside staff mentors at the State Botanical Garden. James Anderson of the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication led a six-series leadership training for staff mentors during the 2018-19 academic year.

University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences students hailing from Hall County, Georgia, will soon be eligible for scholarship support thanks to the generosity of Gainesville natives Doug and Kay Ivester. A $200,000 endowment to fund the newly established Abit Massey/Ivester Foundation Scholarship Fund will support CAES students who either graduated from a high school located in Gainesville, Georgia, or Hall County, Georgia, or who are Hall County residents.

University of Georgia plant genomics expert Robin Buell is part of an international team seeking to mine an untapped genetic resource for wheat improvement by sequencing the genomes of ancient varieties representing the worldwide diversity of bread wheat. The two-year project— called the Wheat Diversity Project — is funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and will bring Buell together with researchers from the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium (IWGSC) and collaborators in France to sequence 12 landrace genomes.

Reflecting on the year 2023, University of Georgia researchers contributed to groundbreaking advancement in vaccines and health care, to the rejuvenation of American chestnut trees, to surprising revelations about the shy nature of Joro spiders, and much more. Including work from the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, here are highlights of 12 of our most noteworthy research stories from this year.