Georgia’s wildly fluctuating temperatures in the first four months of the year played havoc on the state’s signature onion crop.

University of Georgia economist Jeffrey Dorfman was recently named a fellow of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, the top professional association for agricultural and natural resource economists.

Concerned Georgia farmers gathered in Atlanta, Macon and Tifton on Wednesday, March 20 to hear a summary of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s new Food Safety Modernization Act. Proposed by Congress, the act was developed in an effort to improve the safety of the nation’s food supply.

Amid news of a still sputtering U.S. economic recovery, a report released this week shows the nation’s agbioscience industries are growing, especially in the South.

Due to last year’s record-breaking peanut harvest and the current surplus supply of peanuts, Georgia peanut farmers will likely decrease the number of acres they plant this year.

Some Georgia farmers are looking to food hubs as a way to better market their produce and make the process of getting their produce to market more efficiently.

The government of Gabon has tapped Georgia’s agricultural experts to help the central African nation develop a more self-sufficient agricultural system.

From wood pellet and biodiesel production or mining landfills for methane to running county patrol cars and busses on everything from propane to peanut oil — Georgia has become a laboratory for testing new energy technologies.

As emerging international markets for Georgia agricultural products continue to grow, Georgia farmers need to be aware of the impacts the global marketplace can have on their bottom line. This year, in recognition of the growing importance of the global marketplace to Georgia farmers, Georgia Department of Economic Development Director of International Trade Kathe Falls will deliver the keynote talks at the 2013 Ag Forecast series. The Farm-to-Port Ag Forecast will be held in locations across the state Jan. 25 to Feb. 1.