The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences announces its fifth annual Ag Forecast Series. The sessions will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Jan. 24 in Gainesville, Jan. 25 in Tifton, Jan. 27 in Statesboro, Feb.

The U.S government is currently running an unprecedented $1.3 trillion budget deficit (that’s $1,300 billion). Regardless of the recent pronouncement from the deficit commission, there is no plan to do much in the way of addressing the deficit. President Barack Obama’s budget projections show the current level of spending continuing as far as the eye can see. The Republicans, who are about to control the House, have no interest in raising taxes.

The University of Georgia hopes to bring gardening, fresh produce and nutritious food a little closer to the people who need it by first educating its students.

In 2001, the Wills family began selling loaves of all-natural bread to friends in the north Georgia mountains. To grow their business, in 2008, they turned to a marketing tool developed by the University of Georgia. Now, they can’t keep up with demand.

Summertime drought hurt Georgia’s pecan crop, and now harvest is behind schedule. But there is one big bright spot: Pecan prices are currently the highest they have ever been, according to a University of Georgia pecan specialist.

Agriculture is the food you eat, clothes you wear and the fuel that runs your life. When these products are made locally, it helps communities thrive.

Cotton prices right now are the highest in history. Prices for other Georgia-grown row crops are riding high, too. And the ride could last well into next year, say University of Georgia farm economists.

In southeast Georgia, an area of the state known for its blueberries, Brantley Morris of Morris Nursery in Alma, Ga., gets calls at least once a week from farmers who want to grow pomegranate trees.

Blueberries passed peaches as the state’s top moneymaking fruit a few years ago, worth more than $100 million on the farm annually. But new diseases threaten to hamper its rise, says a University of Georgia fruit specialist.