To avoid losing their farms following Hurricane Michael, Georgia farmers need financial relief as soon as possible, according to Jeff Dorfman, a professor and agricultural economist in the University of Georgia Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics.

Groundnut producers face challenges in the field, from unpredictable rainfall to acidic soils to a particularly difficult menace, groundnut rosette disease. These types of challenges are the reason that plant breeders systematically create new varieties, targeting the genetic traits that carry resistance or improve yield. A project funded by the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Peanut is equipping plant breeders from across East and Southern Africa with innovative software to make that work quicker and more efficient.

University of Georgia agricultural economists believe that Georgia cotton farmers in the path of Hurricane Michael have only begun to feel the impact of the storm that took 90 or 100 percent of many area growers’ crops.

All farmers with crops and commodities affected by Hurricane Michael are invited to attend an agriculture disaster assistance information session to be held at the University of Georgia Tifton Campus Conference Center at 2 p.m. Monday, October 22.

Georgia peanut farmers, still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Michael on October 10-11, are facing uncertainty about when and where to unload their crop after harvest, says University of Georgia Cooperative Extension peanut agronomist Scott Monfort.

What was an extremely promising Georgia cotton crop was devastated when Hurricane Michael ravaged south Georgia Oct. 10-11. According to Jared Whitaker, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension cotton agronomist, the prospects of 1,500 to 1,800 pounds of dryland cotton for some producers were reduced, resulting in 80 to 90 percent losses in some fields.

Georgia peanut farmers can save money, conserve water and produce higher yields using a new irrigation scheduling recommendation, according to Wesley Porter, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension irrigation specialist.

When people think of Georgia peanuts, they often think of the thousands of acres planted on the western half of the coastal plain. But the truth is that east Georgia boasts its share of peanuts as well. 

Jessica Marter-Kenyon has joined the Peanut Innovation Lab management team as an advisor on gender-related issues. As a postdoctoral research associate with the innovation lab, Marter-Kenyon holds a joint appointment with the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication at the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.