The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences has launched a podcast, now available on all streaming services. Cultivating Curiosity will augment existing CAES news and storytelling platforms, including the CAES Newswire, where you are reading this; Almanac, the college's annual publication; and Cultivate, which highlights members of the CAES and UGA Cooperative Extension community.

The Dirt Dawgs, the University of Georgia’s soil judging team, placed third in the recent 2022 regional soil judging contest against 11 other universities. They will move on to compete in the national soil judging competition held in Oklahoma in March.

As fall semester draws to an end, the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences will welcome the newest group of Bulldogs into the CAES alumni family. Family and friends are invited to attend the CAES Convocation ceremony on Dec. 16 in the Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall at UGA's Performing Arts Center.

Four experts at the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and UGA Cooperative Extension have been recognized as members of the Fruit and Vegetable 40 under 40 Class of 2022. The list honors 40 early-career agricultural professionals for exemplary accomplishments, representing “the best in the industry.”

Georgia 4-H has selected Melanie Biersmith as the new state 4-H leader. Effective Nov. 1, Biersmith is the ninth state leader in the organization’s 118-year history. Biersmith most recently served as the associate state 4-H leader for facilities and residential programs for Georgia 4-H, where she managed operations and personnel at all six Georgia 4-H centers.

The Meat Dawgs, the University of Georgia’s meat judging team, won the national title at the National High Plains Intercollegiate Meat Judging Contest in Friona, Texas, on Oct. 30, cementing a successful return of the team after 10 years.

The Meat Dawgs, the University of Georgia’s meat judging team, continued their high-performance streak with a second place win at the American Royal meat judging competition on Oct. 16 in Omaha, Nebraska.

Animal geneticist Alison Van Eenennaam, a University of California Cooperative Extension biotechnology specialist in the Department of Animal Science at the University of California, Davis, is the keynote speaker for the 2022 D.W. Brooks Lecture and Awards, to be held Nov. 8 at the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education & Hotel.

University of Georgia Professor Cesar Escalante has been awarded the 2022 Ketchum Prize — the FINRA Investor Education Foundation’s (FINRA Foundation) highest honor — in recognition of his pioneering research and advocacy to advance financial inclusion and alleviate racial and gender bias in agricultural lending.