In most respects, May 6, 2022, was a typical school day for Amy Paulk Grist. Tift County High School buzzed with end-of-the-year activities. Tift County is the only high school serving Tifton, Georgia, a mostly rural community off I-75, just an hour north of the Florida border. A veteran economics teacher of more than a decade, Amy was wrapping up another successful year at the high school of nearly 2,300 students when her vision started to blur. Something wasn’t right.

Pearl millet, an annual grass used for grain and forage, can be a good food source for honey bees and hover flies, according to a recent study. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service and University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences researchers studied the impact of pearl millet as a source of insect food by surveying insects collecting and consuming the sucrose-rich pollen of this crop.

For Joseph McHugh, a career as an entomologist was never in question: He became fascinated by insects and their diversity in grade school and his passion never wavered. This year, his internationally recognized leadership in the field he loves was rewarded as he was named the Herbert H. and Jean A. Ross Memorial Distinguished Professor of Insect Systematics and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Researchers and educators at the University of Georgia Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant work in a unique kind of lab. On Skidaway Island, staff are surrounded on every side by miles of salt marsh and towering oak trees with vibrant, twisting branches covered in Spanish moss. Egrets soar overhead and squareback crabs scurry over their boots as they cross the maritime forest floor.

Emma Grace Crumbley — also known online as Emma the Entomologist — is a scientific communicator with a passion for bug facts. And whether she’s sharing a recipe for cricket cookies or highlighting insect names with Star Wars origins (ever heard of Agathidium vaderi, also known as the Darth Vader beetle?), she is dedicated to making insect education accessible.

Situated on 250 acres in Perry, Georgia, next to the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter and at the heart of the state's agricultural landscape, the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and Grand Farm are coming together to build the University of Georgia Grand Farm, a working innovation farm with plans to deploy the first field projects in 2025.

An outreach program offered by the University of Georgia has received federal funding to train military veterans to start their own farms. Farm Boot Camp, a specialized training program for military veterans and their spouses, offers free monthly trainings and specialized workshops to provide essential skills and knowledge needed to start or return to farming operations.

You don’t expect it to be here. Not after passing subdivision after subdivision with names culled from the merging of random adjectives and natural objects: Longleaf, Brightwood, Hickory Hills. But travel far enough down Turner Church Road — a smidge north of the burgeoning Georgia town of McDonough — and the tree-lined spiderweb roads of housing developments open to vast farmland adorned with berry crops and little, red-roofed structures.

In 2018, the United Nations General Assembly established June 7 as World Food Safety Day to bring awareness of foodborne risks and “to celebrate the myriad benefits of safe food.” With 25 faculty members involved in food safety microbiology, the University of Georgia has one of the largest teams of food safety researchers of any university. Their research and collaboration efforts contribute to a growing body of knowledge that ensures producers and consumers have the latest information about food safety.