Georgia’s inaugural First Flock is retiring to Fortson 4-H Center almost three years after they came to roost at the Governor’s Mansion in 2021. Six members of the original flock traded places with 15 new hens during a ceremonial swap on Feb. 1 at the First Flock’s custom coop on the eastern side of the 18-acre mansion grounds in Atlanta. The idea for the project was hatched in 2020 when Georgia first lady Marty Kemp expressed her desire to include agricultural education via residential hens at the mansion.

Seven alumni from the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences will be recognized at the 68th annual CAES Alumni Association Awards banquet on April 6. Two Georgia agricultural leaders will be inducted into the Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame at the event, hosted at the Classic Center in Athens. “Georgia’s No. 1 industry — agriculture — is that because of the people that are part of the industry,” said Becca Turner, CAES Alumni Association board president.

Kylee Jo Duberstein, the state equine specialist for University of Georgia Cooperative Extension and professor in the Department of Animal and Dairy Science, competed jumping horses at a national level for over 15 years before becoming an award-winning instructor. The UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences recently honored her with the D.W. Brooks Award for Excellence in Teaching for her exceptional work guiding students.

Spring is approaching and now is a great time to schedule a community clean-up event. These events can be organized by citizens, civic groups or local governments and often have a theme or targeted area in a town or community. Clean-up events provide many benefits to a community including raising the awareness of litter prevention, developing pride in our communities and restoring the natural environment.

University of Georgia Cooperative Extension and Fort Valley State University Extension are teaming up with a prominent estate planning expert to offer a free workshop designed to demystify trusts, an aspect of estate planning. There are different types of trusts and they can serve purposes including tax planning, medical planning and charitable giving. The free virtual workshop with John Donsbach from the Donsbach Law Group will be held on March 20 from noon to 1:30 p.m.

Two recently published studies by University of Georgia researchers show that the consumers surveyed believe buying local is a more sustainable option, but they also value the convenience of online shopping and prefer that retailers provide basic information about the environmental impact of local products in the digital marketplace. Driven by increasing consumer interest in buying local and concerns about the impact of agricultural production systems on a changing climate, the studies were based on data from a web-based survey about consumer interest in sustainability, information about food production and online marketing preferences.

The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) has selected five University of Georgia researchers as 2024 NAI Senior Members, the largest single induction for the university in its history. UGA now has 16 Senior Members overall. NAI Senior Members recognize faculty, scientists, and administrators for their ability to innovate and commercialize new technologies. UGA’s 2024 inductees are Elizabeth Brisbois, David Crich, Qingguo “Jack” Huang, Paul Raymer, and Ralph Tripp.

Ten university-wide projects devoted to advancing interdisciplinary research across multiple application areas have been awarded Presidential Interdisciplinary Seed Grants as part of the 2023 cohort. The Presidential Interdisciplinary Seed Grant Program was launched in 2017 and offered again in 2019 and 2021 through a partnership between the offices of Research and Public Service and Outreach. These 10 awards were chosen from 70 proposals and reflect a commitment of $1 million from UGA President Jere W. Morehead.

The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service have broken ground on a new state-of-the-art research facility housing the Southeast Watershed Research Laboratory and the Crop Genetics and Breeding Research Unit. the UGA Tifton campus, the research facility will include a new, 31,000-square-foot building housing university and ARS employees working on climate-smart agricultural research.