Increasing a child’s exposure to a new food increases the likelihood the child will consume it and become healthier in the process, according to MaryBeth Hornbeck, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension agent in Rockdale County.  To encourage children between the ages of 2 and 6 to eat produce, Hornbeck says parents should be vigilant and introduce new fruits and vegetables to their children.

June’s heavy rains meant that many Georgia farmers were able to cut back on irrigation, but the rain also contributed to fungal diseases in vegetable crops and hampered vegetable farmers’ harvests.

While laymen may look at a farm field dotted with round bales and think that those bales are all the same, forage farmers and livestock producers know the truth. Hay quality varies widely from producer to producer and from year to year.

Fourteen years ago, ‘Prairie Sun,’ one of the most striking gloriosa daisies ever, was chosen as an All-America Selections award winner. This followed on the heels of ‘Indian Summer,’ another outstanding selection, and might have garnered all the love and attention it deserved. Thanks to progressive greenhouse growers and a new generation of landscape color professionals, this outstanding Rudbeckia hirta is generating a lot of dazzle in both commercial and homeowners’ landscapes. 

Jonathan Oliver’s study of blueberries and his homegrown knowledge of citrus makes the Palatka, Florida, native a valuable addition to the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Opening day of dove season is a little over two months away, so it’s time to start planning for and planting dove fields. A prudently planned dove field can provide family entertainment and economic benefits through most of the dove season, which starts Sept. 2.

Every year, hot summer temperatures lead to life-threatening heatstroke. Adults know to keep themselves hydrated and to get to a cooler place if they begin to feel overheated. Children, however, often don’t know how to protect themselves. Heatstroke in children, particularly those left in vehicles, is very serious.

Twenty years ago, something odd happened in the plant world. In 1997, a new plant called “‘New Wonder’ scaevola” won the Georgia Gold Medal Plant, Mississippi Medallion and Louisiana Select awards. That trifecta was indeed quite rare. This little plant from Australia captured the imagination of the green industry with its fan-shaped flowers and rugged, persevering performance.

Over the next 10 years, the number of cargo containers operating out of the Port of Savannah, Georgia, is expected to double. While additional cargo means increased revenue for the state, Chuck Bargeron, associate director of the University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health, is concerned it could also lead to the establishment of more invasive species.