The holiday season is here, and homemade gifts are part of the culture of many families around the world. Infused cooking oils have a great aesthetic appearance, provide an enhanced flavor profile, and can make a special homemade gift. However, if not done properly, homemade food gifts like infused oil may cause serious illness and potential death.

As demand for organic food continues to rise, organic agriculture has attracted both longtime producers and new farmers into the industry. University of Georgia researchers are working on a new study meant to develop best practices for transitioning farmers starting out with land that has been used for grazing or has lain fallow.

Two University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences alumni businesses were included in the 2023 Bulldog 100, a list that celebrates the 100 fastest-growing organizations owned or operated by UGA alumni. Those selected by the UGA Alumni Association for the annual list embody the best of UGA as they are leading the way in business and building better communities.

University of Georgia Cooperative Extension agents throughout the state have been hard at work improving health in their communities through the Well Connected Communities program. A nationwide initiative developed by the Cooperative Extension System and the National 4-H Council, Well Connected Communities is designed to identify and address systemic health inequities at the local level.

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.

For Borlaug Fellow Urtnasan “Uugii” Ganbaatar, the opportunity to work with University of Georgia wheat breeder and geneticist Mohamed Mergoum is opening up a world of growth. With her colleagues at the Institute of Plant and Agricultural Sciences, part of the Mongolian University of Life Sciences, Ganbaatar wants to implement the advanced breeding techniques used at UGA to improve her country's dominant crop.

In 1958, a carpenter named LC Powers built himself and his wife, Ruby Nell, a broiler house on their family’s land in northeast Georgia. The chicken house could hold 10,000 chicks, but there was barely enough electricity to power a few light bulbs in the open-sided building. The Powers’ great-granddaughter, Kylie Bruce, recounted her great-grandparents’ story at the groundbreaking for a new, technologically advanced Poultry Science Building.

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.”

Widening interest in efforts to support pollinators has led to a name change for the Great Georgia Pollinator Census, which will become the Great Southeast Pollinator Census on Dec. 1. The census began as a statewide community science initiative in Georgia in August 2019, created and coordinated by Becky Griffin, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension community and school garden coordinator.