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Published on 06/27/13

New vegetable horticulturist set to man Tifton post

By Clint Thompson

Tim Coolong has a passion for studying vegetable production. The University of Georgia is an attractive destination for renowned scientists. Together, they are a match made in agricultural heaven.

Coolong, an associate Extension professor at the University of Kentucky for the past six years, is slated to become the new vegetable horticulturist at UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Tifton campus on Monday, July 1.

“The fresh vegetable industry in Georgia is ranked third nationally so there’s a tremendous opportunity to have an impact and work with some really good people,” Coolong said.

Coolong will work with all vegetables, but the bulk of his time will be spent on vegetables with the most acreage in the state: watermelons, sweet corn, peppers, beans, cucumbers and onions, on which Coolong did his graduate work.

“I’m going to try to develop more variety trials to get some needed information to growers in Georgia and also look at some fertility [issues],” he said. “I think based on the way some other states have gone with an emphasis on run-off with water quality, I think having updated fertility data for crops would be helpful.”

Vegetables generated more than $781 million in revenue for the state, according to the 2011 Georgia Farm Gate Value Report.

Of all Georgia-grown vegetables, onions generated the most revenue in Georgia in 2011 with $159 million or 20.36 percent of production. Watermelons were second at 12.6 percent and bell peppers were third at 9.9 percent.

“Certainly in Kentucky, a lot of people got their livelihoods from farms in terms of sheer acreage. The growers in Georgia are up there as far as national leaders. This is a huge responsibility to be able to be there to support them with good applied research,” Coolong said. “It’s something I’m not taking lightly, that’s for sure.”

For more information about vegetable production Georgia, go to extension.uga.edu/agriculture/ag-fruits-vegetables.

Clint Thompson is an agriculture writer based in Tifton, Georgia.

Authors:
Clint Thompson
Experts/Sources:
Tim Coolong
Tim Coolong will start on July 1 at the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Tifton campus.
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