CAES Newswire

 College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences UGA Cooperative Extension
Menu
Published on 06/04/15

UGA hosts sustainable agriculture workshop on June 25 in Watkinsville

By Merritt Melancon

Research faculty and UGA Cooperative Extension specialists with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences are hosting a sustainable agriculture field day 6-8 p.m. Thursday, June 25 at the J. Phil Campbell Sr. Research and Education Center in Watkinsville, Georgia.

Researchers will discuss the latest findings for corn and forage production practices to help increase profitability and decrease environmental impacts. These findings include a new living mulch system for corn, new forage varieties, cover crops to supply nitrogen and information on some of the equipment used to manage the farm.

Farmers and those interested in conservation land management should plan to attend.

“The Campbell (center) has a lot of interesting research going on to help farmers be more productive and profitable,” said Julia Gaskin, sustainable agriculture coordinator for UGA. “Many of these approaches are also better for the environment. It’s nice to be able to highlight research that has the potential to be a win-win solution.”

Registration will be free and participants can register on-site. Parking will be available at the Oconee County Civic Center, 2661 Hog Mountain Road in Watkinsville. Shuttles will transport participants to and from the J. Phil Campbell center’s west unit field site every 10 minutes.

The field day features eight stations, including:

  • Living Mulch and Corn: UGA’s pioneering living mulch system will be showcased with sweet corn and field corn. The living mulch concept uses a perennial legume to provide weed control and nitrogen fertilizer to row crops. Its success depends on row width, crop population density and the amount of clover killed. These plots demonstrate how last year’s management is affecting this year’s crop.
  • Soil Erosion and Water Quality in Corn Systems: Use of the living mulch system in a corn crop is expected to reduce soil erosion and the amount of nutrients lost. Researchers are comparing runoff and nutrient loss in the living mulch and conventional corn production systems.
  • Corn/Clover System Water Quality and Use: Corn can be a “leaky” production system, where fertilizer nutrients are lost to groundwater. Researchers will share what they’ve found about how a living mulch system reduces nutrient loss and possibly conserves soil moisture.
  • New Equipment: Farm manager Eric Elsner will give visitors a rundown on the equipment used to manage the farm, including no-till planters and drills, an over-the-row hooded sprayer and a hay unroller.
  • The Forage Garden: Learn about Georgia forages by a touring a garden that includes forages used extensively in Georgia for pasture, hay and silage production, as well as some novel forage species and varieties.
  • Forage Variety Development: UGA forage breeders will explain what traits they are breeding for when developing varieties suitable for conditions in Georgia and the Southeast.
  • Nitrogen Release from Cover Crops/Organic Grain Corn: Researchers will discuss a new Nitrogen Availability Calculator that is available to predict a nitrogen credit from cover crops, and will discuss how this can be used in U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service programs. They will also discuss growing organic corn.
  • Soil Microorganisms and Soil Inoculants: Can locally produced microbes enhance forage growth or legume productivity? Researchers are evaluating the use of inoculates in forages fertilized with swine manure and in legumes fertilized with composted broiler litter.

For more information, check the UGA Sustainable Agriculture website at sustainagga.org or email Julia Gaskin at jgaskin@uga.edu.

Merritt Melancon, a public relations manager for the UGA Terry College of Business, previously served as a public relations coordinator for the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and UGA Extension.

Authors:
Merritt Melancon
Experts/Sources:
Julia W. Gaskin
Nick Hill
The holiday season can be a time of anticipation and joy, but balancing multiple commitments and personalities across families and friends can be a source of stress for hosts and visitors alike. Like preparing parts of the meal ahead of time to spend more of the holiday with guests, taking time ahead of the day to set expectations can go a long way to ensuring enjoyable gatherings, said Ted Futris, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension specialist and professor of human development and family science in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. CAES News
Manage holiday stress with kindness, boundaries 11/21/24 Maria M. Lameiras
The holiday season can be a time of anticipation and joy, but balancing multiple commitments and personalities across families and friends can be a source of stress for hosts and visitors alike. Much like preparing parts of the meal ahead of time allows you to spend more of the holiday with guests, setting expectations ahead of the celebration can go a long way to ensuring enjoyable gatherings, said Ted Futris, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension specialist and professor of human development and family science.
Conner Hall CAES News
CAES welcomes 2024 cohort of Rural Scholars 11/20/24 Maria M. Lameiras
The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences welcomed its fourth cohort of students chosen for the CAES Rural Scholars Program this fall just weeks after celebrating the program's first graduation. Georgia Orman, one of four inaugural Rural Scholars in CAES, graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education. The new scholars for 2024, all from Georgia, are Ela Ash of Ocilla, Lauren E. Coley of Cochran, Amelia Housley of Canon, and London O’Steen of Ambrose.
Women play a vital role in rural American farming, but much of that work is "invisible," like raising children or household chores, according to a new UGA study. (Getty Images) CAES News
The women and stress behind rural farming in America 11/19/24 Leigh Hataway
Recent research from the University of Georgia suggests the unique stresses from farm life may be taking a toll on one of the pillars of the families that make your dinners possible: the women who keep farming families running. “If we don’t control our food sources, we don’t control our health and safety,” said Anna Scheyett, lead author of the study and a professor in UGA’s School of Social Work. “It’s a matter of national security that farmers survive in the United States. And one of the big factors in helping farms survive is women.”
Mergoum at Creature Comforts CAES News
That's the spirit! 11/18/24 Maria M. Lameiras, Claire Sanders Kinnard
Wheat breeders spend years meticulously crossing varieties to coax the best traits out of each species, carefully propagating plant varieties that are healthier, heartier and better suited for the environments where they are grown. Professional brewmasters are equally painstaking when choosing the components that will give their beers a specific flavor profile.
Contest-winning concept becomes viable business for alumnus who developed solar-powered, self-propelled chicken coop as a student. CAES News
Poultry in motion 11/14/24 Sean Montgomery
Chris Ayers emerged from his orange and black rough-terrain vehicle with an ear-to-ear grin. “This is Chiktopia,” he said, sweeping his arm wide to indicate the back half of a 3,600-square-foot warehouse on his family’s farm in Ball Ground, Georgia. “This is where I manufacture and assemble the chicken coops. Everything is done entirely from over here.”
UGA Grand Farm Site Plan web CAES News
UGA Grand Farm wins stage two of 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund competition 11/13/24 Jordan Powers
Startups in the agricultural technology sector face significant barriers on the path to establishment, including access to training and capital. These barriers are heightened for underrepresented entrepreneurs seeking to start new companies. The University of Georgia Grand Farm, part of a historic partnership between the University of Georgia and Fargo, North Dakota-based Grand Farm, aims to change that.