About 180 northeast Georgians and University of Georgia faculty and staff toured the J. Phil Campbell Sr. Research and Education Center on June 25 as part of the center’s Annual Corn Boil and Field Day.

The corn boil is a summer tradition at the 1,055-acre farm, which transitioned from U.S. Department of Agriculture control to the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences in 2013.

Launched as a way to introduce neighbors to the farm’s research back when the farm was operated by the USDA, the center’s annual corn boil is just what it sounds like: a feast made from the corn grown on the research farm.

“This is an exciting time for agriculture, and it’s a challenging time for agriculture …” CAES Dean and Director Sam Pardue told the crowd. “At the end of day, what we do at the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences matters because we work to provide what every single one of us needs on a daily basis. That happens to be food.

“We’re grateful for the fact that we have so many men and women who are dedicated to finding ways to provide that more efficiently and more effectively and to feed a growing world.”

In addition to lunch, attendees toured the farm and learned about the many research projects being conducted on the property.

The center serves as the hub of CAES’ sustainable row crop and pasture research. From living mulch to rotational grazing, UGA researchers at the center work to make traditional agriculture more profitable and sustainable.

This year’s tour stops included living mulch demonstrations in corn and cotton, cotton variety trials, cover crop research and water quality research.

For photos from this year’s event, visit the 2019 corn boil Flickr album.

For more information about the history of the Campbell center, visit the CAES Research website.