News Stories - Page 322

With the arrival of 456 third- through fifth-graders at the University of Georgia Rock Eagle 4-H Center on Thursday, Oct. 10, Georgia 4-H marked its millionth student served by its environmental education program.

Approximately 1,500 to 1,600 4-H and FFA students statewide participate in livestock shows like the ones at this week’s Georgia National Fair. University of Georgia faculty are heavily involved in organizing these events across the state.

The University of Georgia Department of Horticulture will host hundreds of nursery operators, ornamental plant breeders, landscape designers and plant scientists Nov. 2-6 at the International Plant Propagators’ Society Southern Region of North America Annual Meeting.

The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences has launched a new, online resource for Georgia teachers looking to take full advantage of their school’s gardens or start a garden at their school.

A newly-hired University of Georgia entomologist hopes to develop genetic resources to understand fire ant success in the southeastern United States. Ultimately, this research could lead to new methods to reduce the number of fire ants inflicting pain on humans and taking over lawns and pastures across Georgia.

When most Georgians think about Rock Eagle, images of 4-H’ers enjoying summer camp come to mind. But long before Rock Eagle 4-H Center was established, the property was home to an extended pioneer family, a bustling country inn and a large working farm. Visitors can visit the pioneer site during the next session of Saturday at the Rock.

Georgia cattle producers have until Dec. 31 to request a ballot for deciding whether or not a Georgia Agricultural Commodity Commission for Beef should be formed.

Kudzu bugs may be native to Asia, but they’re a major problem in Georgia —particularly for soybean farmers.

Drier than normal conditions returned to most of Georgia in September, due primarily to the unusually quiet tropics this year. Farmers used the drier weather to catch up on field work after the state’s extremely wet summer. However, dry conditions hampered the maturation of some soybean pods and reduced production of Bermudagrass hay. Many crops continue to be a week or two behind in development due to the cool and wet conditions that occurred in the past few months.