News Stories - Page 345

University of Georgia Cooperative Extension agents are proposing tips to help Georgians keep the pounds off during the holiday season. As part of a new program this year, agents are starting the Zero Weight Gain Challenge, which will include weekly emails about ways to reduce the holiday bulge.

The Urban Ag Council of Georgia will host its annual Edge Expo for landscape professionals on Dec. 5-6 at the Gwinnett Civic and Cultural Center in Duluth, Ga.

Mulch is great in the right quantity, but can be a handicap to plant growth if applied incorrectly.

It seems to me that fall is spider time as I notice spider webs hanging from everything imaginable. I’ve seen dew-covered spider webs strung between power lines, and I’ve encountered a web of two in my face when I walked out my front door.

Temperatures in Georgia were within one degree of normal across the state in October. Rainfall continued to be light across most of the state, continuing a trend from a dry September. A narrow band stretching from Columbus to the northeast mountains was the only area of the state that received higher than normal rainfall.

As emerging international markets for Georgia agricultural products continue to grow, Georgia farmers need to be aware of the impacts the global marketplace can have on their bottom line. This year, in recognition of the growing importance of the global marketplace to Georgia farmers, Georgia Department of Economic Development Director of International Trade Kathe Falls will deliver the keynote talks at the 2013 Ag Forecast series. The Farm-to-Port Ag Forecast will be held in locations across the state Jan. 25 to Feb. 1.

Every year, the holiday shopping season seems to start a little earlier. To compete with online shopping options, brick and mortar retailers keep opening earlier and earlier on Black Friday morning. This year, the holiday shopping season will be well underway even before Thanksgiving dinner has been reduced to leftovers.

Some cooks may feel that they will have a family mutiny on their hands if they start cutting salt, fat or sugar from their traditional family recipes with options that have less salt, fat or sugar, but University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Nutrition and Health Specialist Connie Crawley believes you don’t have to sacrifice tradition for healthy food.

In this era of celebrity chefs and Internet recipes, cooks can find plenty of new techniques for oven roasting the Thanksgiving bird. They may promise a browner, tastier and more tender bird, but University of Georgia Cooperative Extension food safety expert Judy Harrison is a fan of the classics