Hemp is a promising new industry for profitability, but growers of this newly legal crop will face a mix of public opinions according to University of Georgia research into challenges those in the hemp business may face in the southeastern United States.

The University of Georgia will bestow one of its highest honors on William “Bill” P. Flatt, D.W. Brooks Distinguished Professor Emeritus, and the late Ivery Clifton, a former faculty member and administrator in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and associate vice president for academic affairs, in a virtual awards ceremony Jan. 25.

Despite the challenges of the pandemic, 370 entries were submitted in the 2020 Southeastern Hay Contest (SEHC), just below the record-setting number of submissions for 2019. More states submitted samples to the contest than ever before, with nine represented.

This past year has presented Georgia 4-H with the opportunity to create new and innovative programming options to meet the challenges of virtual school options and social distancing required by the COVID-19 crisis. Because these circumstances have precluded students from attending traditional environmental education programming at Georgia 4-H centers and 4-H club meetings at local University of Georgia Coooperative Extension offices, teachers and parents have needed entertaining and educational online resources to keep youth engaged in non-traditional learning environments. In response, Georgia 4-H launched “From The Mountains To The Sea,” “Zoom into Science” and “Blast Off with Georgia 4-H” to allow the state’s youth to continue their participation in 4-H programming remotely.

Ongoing citrus rootstock trials being conducted by University of Georgia Cooperative Extension in Lowndes County hold promise for increased yields, improved fruit quality and greater disease resistance.

Robin Buell, University Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University and a renowned plant genomics expert, will join the University of Georgia in fall 2021 as its newest Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar.

A survey is now being conducted by the University of Georgia in an effort to get a year-end perspective of the impact of the pandemic on Georgia’s agricultural industry.

A University of Georgia student-led project hopes to produce fruitful results with an edible landscape near Lake Herrick.

Modeling clay isn’t limited to art classrooms and sculpting studios. University of Georgia researchers developed a tool to track beneficial insects in turfgrass systems using clay models. Tracking these good predators can help develop eco-friendly pest management techniques for both home lawns and commercial sod growers.