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She didn’t realize it at the time, but Carla Schwan’s passion for food microbiology began in a hospital bed in rural Brazil. At just 12 years old, Schwan’s predicament began with what she originally thought was just a stomachache from an undercooked hamburger. When her condition worsened, doctors eventually realized she had ingested contaminated beef that led to a potentially lethal bacterial infection called Shiga toxin-producing E. coli.

The University of Georgia’s Office of Service-Learning has established longstanding partnerships with community organizations to help address local food insecurity. Last September, the office launched the AmeriCorps Community Food Fellows program to further support these organizations. Since then, the 20 fellows have connected with organizations across the Athens community, serving daily meals at Our Daily Bread, harvesting food at UGArden, packing meals with Campus Kitchen, and delivering meals to families served by the Athens Community Council on Aging.

As an essential part of the U.S. agricultural industry, the H-2A program offers a lifeline for farmers facing seasonal labor shortages. The program enables them to hire migrant workers on a temporary basis when attempts to hire domestic workers are unsuccessful. Yet, as the agricultural sector navigates the delicate balance between productivity and financial viability, the high costs associated with the H-2A program present a very real and present challenge for farmers striving to sustain their operations.

As students return to campus fresh from holiday break, one building is welcoming students for the very first time. Situated on University of Georgia’s South Campus, the 70,000-plus square-foot Poultry Science Building is the new home for the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Department of Poultry Science. The new building provides nearly double the space per student in each classroom, growing from roughly 17 square feet to 28 to 30 square feet per student.

A multidisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences recently renewed a $4 million contract with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service to build upon their previous work to develop targeted interventions to mitigate the impact of silverleaf whiteflies on vegetable production in the Southeast. UGA entomologist Allen Moore leads the research team in collaboration with USDA ARS in Charleston, South Carolina.

For plant breeder Andrew Ogden, things are looking up. Way up. A new assistant professor in the University of Georgia Department of Horticulture at the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Ogden focuses on breeding members of the cucurbit family — namely melons and squash — in a vertical greenhouse environment. An asset to the UGA Griffin campus, Ogden joins the college's controlled environment agriculture research team, which was formed to support the ever-expanding green industry.

The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and UGA Cooperative Extension are pleased to announce that registration for the 2024 Georgia Ag Forecast is now open. The annual seminar has become a staple for agribusiness and producers, offering the latest research and insights from UGA faculty to help them prepare for the upcoming year. The annual event is scheduled for Jan. 26 at the UGA Tifton Conference Center on the UGA Tifton campus, and it will also be live streamed to virtual registrants.

As the second-largest economic contributor to the Georgia economy after agriculture, hospitality and tourism workforce development is critical. The University of Georgia is addressing the need and preparing the workforce of the future through partnerships and experiential learning. The UGA Center for Continuing Education & Hotel, a showcase for best practices in hospitality and tourism, collaborates with the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences for the bachelor’s degree program in hospitality and food industry management.

For decades, economists have studied the impact of immigration on domestic labor markets. As a shortage of domestic farm labor has led to increased participation in the H-2A visa program, a brief look back at past immigration policies helps frame why migrants from Central and South America have largely been associated with filling necessary agricultural jobs in the U.S.

Georgia’s geographic diversity — from beaches and swamps to mountains and flatlands —makes the state an attractive place to live, but each region is vulnerable to weather-related emergencies year-round. When disasters strike, navigating the milieu of steps to recover and rebuild can be difficult. With a presence in all 159 Georgia counties, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension is uniquely positioned to help communities prepare for and rebound from calamity.