Browse Precision Agriculture Stories - Page 2

The University of Georgia’s Institute for Integrative Precision Agriculture has awarded eight seed grants to fund initial research for projects at the convergence of agriculture, engineering, computing and related areas of study. The grants, the first of their kind from IIPA, follow a strategic push by the university to improve its industry collaboration across fields of study and support foundational research to advance agriculture and economic development in the state of Georgia.

Over the last few decades, water use-related disagreements between Georgia and its surrounding states have held the spotlight in the Southeast. To address the need for conservation, the Agricultural Water Efficiency Team (AgWET) was created to train University of Georgia Cooperative Extension agents to transfer advanced irrigation scheduling knowledge to growers through a unique one-on-one educational approach.

The University of Georgia's Institute for Integrative Precision Agriculture (IIPA), a new interdisciplinary unit dedicated to the research and application of new technologies in agriculture, has made three new faculty hires. Leonardo Bastos, Lorena Lacerda and Guoyu Lu joined IIPA full time during fall 2022, each contributing to the strategic mission of the institute to harness the power of technology and big data to sustainably provide for our planet’s growing population.

The common bean — which includes many varieties of dry beans, from navy and black beans to red, pinto and green beans — are an important nutritional source for many world populations. However, rapidly changing climate conditions are making them increasingly difficult to grow in many locations due to high temperatures and susceptibility to diseases and pests.

Athens-area residents familiar with driving past two University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences research farms will soon have the opportunity to go behind the scenes and learn more about CAES’ role in the future of farming.

The University of Georgia is leveraging faculty expertise and strengthening industry ties through a new Institute for Integrative Precision Agriculture whose research and outreach will help sustainably feed a growing global population.

Peter Zimmerli, Consul General of Switzerland in Atlanta, implored attendees to expand their thinking regarding technology and sustainability at the opening of the recent Cleantech Symposium at the University of Georgia. “Imagine a world where all humankind has access to sufficient food assured by sustainable agriculture. Imagine a world where we have technology that addresses these needs,” Zimmerli said.

The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences will host the second annual Georgia Precision Poultry Farming Conference via Zoom May 3. The $40 registration fee is waived for students, but registration — open until May 1 — is required for all participants.

Red barns, green pastures and the sound of roosters crowing at the crack of dawn. These are the images that come to mind when agriculture comes up, but ask the students who climbed aboard the charter bus for the 2022 Spring Break Tour through Georgia Agriculture, and what they say will broaden your perspective.

Asked what his day looks like on a regular basis, Simer Virk laughed out loud. “There are no average days in research and Extension work — every day is different and every season is different,” said Virk, an assistant professor and University of Georgia Cooperative Extension precision agriculture specialist in UGA's Department of Crop and Soil Sciences.