News Stories - Page 10

The winner of the University of Georgia’s 2022 FABricate Entrepreneurial Initiative competition is a novel automated system designed to help pasture-raised egg producers increase their efficiency. Conceptualized by a team led by poultry science undergraduate student Chris Ayers and biological engineering student Jeffery Whitmire, Chiktopia is an automated chicken tractor designed to move pasture-raised chickens easily and efficiently while preserving the land and saving labor costs.

Four graduate students in the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences have been honored with an E. Broadus Browne Award for Outstanding Graduate Research. Given in honor of the former director of the Georgia Agricultural Experiment Stations, the award is presented to outstanding master’s and doctorate students in CAES based on both their research and effective communication.

A pioneer in poultry and a producer who has been a strong advocate in agricultural policy will be inducted into the Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame on April 9 during the 66th University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Alumni Association Awards in Athens.

New outbreaks of avian influenza (flu) have been detected in U.S. aquatic birds, commercial poultry and backyard flocks since January. Although avian influenza is not a threat to human health or food safety in Georgia, avian flu presents a risk to all poultry operations, from hobbyist flocks to the state's $22.8 billion commercial industry.

Gifts and pledges totaling more than $2.6 million from the R. Harold and Patsy Harrison Foundation have established the R. Harold and Patsy Harrison Distinguished Professorship in Poultry Science to support programs in the Department of Poultry Science at the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

The lingering effects of the global pandemic continue to ripple through Georgia, with persistent supply chain issues and inflation affecting bottom lines. But a strong overall economic outlook and confident consumer spending signal recovery in 2022, according to University of Georgia agricultural economists at the 2022 Georgia Ag Forecast.