UGA to host annual Cotton & Peanut Research Field Day

By Clint Thompson for CAES News

Farmers and industry supporters are invited to the annual University of Georgia Cotton and Peanut Research Field Day to be held on Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018, on the UGA Tifton campus and UGA research farms in Tift County.

Members of the UGA Cotton Team and UGA Peanut Team will discuss research pertinent to variety selection, plant disease, insect pressure, soil fertility, plant physiology and irrigation needs.

“This is always an important day for our farmers. Cotton and peanuts are high-value crops for farmers in Georgia, and our research has a direct impact on their farming operations,” said Jared Whitaker, UGA Cooperative Extension cotton agronomist. “We strive to bring research that has significance for producers in Georgia and enjoy the opportunity to share what we’ve been working on this year.”

Those attending the field day should meet at the north parking lot of the UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center at 8 a.m. Field day participants will visit the Rural Development Center (RDC) pivot farm, located across from the conference center, and the UGA Ponder Farm on Ty Ty Whiddon Mill Road before returning to the conference center where UGA Extension economists will discuss market outlooks for both commodities.

There is no cost to attend the field day, but attendees are asked to RSVP to Jeannie Evans by Friday, Aug. 31, 2018, at 229-386-3006 or jevans12@uga.edu. In addition to funding many of the university’s cotton and peanut research and education efforts, the Georgia Cotton Commission and the Georgia Peanut Commission are sponsoring the field day’s lunch.

“The level of research we’re able to conduct on the UGA Tifton campus would not be possible if not for the financial support of the different commodity commissions. Our responsibility as scientists is to share information that we get from these projects with the different industry groups that are supporting us,” said Scott Monfort, UGA Extension peanut agronomist.

(Clint Thompson is a news editor with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences based in Tifton.)