By Clint Thompson
The groundbreaking for the University of Georgia (UGA) Grand Farm was held on Friday in Perry, Georgia. Located adjacent to the Perry Fairgrounds, the 250-acre research site will serve as a breeding ground for ag innovation.
Ag research, representing row crop commodities to specialty crops, and companies from across the world, will help put Georgia on the Ag innovation map.
Legislators and industry leaders were part of the groundbreaking ceremony, including Georgia Ag Commissioner Tyler Harper.
“It’s the grand day on the Grand Farm, right,” Harper said. “It’s an awesome opportunity for our state’s No. 1 industry as we continue to build out ways that we can be more effective, more efficient. Our farm families can keep more of that retail dollar in that pocket. We’re going to do that through innovation and technology. The Grand Farm that we did the groundbreaking on today here in Perry is going to give us an opportunity to do just that.”
World Impact
Kaytlyn Cobb, assistant regional director of UGA Grand Farm, said companies located across the world like England, Brazil and Japan will set up shop in central Georgia to conduct research with wide-ranging impact.
“They’ll be here, bringing their technology, bringing their research, coming to test on Georgia soil with Georgia crops to get their technology in the hands of farmers in this area,” Cobb said. “We’ve got some sensor technology that will be out here, irrigation technology, some biologicals and robotics. There’s a variety of equipment that will be out here in the first year and looking in the coming years to expand on all of those.
“For this first year we’re going to focus on corn, cotton and soybeans, but in the coming years, we’ll be adding to commodity list of what we’re able to offer here.”
Innovations Needed
The research they’ll be focusing on in the future will also be contingent upon grower needs. It is a challenging time for farmers who deal with rising input costs and steady, if not declining, commodity prices. Producers need technological innovations to become more efficient in their farming operations. Grand Farm will help accomplish that objective.
“The last couple of years have been tough. We’ve seen net farm income decline by $40 billion in the last two years. We’ve seen the American trade deficit skyrocket. It means we’re relying on foreign sources of food more than we are ourselves. At the same time, the American producer and our Georgia farmers have been squeezed in commodity prices and input costs,” Harper said.
“We’ve got to find ways to be more innovative, to ensure we’re more successful, and the way we do that is through technological advancement.”