Jacob Paulk of Irwin County has a 400-acre vineyard on his farm that produces muscadine grapes. With the grapes comes a lot of seeds, muscadine grape produces two to four seeds. For years, Mr. Paulk threw the seeds away, thinking they were no good. But now the farmer dries and grinds the seeds into powder (and) then puts it in capsules. He packs hundreds of capsules with about a gram of powered muscadine grape seeds into each one, then packages the capsules under his own name. Then, he hopes the bottled capsules will make their way into health food stores. A scientist with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences says the demand for muscadine seed powder is increasing for health reasons. "And we have found that the muscadine is very high, the seed in particular has very, very high anti-oxident components in it." That was Romeo Toledo with the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, who adds research has confirmed that antioxidants slow the aging process. By turning the grape seeds he once threw away into a business opportunity, Mr. Paulk also generates some extra income. John Harrell, University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, reporting from Tifton.t

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The cold weather in December and early-January, which featured several hard freezes, has not hurt the blueberry crop, so far. But a scientist with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences says he's concerned about freezes in late-winter and early-spring that move in after a period of warm weather. "To be ready to break bud if it warms up for a couple of weeks, they'll probably bloom fast and uniform, and probably at that point the cold weather won't be over yet, and so there's potential for blueberry blooms to be exposed to freeze, say late-February or first of March," (says) Scott NeSmith with the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Georgia ranks third in the nation in blueberry production, with more than 4,500 acres. The largest concentration of commercial blueberry orchards is located in southeast Georgia, with other growers scattered across the state. John Harrell, University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, reporting from Tifton.

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At one time, there was a good chance the sausage, ham or bacon you bought came from hogs raised in Georgia. But an agricultural economist with the University of Georgia Extension Service says those days are long gone, with fewer Georgia farmers making a living growing pork. One reason pork production has gone down is the number of hog markets in the Southeast has dropped sharply in recent years. "So we have been having to ship hogs outside of the state to be slaughtered and that means that we take a lower price even though we are a deficit pork producing state," (says) John McKissick with the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Another reason farmers are getting out of the hog business in Georgia is producers could not afford the expense of meeting tighter environmental regulations, which went into effect during the mid to late-1990s. John Harrell, University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, reporting from Tifton.

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It's that time of the year when many Georgian's once again resolve to lose weight. Others rush out and join sports and fitness centers. But a nutrition specialist with the University of Georgia Extension Service says the Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid, which was introduced this past December, stresses foods which contain fewer calories, more fiber and higher amounts of water. She adds the revised pyramid emphasizes fruits and vegetable in a diet to lose weight. "Emphasizes the need for more fruits and vegetables that are very low in calories. Most of us don't get enough vegetables and fruits in a day, and this encourages more; if you eat more fruits and vegetables, you're likely to eat less of the more energy dense foods that are higher in calories," (says) Janine Freeman with the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, who adds foods that contain a lot of sugar are at the top of the pyramid, which means we should limit sweets and other foods with a high amount of sugar to 75 calories a day. John Harrell, University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, reporting from Tifton.

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Georgia's record cold December, which chilled over into early-January kept Georgians shivering and planning indoor activities. But one hope keeping many people warm is having to deal with fewer insect pests this spring and summer, because of the continued cold temperatures. Beverly Sparks, an entomologist with the University of Georgia Extension Service says the cold weather will not put a chill on mosquito and fire ant numbers. "Insects can also survive cold temperatures by modifying their behavior, and a good example of that would be fire ants where when cold weather comes, they just burrow deeper in the soil to escape the cold temperatures," (says) Beverly Sparks with the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. The cold weather could nip some other insect pest numbers in Georgia this year, mainly aphids and fleas, giving homeowners and gardeners some relief this spring and summer. John Harrell, University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, reporting from Tifton.t

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