For the third year in a row, the winter rains are staying away from Georgia. Many farmers and other agribusiness officials are worried about having to work through another year of drought conditions. David Stooksbury, the State Climatologist and Professor of Engineering at the University of Georgia says another dry winter could set the stage for serious problems this summer. "Unfortunately, because of the lack of rainfall across the state, it appears that we may find ourselves in a critical condition this summer, with minimal reservoir, deep soil moisture, or groundwater available for most agricultural producers, and for our urban landscaping." David Stooksbury with the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, who adds some long range models indicate most of the state will once again receive below normal rainfall in February. The only exception is the mountain counties, which could receive near or above normal rainfall during mid to late winter. John Harrell, University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, reporting from Tifton.

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Many people get in a bind when they borrow money from nontraditional lenders, such as check cashing services, payday loan companies, and pawn shops. High interest rates, along with hidden fees, can end up costing much more than the average consumer can afford. Michael Rupured, a Financial Management Specialist with the University of Georgia Extension Service says the elderly are often targeted. "The other group that is targeted by unscrupulous lenders are elderly homeowners, particularly minority or low income elderly homeowners. They may be contacted and have someone kind of aggressively push a home equity loan on them as something that would be good for them." Michael Rupured with the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, who adds consumers need to understand every item of a loan document before they sign it. If a lender tries to pressure them into signing something, they should get suspicious and rethink the entire transaction. John Harrell, University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, reporting from Tifton.

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Many people turn up their noses when they hear a poultry rendering plant wants to locate near their community. They fear odors created by the plant will make living near the plant unbearable. But a Scientist with the University of Georgia's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is working to reduce odors and emissions from poultry rendering plants. "That's true, we're trying to find out what types of compounds are being emitted, and their concentration, and we're also evaluating the air pollution control devices at these facilities to see how efficient they are.' That was James Kastner with the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. The University scientist has been conducting research at poultry plants for about one year. He hope future research can be done at the plants with samples collected, so specific odor problems can be identified and technologies developed to reduce the stinky problem. John Harrell, University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, reporting from Tifton.

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Since 1990 the amount of food waste going to landfills has nearly doubled. The EPA has declared food waste is the leading producer of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, in landfills. But Scientists with the University of Georgia's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences are conducting research on food waste composting, which helps improve the quality of soils in the state. "So really by diverting food waste from the landfill and converting it into a compost, it's a win-win situation where not only do we help by reducing the amount going to the landfill but we also help reduce pollution in the landscape by improving our soils." That was Mark Risse with the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, who adds several demonstration and education sites have been set up in the state, where Georgian's can see for themselves the economic benefits of using food waste products in forage production, and other ways that help the environment. John Harrell, University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, reporting from Tifton.

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Once pine trees are harvested, the land must be replaced with seedlings from nurseries. But pathogenic fungi present in the soil attack the roots and kill the seedlings, as they try to grow. Methyl bromide, a chemical now used to control these fungi will soon be banned. But scientists with the University of Georgia's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences have found good fungi are also present in the soil, that will attack and kill the bad fungi. "Under certain conditions they will parasitize the pathogens of the pine seedlings. And if we can get them to do this on a large scale then we will be able to greatly reduce the amount of chemicals that we need to use." That was Dick Hanlin with the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, who has been conducting research on natural disease control of pine seedling diseases for about two years. Much more research must be done, but the University scientist hopes the day will soon come when the good fungi can be used as biocontrol agents against the root pathogens. John Harrell, University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, reporting from Tifton.

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