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| This Week's Titles: |
| Changes
In The National Animal ID System |
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2006 An Up And Down Year
For Commercial Vegetables |
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| Producing
Blueberry Wine In Southeast Georgia |
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| Getting
Homes Ready For Winter |
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| Help
Available For Starting An Agribusiness |
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| Changes
In The National Animal ID System |
1:28 |
A change was recently made
that affects the Nations's animal ID system. |
Development of the animal
ID system began in 2003, to help federal authorities be prepared
to stop the spread of animal diseases like mad cow disease.
The animal system also includes hogs, poultry, sheep, llamas,
and other livestock animals. But in November, the program was
modified and became voluntary. But an animal scientist with
the University of Georgia's College of Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences says most livestock producers still need to be involved
with an ID program, even though the program is now voluntary.
"The system is still set up the same way it always was and the
thing we're trying to get people to do is to register their
premises, which is basically just register their farm with the
state's veterinarian office." That was Ronnie Silcox with the
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, who predicts
the National Animal Identification System will remain in existence
well into the future. Current export markets like Japan want
age and source for beef. To do that officials in the United
States will have to identify and track animals. John Harrell,
University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences, reporting from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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| 2006
An Up And Down Year For Commercial Vegetables |
1:28 |
The 2006 growing season was
a roller coaster ride for the state's vegetable growers. |
The vegetable industry
is controlled by strict supply and demand. Mother Nature also
play a significant role with her sometimes fickle weather patterns.
Terry Kelly, a horticulturist with the University of Georgia's
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences says the
spring vegetable season set the stage for a bumpy 2006. "Cool
weather to start the spring it kind of set the crop behind a
little bit. We ended up with some really good yields on some
crops like snap beans and pepper. We ended up with some average
yields on some crops but we ended up with some very poor prices
on some crops. Pepper did not fair well in terms of prices and
snap bean prices were up and down." Terry Kelley with the College
of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Georgia's fall vegetables
are planted in late July. This year's hot summer held back the
fall crop, since tender transplants had to struggle to survive.
Despite these weather challenges, the fall crop has not been
too bad for commercial vegetable growers in the state. Yields
have been good, and market prices have been better than they
were this past spring. John Harrell, University of Georgia college
of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, reporting from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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| Producing
Blueberry Wine In Southeast Georgia |
1:42 |
A popular fruit may soon be
used for wine production in Southeast Georgia. |
Blueberries are a popular
crop grown in several counties in Southeast Georgia. Growers
are looking for new markets that will increase the demand for
blueberries, and improve profits. In 1999 the owner of Chesser
Island Winery in Charlton County produced his first blueberry
wine. Terry Thigpen, a county extension agent in Charlton County
says the owner started small, but did a lot of research and
work to get familiar with wine production. "He started in the
garage, in a closet and found he could make the wine he just
learned by traveling and visiting other wineries and I think
he even made a trip out to California to look at some operations
out there. His is sort of a small scale but something that he
enjoys doing and he is labeled and licensed to sell wine." Terry
Thigpen with the University of Georgia's College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences. Future plans for the winery in Charlton
County include the expansion of the vineyard, and small fruit
plantings. They hope to produce more blueberry wine, as well
as blackberry wine from a new blackberry variety called "kiowa."
Chesser Island Winery is in the process of finalizing retail
locations for the purchase of their wines, produced from Southeast
Georgia fruit crops. John Harrell, University of Georgia College
of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, reporting from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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| Getting
Homes Ready For Winter |
1:31 |
Make sure you home will remain
warm and cozy when the icy winds of winter blow in. |
Most of the state experienced
the first significant freeze of the season in early December.
This should provide Georgian's a chilly reminder more hard freezes
are on the way in January and February. Pamela Turner, a housing
specialist with the University of Georgia's College of Family
and Consumer Sciences says houses that are not winterized properly
could suffer a lot of damage, which mean expensive repairs.
She adds one item that is often overlooked is fireplace and
chimney maintenance. "They should look for the creosote buildup
inside the chimney to make sure that you're not going to cause
any fires or anything like that. You should also make sure that
there aren't any gaps or draft areas cause you actually can't
insulate that part if you've got too many drafts going up through.
Maybe the damper doesn't close tightly, and there's a lot of
air leakage in there, that's one of the other things theyI would
check." Pamela Turner with the College of Family and Consumer
Sciences. It's not too late to hire a professional to inspect
you home's central heating system, to make sure that heating
system is operating safely, and efficiently. Drain and disconnect
outside water hoses, and insulate any water pipes that may freeze
in the winter. John Harrell, University of Georgia College of
Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, reporting from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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| Help
Available For Starting An Agribusiness |
1:33 |
Those in Georgia thinking about
starting an agribusiness can now get advice from a dependable
source. |
Despite recent urban growth
in parts of the state, agriculture is still an important factor
in Georgia's economic growth. This means a lot of people will
depend on agribusinesses to help meet the challenges and needs
of the state's agriculture industry. This past March county
extension agents with the University of Georgia's College of
Agricultural and Environmental Sciences began receiving training
on basic agricultural entrepreneurship. One important component
of this training was the importance of developing feasibility
studies and business plans. "It's important to have a feasibility
analysis done before you decide to go into business to see,
one, if the business is really going to be feasible. A lot of
new businesses start up and then fail within the first couple
of years, and doing a feasibility analysis beforehand can let
you know what the likelihood of that business being successful
is." That was Audrey Luke-Morgan with the College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences, who adds twenty-four University
of Georgia county extension agents took part in this training.
Through this training, a network has been created throughout
the state to help improve efforts in agricultural entrepreneurship.
John Harrell, University of Georgia College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences, reporting from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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