Ag field day highlights research in Burke

Burke County producer Ralph Sandeford talks with Screven County farmer and Georgia Peanut Commission vice chairman Joe Boddiford. Burke County was once again a hot spot for learning developments in agricultural research last Wednesday.

More than 130 farmers and professionals in the industry came from across the state for the annual field day at the Southeast Georgia Agricultural Research and Education Center near Midville.

The 725-acre research center is one of only six operated in the state by the University of Georgia's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES). Since it opened 57 years ago, researchers have turned out production data from experiments conducted there to help area farmers.

Just three years ago, the college contemplated selling the property after mothballing operations due to budget constraints. But outcry from those in Burke County and the farming community across the region convinced CAES Dean and Director J. Scott Angle that it was worth holding onto and returning to full-steam operation.

Burke County Extension Coordinator Peyton Sapp works with center superintendent Anthony Black. "This was absolutely a community effort to bring this farm back," he said at the field day last week. "And to get it where it is today is amazing. It's a beautiful farm."

Nearly three years have passed since the decision to revive the center, and support remains strong.

The number of scientists conducting experiments there continues to grow. Currently, 15 researchers have 40 different projects based there, according to the center's superintendent Anthony Black. Many call the farm an excellent place to investigate ways to cope with insect and weed pressure. Research plots checker about 270 acres of cropland. Additional land is farmed by Black to generate money for operations.

Financial backing has held steady as well, according to CAES Associate Dean for Research Robert "Bob" Shulstad.

Dr. Shulstad said if not for the state budget crisis, funding for research there would have been at its highest level in years.

He said CAES researchers have worked hard and been successful in garnering grant funding for their projects in the absence of state dollars. The funding ratio for research there has gone from upwards of 80 percent state dollars to little more than 30 percent.

Georgia Farm Bureau president Zippy Duvall greets Jason Braddy of Toombs County at the field day. Original plans to sell about a third of the farm's acreage have been put aside and researchers are now seeking grants to devote more of the land to investigating bio-fuel crop production.

The popularity of the station among farmers was evident by attendance at the field day. Farmers arrived early and packed onto trams that roamed the farm for half a day while researchers discussed their projects and findings. The turnout was even higher than Black had expected. Many of the producers make a point to come to the field day every year and say they put data from the center to use in their operations. Producers in this area call it especially beneficial because soil types and climate conditions are similar to their farms.

Field day participant Bobby Lane of Emanuel County browses test plots in a cotton variety trial. Thanks to the high level of interest, researchers and extension agents are tossing around the idea of hosting another field day during the winter months to discuss data collected during harvest.

LOCALLY GENERATED PROJECTS

One benefit of having a major research center in Burke County is the accessibility for local farmers. Burning questions they have about specific problems can be answered by conducting trials at the center.

"To me, that makes what's going on out at the station even more valuable. You have local people cooperating with research folks," Burke County Extension Coordinator Peyton Sapp said.

Sapp is currently conducting trials on several varieties of cotton as producers anticipate the loss of DP 555 within the coming year. Sapp said when he asked farmers what the most pressing issue for them was, most brought up the issue of what cotton variety to plant when DP 555 is taken off the market. About 90 percent of Burke County's cotton acreage is planted to DP 555, he said.

Sapp is cooperating with Jenkins County Extension Coordinator Wade Parker on the project.

Burke County Extension Agent Roosevelt McWilliams is also conducting two field tests on fungicides and harvest dates in peanuts.

He and a cooperating agent from Emanuel County are looking at the effectiveness of day spraying versus applying fungicides at night.

In a separate experiment, they are trying to determine the best window of time to harvest a popular variety of peanuts. Georgia 02C is a relatively new variety, released in 2002, and has gained popularity among Burke County producers in the past couple of years.

"It's a good variety and more and more growers are starting to grow that nut," McWiliams said.

But there are still some questions about when the peanuts reach full maturity. McWilliams will begin an initial harvest on his test plots during the second week in September and continue weekly for 8-10 weeks to determine which harvest date yields the most peanuts.

For more information on these projects, reach Sapp or McWilliams the Burke County Extension Office at 706-554- 2119.