Breaking Ground on the New USDA Research Facility in Tifton

I was honored to join the USDA Agricultural Research Service for the groundbreaking ceremony of their new research facility in Tifton!

The new research facility will contain the Southeast Watershed Research Laboratory and the Crop Genetics and Breeding Research Unit.

Agriculture is Georgia's number one industry, and it is great that the USDA is working with UGA to conduct advanced research in the heart of South Georgia.

Read more here.

Visiting Tiftarea Academy

It was a joy to return to my alma mater, Tiftarea Academy, and speak to students during their Career Week. These students have a bright future!

Attending the YMCA Backpack Giveaway

Part of ensuring that all students get a quality education is making sure that they have the right supplies.

I joined the YMCA afterschool program at the Anthony Bateman Youth Center in Tifton while they gave students ages 5-12 backpacks with school supplies. Our district is home to some incredible young minds, and it was great to get to know them.

Joining Mornings with Maria to Discuss Biden's Failure to Enforce Russian Sanctions

Western Ag Reporter | 'The Farm Bill Stalemate Continues: Republicans Question SNAP

"With a 2023 Farm Bill that has yet to be passed – nor is it close to doing so – legislative progress at this point can be best described in one word: stalemate. Democrats are holding firm that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – SNAP – and other nutrition benefits will not be cut, and that any Farm Bill seeking to reduce those benefits has no chance to pass the Senate...

During his allotted time, Representative Austin Scott (R-GA) pointed out that SNAP benefits accounted for roughly 67 percent of USDA funding in 2010, with 33 percent of funding going to 'other sources, whether it be farm and commodity production or conservation…'

Representative Scott then noted that the current budget shows 80 percent of funding going towards SNAP and nutrition benefits, 'and 20 percent would go to all of the other expenditures of the USDA.'

'So, that leaves 20 percent […] for conservation, production agriculture, all of the other things that the USDA does,' Scott said."

Read more here.

Southeast AgNet | USDA and University of Georgia Break Ground on New Agriculture Research Facility in Tifton, Georgia

"The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA/ARS) and the University of Georgia (UGA) College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) hosted a groundbreaking ceremony today for the new state-of-the-art research facility housing the Southeast Watershed Research Laboratory and the Crop Genetics and Breeding Research Unit.  

This new research facility will include a new 31,000 square foot building on the UGA Tifton campus. ARS and university employees’ research will advance climate-smart agricultural research ranging from water resources in the southern coastal plain to the management of insect pests and pollinators in agricultural landscapes, and the development of resilient and sustainable cropping and forage systems in the southeastern United States."

Read more here.