UGA farm to serve as precision ag research hub

by Jennifer Whittaker

The future of farming was on display May 2 at a groundbreaking ceremony for the University of Georgia (UGA) Grand Farm in Perry. The 250-acre innovation farm, located east of the Georgia National Fairgrounds & Agricenter on Elko Road, is owned and managed by the UGA College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences (CAES).

CAES is working with Grand Farm in North Dakota to arrange research partnerships with companies and inventors developing precision ag technology equipment and software designed to address labor issues and help farmers grow crops more efficiently.

Three pieces of precision ag technology demonstrated at the UGA Grand Farm were: forefront, the Aigen – a solar-powered autonomous robotic weeder; middle right, the Solinftec Solix – an autonomous solar-powered robot that can run on solar energy in the day and by battery at night to spot-apply herbicides & also scout fields to collect real-time data on plant health & stand counts. irrigation pivot in the background is using iCrop precision irrigation & data analytics technology to optimize water & nutrient use efficiency. / Photo by Jennifer Whittaker

During the ceremony, more than 200 attendees heard from UGA President Jere Morehead, Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper, Georgia Sen. Larry Walker, UGA CAES Dean & Director Nick Place, and Grand Farm Ecosystems Director Andrew Jason from North Dakota.

“Today is an exciting moment for the University of Georgia and a milestone for the College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences. It’s through the efforts of a collective group of state leaders who really care about precision agriculture that we’ve reached this point. Thank you for believing in this institution and supporting precision agriculture,” Morehead said. “The UGA Grand Farm serves as a wonderful opportunity to build on what we’ve already been doing in precision agriculture at UGA in recent years. The UGA Grand Farm will serve as the hub for precision agriculture. It will host research aimed at decreasing inputs for farmers and getting young people excited about careers in precision agriculture.”

Fort Valley State University officials, UGA and CAES officials, Perry and Houston County leaders, Georgia National Fairgrounds & Agricenter representatives, and others had a chance to shovel dirt during the ceremony.

Roots of the farm

Sen. Larry Walker III of Perry recalled that a group of state leaders attending the 2021 Sunbelt Ag Expo visited with CAES Dean Nick Place while looking at precision ag equipment and learning about UGA precision ag research projects.

“It came up in conversation that we needed a larger scale property to be able to test new equipment, and I knew we had this 250-acre farm here in Perry across the street from the Agricenter,” said Walker, who was chairman of the Georgia Senate Agriculture Committee in 2021.

Walker talked to University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue, who attended the launch ceremony for the original Grand Farm in North Dakota, while serving as U.S. secretary of agriculture. The two then discussed UGA’s need for a farm dedicated to precision ag research with Gov. Brian Kemp, who gave his support, Walker said. Georgia House and Senate leaders worked with Perry and Houston County leaders along with UGA officials to make the UGA Grand Farm a reality.

“Agriculture wouldn’t be our state’s No. 1 industry without innovation. Farmers have always been innovators and learned to do more with less,” Walker said. “My grandfather started a tractor company in the 1940s when the latest innovation was trading in mules for tractors. Agriculture has continued to innovate and improve through the years with improved peanut and cotton varieties. The farm economy is really tough right now, and we have an aging farm population. I’m excited about this farm because it will help develop new technology that can help farmers.”

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