Commodity Teams

Plants and flowers are popular choices for Mother’s Day gifts each year and University of Georgia plant breeders are responsible for many beautiful varieties available in garden stores.

Native to North America, blueberries are the most-recently commercially domesticated fruit in the U.S. Just a little over a century ago researchers began studying this wild berry with an intent to develop improved varieties for commercial cultivation.

Sean Posey didn’t see how agricultural economics would feed his love of math, but a decade into his grad school journey, he’s using those skills and interests to help improve farming practices in Africa. From information communication technologies to gender roles in information-sharing and incentivization programs that will improve groundnut health, Posey has been focused on improving agricultural practices and public safety for the past four years. At the University of Georgia completing his PhD, Posey is working on a research project led by professor Nick Magnan through the Peanut Innovation Lab

Passion, a loaded tractor and a little guidance is all it took for 11-year-old Wesley Cleveland to begin following in his father and namesake Wes Cleveland’s footsteps, becoming a reliable workhand on the family farm. Most notably described as ‘the future of agriculture’ by many in Early County, the younger Cleveland is contributing to Georgia’s nation-leading peanut crop production — and he’s doing most of it on his own.