Ossoff helping to establish precision ag lab in Tifton

Apr. 24—TIFTON — U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff announced Monday that he's providing resources to help establish a precision agriculture laboratory at the University of Georgia's Institute for Integrative Precision Agriculture in Tifton.

With the funding, UGA plans to rehabilitate an existing facility and construct a test lab, part of their ongoing project to build a lab that could host researchers, scientists, and student groups and support equipment development, testing, and farm demonstrations, Ossoff's office said in a press release.

This year's bipartisan government funding package included $3.03 million for the project, which was also championed by Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and Rep. Drew Ferguson, R-West Point.

"Food security is national security. Georgia farmers feed the nation and the world," Ossoff said. "Working alongside Senator Reverend Warnock and Congressman Ferguson, we are delivering new resources with bipartisan support to help the University of Georgia create a new precision agriculture demonstration lab in Tifton and help our state's top industry continue to thrive. I thank Assistant Dean of UGA's Tifton campus Dr. Michael D. Toews for bringing this proposal to my office and for his leadership."

"We are thrilled for this opportunity to demonstrate the latest technologies across Georgia's commodities," Toews said. "These labs and collaborative spaces will be within walking distance to horticultural, row, turf and citrus plots, providing stakeholders the ability to see and test technologies for adoption on their farms."