Field Day - August 15, 2024
The Southwest Georgia Research and Education Center will hold its field day on Thursday, August 15 beginning at 8:30 a.m. Educational session will feature a variety of row crops. Pesticide credits will be available. RSVP to swgeorgia@uga.edu or contact Scott Rogers at (229) 591-5158.
Scott Rogers
Scott Rogers Superintendent
Southwest Research and Education Center

Southwest Georgia Research and Education Center

108 Experiment Station Road, Plains, Georgia 31780

Contact us

Our Work and Priorities

The 512-acre Southwest Georgia Research and Education Center is located near Plains, Georgia. Established in 1951, the station’s purpose was to stimulate the rural economy by helping area farmers diversify and increase crop yields in the upper coastal plain region.

The facility has heavy red clay soil that is sometimes difficult soil to farm but can be highly productive when carefully managed. Research here is geared to the 240-day growing season and an average annual rainfall of 48 inches. Current research focuses on every major row crop in south Georgia: peanuts, cotton, corn, soybeans, grain sorghum, wheat and canola. The center now has some form of irrigation on at least 90% of the cropland to maintain crops during the area’s frequent droughts.

Six full-time employees maintain research for college and USDA researchers. The employees also partner with the nearby Sumter County Extension office.

About us


We investigate the latest production and technological practices, striving for producer profitability and sustainability.
Research and Education Centers (RECs) are hubs for innovation and discovery that address the most critical issues facing agricultural production throughout the state. Ultimately, our findings are shared with stakeholders through the extension and outreach efforts of the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
UGA Extension experts provide information on growing uncommon Southern delights in your own backyard. CAES News
Did you know you can grow: Kiwi
Georgia, traditionally known as the Peach State, is famous for its peaches, pecans and peanuts. But thanks to its mild climate, the state also supports a variety of uncommon and exotic fruits — like kiwi. In a monthly series inspired by University of Georgia Cooperative Extension publication “Minor Fruits and Nuts in Georgia,” we’re highlighting lesser-known fruits that can thrive in Georgia home gardens.
First regenerative bioscience Ph.D. grad CAES News
UGA’s regenerative bioscience Ph.D. program celebrates first graduate
The University of Georgia’s class of 2025 included the first student to graduate from UGA’s new doctoral program in regenerative bioscience. Introduced in 2024 by the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the new degree focuses on interdisciplinary training in regenerative medicine, biomanufacturing, and biomedical imaging and computation. “I realized on commencement day that I was the first person to graduate from the program,” said Jinghui Gao. “I felt both excited and very, very proud.”
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Butterfly Trail Board of Directors

The Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail Board of Directors recently meet at the Southwest Georgia Research and Education Center in Plains, Georgia on Friday, July 23, 2021 to discuss the Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail landscape project. Pictured front row: LeAnn Smith, Mrs. Rosalynn Carter; back row: Julia Snipes, Willie Maxwell, Ernest Koone, Lonnie Wise and Annette Wise.


rosalynn-carter-signing-book

Book signing with Rosalynn Carter

Grace Wooten with Ragan-Smith Associates, Inc of Chattanooga, Tennessee and 2016 UGA Landscape Architecture graduate (pictured right) receives a signed gardening book by Rosalynn Smith Carter. The new garden for the Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail will be a 1930s era garden based on Mrs. Carter memories of her childhood garden.