On Feb. 21, 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the University of Georgia (UGA) College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) hosted a groundbreaking ceremony 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ﾒ 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 U.S..