The Board of Regents has approved a new program to train South Georgia college students on the financial side of farming. The University of Georgia has added a new agribusiness degree program on their Tifton campus.

The school decided to add the major after a study found the demand for agribusiness professionals in Georgia exceeds the supply. Students living in South Georgia also asked for it.

UGA Assistant Dean Joe West says 75-percent of their graduates live and work south of Macon and 95-percent are employed.

“Young people from the farm who want to go back to the farm want to be trained in not only how to produce crops, but also how to manage a very complex business.”

West says students will complete their core classes at other schools then transfer as juniors. The program will start up next fall.

Tags: agriculture, Tifton, UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Science