Ray Covington
Ray Covington Superintendent
Georgia Mountain Research and Education Center

Georgia Mountain Research and Education Center

195 Georgia Mountain Experiment Station Rd., Blairsville, GA, 30512

Contact us

The Gardens will be closed 10/2/24 from 8am-2pm. Guests are welcome after 2pm.

 

Our Work and Priorities

The Georgia Mountain Research and Education Center lies in the uppermost part of the state in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Established in 1930, the 415-acre station provides research support for agriculture specialists who in turn, provide support to farmers in the mountain region, giving them information applicable to the area with its own distinct soil and climatic conditions. The campus resides in USDA Zone 7A, having a shorter 180-day growing season with an average rainfall of 57 inches.

Current research focuses on commodities including apples, grapes, blueberries, field corn, sweet corn, soybeans, fescue, clover, orchard grass, alfalfa, ryegrass, tomatoes, various ornamentals, and beef cattle. The climate is perfect for evaluating cold hardiness for new cultivars that include Alfalfa, Crape Myrtle, Vitex, Abelia, Bermuda, Centipede, and Zoysia turf grasses. Additionally, UGA graduate students often conduct their research at the center. To learn more, check out the Virtual Field Day where you will hear from scientists and the work they do here at GMREC.

Most of the campus is closed to visitors except during designated tours but there are gardens the public can visit. Visitors can check in at the office and then tour the ethnobotanical gardens.

If you need assistance with landscape and/or farming decisions, contact your local county agent. Here in Union County, it is Jacob Williams, located at the Civic Center. Union County Extension Office.

The July 24th Field Day REGISTRATION is FULL.

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.
Planted three years ago during the pandemic, the University of Georgia’s Heritage Apple Orchard is starting to bear fruit and spark interest in the state’s agricultural history. Its 139 varieties hail from a time when Georgia was a major player in the country’s apple industry. (Photo by Michael Terrazas) CAES News
Taste of history: UGA Heritage Apple Orchard now bearing fruit
On a fine day at the University of Georgia Heritage Apple Orchard, you can see the fringing peaks of the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest rising around like a hedgerow, guarding against whatever forces might encroach. When Stephen Mihm looks over the tops of the 275-odd dwarf apple trees that constitute the orchard, he sees more than a pretty view of the Appalachian foothills. He sees clear into Georgia’s past.
Helenedamage web CAES News
Hurricane Helene: Preliminary damage assessment on Georgia agriculture and forestry industry
Today, Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper, in coordination with Governor Brian P. Kemp, the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES), and the Georgia Forestry Commission, announced the preliminary estimate of Hurricane Helene’s economic impact on Georgia agriculture is $6.46 billion.