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.
Apple cider CAES News
Planting seeds for Georgia’s cider industry
The apples growing in the University of Georgia’s Heritage Apple Orchard have long histories in Southern kitchens. Some of the 139 varieties sat on tables as sweet dessert apples, while others were staple ingredients for everything from savory main courses to the all-American apple pie. Some also found their way into bottles. Prohibition and broader cultural and economic changes took a big bite out of the U.S. cider industry. Recently, however, cider has made a comeback.
GMREC CAES News
North Georgia hub fueling agricultural research at UGA
Research in the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences runs the gamut — from plants, animals and dairy science, and crop and soil sciences to entomology, food science and technology, and more. It’s an expansive agenda, too broad to be housed on the university’s 760-acre main campus. For that, CAES turns to its eight off-campus research and education centers located all over the state.