A $3.03 million project is underway at the University of Georgia (UGA), as the entity seeks to propel the state’s leading industry and expand the field of integrative precision agriculture (IPA).

Last month, the lab’s plans were signed through this year’s bipartisan government funding package. Construction is set for 2025 at UGA’s Tifton campus, in Athens, an official release said.

“We are thrilled for this opportunity to demonstrate the latest technologies across Georgia's commodities,” said UGA-Tifton Assistant Dean Michael Toews.

The new facility will be housed at a 12,500-square-foot space previously serving as the Tifton Rural Development Center, before sitting vacant for nearly two decades.

The laboratory will be the first in the Southeast to provide "state-of-the-art collaborative spaces, top-of-the-line autonomous equipment, and job training for the next generation of agricultural leaders," the release read.

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The new Tifton Integrative Precision Agriculture Research, Education, and Demonstration Laboratory will include “a working lab, electronic labs, and office spaces to increase collaboration among graduate students, scientists, and industry.”

“These labs and collaborative spaces will be within walking distance to horticultural, row, turf, and citrus plots, providing stakeholders the ability to see and test technologies for adoption on their farms,” Toews added

Featured picture by UGA-Tifton.