Selling the Farm, Laying off Workers

The University of Georgia’s Ag School is selling the farm. Literally.

And according to a story in today’s Athens Banner Herald, it’s also laying off 18 staff members, trying to deal with the budget cutbacks that have crippled higher education across the state. Since 2009, UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences has lost more than $22 million in state funding, which translates into about 26 percent of its budget.

Up for sale is a 522-acre research farm on Highway 53 in Oconee County, near . It’s a prime piece of property. If UGA doesn’t have a bid that officials believe is high enough, they will wait until the real estate market rebounds.

The money the sale produces will allow the college to deal with pressing maintenance and improvements that it hasn’t been able to address for years, according to the newspaper story.