Ty Brooks

Why did you choose your field? 

Growing up, I spent a lot of time outdoors and developed a strong appreciation for the natural world. I started doing landscape work as a teen just so I could be outside more.

As an undergraduate at the University of Georgia, I studied wildlife biology at the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources and, after graduating, I continued to work in the horticultural and wildlife fields.

Agriculture started to interest me more and more as I accumulated experience and began to understand it as one of the big intersection points between human and natural environments.

When I finally went back to school for a master’s degree, I knew I wanted it to be related to agriculture and was attracted by UGA’s certificate program in organic agriculture.

What is something that it is important for the public to know about your work?

While UGArden functions primarily as an experiential learning farm for UGA students, the majority of the produce grown at UGArden ends up going to programs working to address food insecurity in the local community.

UGArden has donated over 100,000 pounds of produce through various programs, and we work very closely with UGA’s Campus Kitchen program and nonprofits like Concrete Jungle to collect, store and distribute fresh and nutritious food in the community.

This amazing work is sustained by our volunteers, students and staff as well as financial contributions from a multitude of sources — both on- and off-campus. If members of the public are interested in supporting this work, they can participate in our weekly volunteer events or contribute directly to our efforts through our website.

What is your proudest recent accomplishment?

I have had the opportunity to run farms and businesses before, but never with the amount of resources and potential for community engagement as UGArden. It is not in my nature to be very outgoing, but I am making great efforts to reach out and engage as many partners as possible.

UGArden has been a hub in many ways over the years and I'm very proud to be able to continue the work of making the farm a valuable part of the university and the local community.

If you could do anything else, what would it be?  

I hope to have an orchard of my own one day, but if I can’t choose farming, I would probably have to go back to doing wildlife fieldwork.

While working in wildlife management, I have been to some amazing, out-of-the-way places and experienced things many people never have.

Where do you see the agriculture industry going in the next 10 years? What will be the greatest challenges and opportunities?

I think that in agriculture, at all scales, we will continue to see an increase in mechanization and automation. This can and will have both positive and negative effects.

The challenge will be to try and steer these emerging technologies in ways that maximize benefits and minimize harms to people and the planet.

There will be increasing pressure on the food system, and farmers will have to continue to adapt not just to these new technologies but to the changing planet, as well.

What is your favorite part about what you do? 

Working outdoors is a necessity for me personally, but my favorite part of my new role is the varied and challenging nature of the work.

A single day can include fieldwork, tractor repair, giving a tour to elementary school students, teaching UGA students and participating in meetings about future UGArden programming.