Phillip Edwards

2020 D.W. Brooks Faculty Award for Excellence in Public Service Extension

Phillip Edwards
County Extension Coordinator and Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent, Irwin County

Phillip Edwards has served as a UGA Cooperative Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources agent for more than 34 years. He began his Extension career in 1986 in Screven and Terrell counties before moving to Irwin County in 1988, where he is the county Extension coordinator. Edwards has led critical efforts and collaborations at the grassroots level, focusing on multiyear efforts to control tomato spotted wilt virus in tobacco and peanut, applied research on peanut maturity, on-farm cotton and peanut variety trials, peanut fungicide comparisons, and insecticide efficacy research on stink bugs in cotton, among many other projects. He has conducted 139 applied research trials resulting in more than 50 state or national presentations and posters. His efforts are not limited to row crop agriculture, but include numerous focus areas including pecans, water conservation and quality, agricultural awareness, 4-H project work, developing effective communication, community efforts, and educating and mentoring both youth and adults.