News Filed Under Agriculture

For as long as many people can remember, summertime Tuesdays and Fridays has meant it is time to shop the Itawamba Farmers Market for fresh, local produce and goods. This farmers market is held at the Cypress Pavilion on the campus of Itawamba Community College twice weekly from 2-4 p.m. from June until football season begins in September. This year, a brief fall farmers market is also planned at a time and place to be determined.

There is always a crowd each week at the West Point Farmers Market as shoppers gather to purchase fresh, local produce and goods from neighbors and area farmers. The West Point Farmers Market is held each Thursday in June and July from 4-5:30 p.m. at the Mossy Oak Outlet on Highway 45 Alternate. Vendors set up their wares under the pavilion, with overflow space available in a grassy area under nearby trees.

Shoppers in downtown Macon have a chance twice monthly to socialize and buy fresh produce and goods from area merchants at the new Noxubee Farmers Alliance Market. The market operates on the second and fourth Saturdays from June through August on the Noxubee County Courthouse lawn. Vendors are available from 7-11:30 a.m. to sell a variety of produce, homemade breads, honey, greens and more.

Shoppers in Monroe County have a weekly source of fresh produce, baked goods and other items from May to September at the old railroad depot in downtown Aberdeen. The Aberdeen Main Street Farmers Market has been around since 2014, operating from 8-11 a.m. on Fridays. The outdoor space has plenty of room for vendors who choose to participate. There is no fee for vendors, and no registration is required in advance.

Shoppers in downtown Columbus have three opportunities each week to enjoy local produce and goods produced within 50 miles of the Hitching Lot Farmers Market. This farmers market, located at the corner of 2nd Street and 2nd Avenue North in Columbus, has operated since 1976. It is set up under the covered pavilion from May through October. Through September, the market is held Mondays from 4-6 p.m. and Thursdays and Saturdays from 7-10 a.m. In October, the market is open only on Saturdays from 7-10 a.m.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Climbing market prices for wheat are beginning to earn growers’ attention in Mississippi. The state’s wheat acreage is trending back up after several years of historic lows, and this year’s crop quality also shows promise.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture projects the average price in 2022 for wheat to be $10.75 per bushel, which is more than double the 2020 price of $5.05. The average price last year was $7.70 per bushel.

RAYMOND, Miss. -- Watermelon production in Mississippi is off to a good start in the early days of harvest season. “Right now, everything looks really good,” said Heath Steede, Mississippi State University Extension agent in George County. “They’re pulling them pretty hot and heavy right now.”

CEDARBLUFF, Miss. – The Mississippi State University Extension Service invites producers to a field day highlighting stewardship in cattle grazing systems on June 23.

The Stewardship in Grazing Systems Field Day will be held at High Hope Farm in Cedarbluff from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event will highlight conservation strategies that can be applied in small and diverse farm systems.

Mississippi’s anticipated soybean acreage -- 2.35 million acres -- is higher than in recent years, and it may grow even larger by the end of planting season. Trent Irby, soybean specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said Mississippi growers have already exceeded the 2.22 million planted in 2021. The anticipated soybean acreage this year will be the largest planted since 1988.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- For Nathan Casburn, the land that has been in his family since the early 1900s is now more than simply his workplace.

The Tallahatchie County farm is a place of healing from an opioid addiction that began with pain medication prescribed after he was in a car accident during high school.

Casburn explained in a miniseries titled “On the Farm” that one of the biggest hurdles in his recovery was “saying I can’t do this on my own, and I need help with this.”

High input costs and low milk prices have made it hard to be a dairy farmer anywhere in the U.S., but Mississippi producers have it harder than most. Amanda Stone, dairy specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said the number of dairy farms in the state continues to dwindle.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Increasing buffalo gnat populations are more than a nuisance to central and south Mississippians; they cause measurable, sometimes fatal harm to chickens and livestock.

Swarms of these insects, also known as black flies, are killing backyard chickens and causing headaches for small-scale poultry producers in central and south Mississippi. At about 3 millimeters long, buffalo gnats breed in flowing water, so outbreaks tend to be in areas near rivers or streams.

Canning is a precise process that must be done correctly to have a safe, edible product. Proper preparation ahead of time will make the entire process much easier. These steps will help you get started.

The U.S. passion fruit industry is small, but a team of researchers want to help it grow through a grant awarded to Mississippi State University. Eric Stafne, fruit and nut specialist with the MSU Extension Service, is leading a research project aimed at gathering input from growers, marketers, consumers and buyers. The research team wants to better understand the current industry and its future direction.

RAYMOND, Miss. -- Early May delivered favorable weather conditions for most of Mississippi’s cotton producers, allowing them to get their crops in the ground at the ideal time.

Beef is an excellent choice to include in a balanced diet. About half of the recommended daily value of protein is in a 3-ounce serving of beef! 

If you’re like me, you probably don’t know the characteristics of each cut of beef. When you’re at the grocery store, you just make the best guess you can and move on with your food shopping.  

Corn producers who risked current high input costs in hopes of reaping high market prices at harvest are now waiting for a series of warm, sunny days to complete planting. Will Maples, an agricultural economist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said high input costs and high market prices have presented challenges to growers trying to decide what crops to plant.

While many of my Northern gardening friends are still dealing with freezing temperatures, I spent this past weekend out in my coastal Mississippi landscape appreciating the fact that my tomatoes are planted and my roses are blooming.

It was the roses that really caught my attention. All of my rose plants are blooming their stems off, even though I missed the ideal pruning period of late January/early February. When I finally had time to prune, all the bushes were already pushing new growth, but the pruning still needed to be done.

Farm supply stores are full of cute chicks in the spring, and the sight of the fluffy baby birds, combined with future dreams of fresh eggs, prompts many people to impulsively start a backyard flock.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Keeping buffalo wings on menus is a supply chain issue that goes all the way back to procedures farm workers follow to protect the health of commercially grown chickens.