News From 2011

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Many Mississippians love exploring their family’s past, and an upcoming statewide interactive video conference will bring experts on genealogical topics to county Extension offices.

Participants will be able to come and go throughout the three-hour Genealogy Fair that begins at noon on March 25. Three topics will be addressed during the conference.

HATTIESBURG -- Mississippi State University will auction about 20 horses and one pony to raise money to support MSU’s equine research program.

This is the first year for the sale to be held off campus. The March 12 sale will begin at 1 p.m. at the T. Smith Livestock Co. at 122 T. Smith Road in Hattiesburg. Buyers can begin viewing the horses at 11 a.m.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Those interested in learning about new technology that can improve farm management and operations should plan on attending Mississippi State University Extension Service’s Precision Agriculture Workshop.

The free workshop will be held on March 11 at the Forrest County Extension Conference Center in Hattiesburg. The workshop starts at 8:30 a.m. and wraps up with a free lunch at 12:30 p.m.

Several years ago, a group of hybrid impatiens was developed, offering bright flowers and interesting foliage in the hot summer sun. Sunpatiens’ superior performance in the landscape earned them the status of Mississippi Medallion winner for 2011.

(top) Compact lilac Sunpatiens are great in flowering combination containers. These outstanding, tight-branching plants require little pruning.

(bottom) Sunpatiens are hybrid impatiens that thrive through the hottest parts of summer. They flower from spring until fall’s first frosts. (Photos by Gary Bachman)

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture at Mississippi State University is holding the first-ever all-girls Discovery Day on campus to introduce female high school students to careers in wildlife and fisheries.

Discovery Day will take place on April 8 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is free for 24 students in the ninth through 11th grades. Participants will learn skills including GPS orienteering, water sampling and wildlife identification.

VERONA – Almost 300 producers of row crops, livestock and other agricultural products met at the North Mississippi Research and Extension Center in Verona to discuss services they need from Mississippi State University.

The Feb. 17 event helps give programming and research direction to the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and the Extension Service.

By Cheree Franco
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Today’s brides are increasingly choosing wedding hats or fancy headpieces, called fascinators, as an alternative to a traditional veil.

Jackson resident Susan Fiselman Hermes chose to wear a handmade fascinator adorned with pearls and ivory feathers when she got married in the Caribbean last spring.

“We were planning a sunset beach wedding, so we wanted something fun and laid-back,” she said. “A traditional veil just didn’t feel right.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Two Mississippi State University patents on kenaf have been licensed to Texas-based Corn Board Manufacturing, Inc. for use in engineered pressed board.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – When Paula Threadgill became leader of Family and Consumer Sciences for the Mississippi State University Extension Service, she decided to tackle the state’s obesity problem.

Threadgill was named state leader of the Extension Service arm of Family and Consumer Sciences, or FCS, on Jan. 1. She had been filling the role on an interim basis since April 2010. She is also an Extension professor.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A March 8-9 summit will provide those in the furniture manufacturing business with the tools needed to succeed.

Furniture and bedding sales rose nearly three percent from 2009 to 2010, and manufacturing has expanded for the past 18 consecutive months. It is becoming increasingly important for industry members to learn how to keep up with the rapid growth and demand.

The summit begins with a reception at 6 p.m. March 8 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Starkville. Registration will be at 8:30 a.m. on March 9 Mississippi State University’s Franklin Center.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The third annual Union County Home and Garden Show will be held at the Union County fairgrounds on March 25 and March 26.

The event will run Friday from noon to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. No registration is required, and most events are free to the public. The show had 1,200 participants last year—up from 500 in 2009—and organizers expect an even bigger crowd this year.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi State University’s agricultural economics department head was recently honored for his significant contributions to his field.

Steve Turner received the 2011 Southern Agricultural Economics Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the organization’s annual meeting in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Turner was chosen for the award because he has contributed to Southern agricultural economics for the past 25 years through teaching, research and public service.

By Cheree Franco
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine will be featured in an episode of a new Animal Planet series set to air Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. CST.

By the time the film crew visited CVM last June, they had been on the road a month, traveling the country in search of unique felines and the people who adore them. The four-person crew came to CVM to learn more about domestic cats and how they differ from their wild counterparts for an episode of a new show titled Must Love Cats.

Every year after several warm and sunny days in late February or early March, we begin to see just a little color peeking out of flower buds in our landscape. Then suddenly there is a rush of color, ranging from the faintest pinks to the boldest purples.

I get calls from people surprised to see these trees covered in gorgeous blooms. When I tell them the tree is a magnolia, some are astonished to learn there are magnolias other than the Southern Magnolia.

By Karen Templeton
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – When Auburn University officials needed help investigating an attack on part of their school’s history, they turned to Mississippi State University.

According to an Auburn University statement, school officials learned that a Jan. 27 caller to The Paul Finebaum Show, a nationally syndicated radio show based in Birmingham, claimed he had applied an herbicide to the soil around 130-year-old live oaks at Toomer’s Corner on campus.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Buyers braved the elements to support young livestock exhibitors and several charity organizations at the Dixie National Sale of Junior Champions on Feb. 10.

Snow, ice and bitter cold temperatures often occur the day of this annual event. Fortunately, those conditions are less common than the generous donors, who come every February to the event on the Thursday after the junior livestock shows conclude.

By Cheree Franco
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- It seems “something old” is really something new in bridal wear trends.

“This year’s wedding season is all about vintage and upcycled dresses,” said Phyllis Bell Miller, associate professor of human sciences at Mississippi State University.

Wearing vintage or remaking a preowned dress can be an affordable and earth-friendly option, but it comes with particular challenges.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Volunteers in four Delta counties are tackling the area’s obesity problem in unique ways.

The Delta has the highest obesity rate in the state, and volunteers in Carroll, Holmes, Leflore and Sunflower Counties are participating in the Get Healthy, Trim Down Delta project to help solve the problem.

The program is directed by the Mississippi State University Extension Service and funded by the Delta Health Alliance, through financial support from the Office of Rural Health Policy, a branch of the Health Resources and Services Administration.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Agriculture specialists will address management of pests in vegetables, fruit and landscapes during a day-long workshop on Feb. 22 in Raymond.

The annual pest management workshop will take place at Mississippi State University’s Central Mississippi Research and Extension Center auditorium. Registration is $10 and begins at 8 a.m. Sessions will conclude by 4:30 p.m.

This winter’s irregular temperatures have been tough on landscape plants all across Mississippi and have given even positive gardeners a case of the winter blues. One sure-fire sign that spring is around the corner is the Gulf Coast Garden and Patio Show February 25, 26 and 27 at the Coast Coliseum in Biloxi.