Feature Story

By Kaitlyn Byrne
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Fourteen members of the Mississippi State University Dairy Science Club, none of whom had shown dairy cattle before, proved hard work pays off when they took home several awards at the Mississippi State Fair.

IMISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi State University has planned three upcoming events to supply forage producers with the latest and best information possible to help them with production.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A partnership with Prestage Farms Inc. is allowing Mississippi State University to improve its swine research facility as university scientists prepare to resume swine-related studies.

John Blanton, head of the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences at MSU, said there is a need in the Southeast for science-based information on swine production.
“We are addressing that need of our stakeholders through our swine research program,” Blanton said.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Gardeners with landscape challenges walked away with wheelbarrows full of ideas after three landscape designers shared tips at the nation’s oldest symposium of its kind.

The 58th Edward C. Martin Jr. Landscape Symposium drew more than 100 garden club members, Master Gardeners, students and design professionals to Mississippi State University Oct. 16.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Master Gardeners know one of the basic principles that university students around the country are discovering: Education is about more than books.

Mississippi’s horticultural educators and volunteers recently returned to campus for the Master Gardener University, hosted by the Mississippi State University Extension Service. Like many college students, Master Gardeners take part in a variety of community service projects. The educational volunteers shared these projects along with their accumulated knowledge at the conference.

INDIANOLA – An upcoming seminar will help people discover ways to secure, save and safeguard tax refunds for themselves or the clients they serve.

Mississippi State University Extension Service will offer the program from 11:45 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 23 at the Charlie Capps Technology Center in Indianola. The seminar’s purpose is to provide organizational leaders and professionals with information on tax credits that can result in higher income tax refunds.

BROOKHAVEN – When Hurricane Katrina destroyed his timber stand in 2005, Lincoln County landowner Jason McDonald searched for an alternative crop.

In May 2012, he visited the Charleston Tea Plantation in South Carolina and began to consider growing the crop himself.

“I wanted something that was sustainable and better at resisting storm damage,” McDonald said. “As long as tea plants are managed well, they are low-growing, which makes them able to survive high winds.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi State University is moving a popular horse sale into cyberspace with a special online auction.

More than 20 horses from the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station’s herd will be sold from Nov. 1 to 21 at http://www.auction.msucares.com. Buyers can also bid on the stud fee for one 2014 breeding to gray American quarter horse stallion UGA King of Aces.

JACKSON – After a 30-year absence, the 4-H poultry livestock show returned with great fanfare to the Mississippi State Fair this year.

Jessica Wells, poultry science specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said the poultry program has been very popular with 4-H’ers since it returned to the program lineup in 2012. She said 150 children participated this year with 64 showing their chickens at the state fair.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Starkville-area teachers are invited to bring their students Nov. 1 to the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine to listen to the adventures of National Geographic explorer Helen Thayer.

The college is hosting Thayer as part of its Nestle Purina Human-Animal Bond Series. Thayer will share her adventures as the first woman to travel to the Magnetic North Pole with only the companionship of her dog. She will also discuss her experience living among wolves for a year.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Two Mississippi State University units are helping sponsor a conference for people interested in developing outdoor recreation and tourism businesses.

The MSU Extension Service and Stennis Institute of Government and Community Development are promoting the annual Alabama-Mississippi Rural Tourism Conference Oct. 28-30. The event will be in Guntersville, Ala., and the theme is outdoor recreation.

BILOXI – Biloxi homeowner Jesse Aguilar got a little help installing a high tunnel in his backyard from two Mississippi State University horticulture scientists and the traveling home improvement show “Ask This Old House.”

By Mary Grace Eppes
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE - With the school year well underway, families across Mississippi commonly encounter illnesses, viruses or the contagious and bothersome head lice.

David Shrock, a health education and wellness graduate assistant at Mississippi State University, said the head louse is a parasitic insect that can be found on heads, eyebrows and eyelashes of humans.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- About 4,000 fourth-graders, teachers and parents from across the state will be at Mississippi State University Oct. 14-18 for the annual Wood Magic Science Fair.   

Activities and exhibits illustrating everything from papermaking to the strength of a toothpick-sized piece of wood are part of the annual event at the Forest Products Lab complex during the week. 

Sponsored by the university’s College of Forest Resources, the event is designed to illustrate the importance of natural resources throughout the state. 

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi 4-H provides a year-round youth development activity in Mississippi, but it gets an extra share of the spotlight with fall activities that include National 4-H Week Oct. 6-12.

The 4-H Youth Development Program is part of the Mississippi State University Extension Service. This year, it has more than 103,500 members ages 8 to 18 in 1,731 clubs across the state. These groups range from specialized clubs for robotics, horses, shooting sports or outdoor activities, to general interest clubs and after-school programs.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippians interested in the state’s latest agricultural news will need to tune in or set their digital video recorders to a different time.

Farmweek, the state’s oldest and only locally produced agricultural television news show, has moved to Saturdays at 6 p.m. and Mondays at 6 a.m. on Mississippi Public Broadcasting. The show also can be seen on the nationwide satellite and cable TV network RFD-TV Fridays at 5 p.m. and on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 3 a.m., or online.

STONEVILLE -- Mississippi State University scientists are leading the charge in the fight against glyphosate-resistant Italian ryegrass with a research-based plan of attack.

Jason Bond, a weed scientist at the MSU Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville, said Mississippi was the first state to discover Italian ryegrass that cannot be controlled with glyphosate, a common herbicide originally known as Round-up, in a crop situation. The weed has spread quickly since it arrived.

CHOCTAW – Fruit and vegetable growers can learn the latest tips and techniques at an upcoming conference near Philadelphia.

The Mississippi Fruit and Vegetable Growers Conference and Trade Show will be Nov. 13-15 at the Silver Star Conference Center in Choctaw.

The conference is open to new and experienced growers and other interested individuals. Experts from the Mississippi State University Extension Service and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station will deliver many of the sessions.

By Kaitlyn Byrne
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- While hunters may see Mississippi’s 1.75 million white-tailed deer as potential antlers on their walls, many farmers see reduced crop yields instead.

Bronson Strickland, associate Extension professor in the Mississippi State University Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture, said the impact of Mississippi’s deer population varies depending on who is asked.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – An apparel designer for a prominent national retailer told Mississippi State University students that the clothing industry is a good career choice since about 25 percent of the global economy is involved in it.

Ellen Sheppard is the lead apparel developer for Recreational Equipment Inc., commonly known as REI, and oversees its sportswear collections. She was on campus Oct. 2 and 3 telling students in the MSU School of Human Sciences what it takes to create a successful career in this field.