Feature Story

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Bulldog fans in town early for the Sept. 21 game can spend the morning getting ideas for their home landscapes at a tour and open house at Mississippi State University’s new trial gardens.

Visitors to the gardens can enjoy 15 minute mini-workshops at six different stations split between the new trial gardens and the existing Veterans Memorial Rose Garden. Hay wagons will transport visitors between the two locations.

Educational topics include summer bedding plants, growing hardy hibiscus plants, soil sampling, rose planting density and more.

JACKSON – Mississippi legislators attended a special meeting on Sept. 9 to learn about the “greatest emerging wildlife challenge of the 21st century.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Now that dozens of jars of jams, jellies, pickles and vegetables gleam on his booth’s shelves, it is hard to believe that eight years ago, Claude Jones refused to sell his wares at the Mississippi Farmer’s Market.

“I had come to the market to purchase some items, and I carried a bag of my peanut brittle with me,” Jones said. “I was always handing it out to folks. I never intended to sell it. But I gave a bag to the market director, and a couple weeks later, he called me.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi State University Extension Service is expanding its presence through an increased use of social media to provide information to the public.

Extension offices are already physically located in all 82 counties in the state, but residents of Mississippi and beyond can also follow Extension news and activities through a variety of social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Knowing when to say when is key to successful soybean irrigation that conserves water and money while producing peak yields.

As hints of water regulation on the horizon in Mississippi make water conservation a pressing issue, Mississippi State University has stepped up efforts to aid growers with irrigation decisions.

Trent Irby, soybean specialist with the MSU Extension Service, said soybean irrigation should stop after there is adequate soil moisture to ensure the seeds reach maximum size.

CLARKSDALE -- Peanut producers learned about irrigation strategies, diseases, insect control and harvest methods at the North Mississippi Peanut Field Day in Clarksdale.

In 2012 Mississippi moved into the seventh spot nationally in peanut production. Demand for peanuts has increased, yet the state’s peanut acreage decreased this year because of oversupply and lower contract prices.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – The state’s blueberry growers can gather in Covington County Oct. 10 for a farm tour, demonstrations and exhibits at the annual field day and trade show.

Beginning at 8 a.m., Blue River Farm will host producers, experts from the Mississippi State University Extension Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Research Service and exhibitors from across the United States.

POPLARVILLE – Leisure gardeners and horticulture industry professionals can learn about new plant varieties, insect and disease control and the latest research findings during an Oct. 10 field day in Poplarville.

The 40th annual Ornamental Horticulture Field Day will be at the South Mississippi Branch Experiment Station.

JACKSON – Mississippi 4-H’ers will showcase their talents at 4-H Day at the Fair during the Mississippi State Fair Oct. 12.

Competitions, exhibits and hands-on activities will be open to the public beginning at 9 a.m. Competitions will conclude around 1 p.m. Livestock events will continue throughout the day.

All 4-H events and competitions except one will be held in the Trade Mart. Public speaking will be held in the Cattlemen’s Association building, located across from the fairgrounds at 680 Monroe Street, Suite A.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Farming families believe the country is a great place to raise kids, but sometimes familiarity with farming equipment can lead to a false sense of security.

“The farm can be a dangerous place for children because they play where they work, and it’s hard for them to separate the two concepts,” said Ted Gordon, safety specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. “They don’t readily recognize the hazards on the farm, and they must be taught how to see the dangers and how to avoid them.”

STONEVILLE -- A group of soybean professionals met in Stoneville as harvest approached to learn how to be more efficient with irrigation at the end of the growing season.

Tom Eubank, a Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station soybean agronomist at the Delta Research and Extension Center, said soybean farmers need three pieces of information to know when to terminate irrigation.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Some Mississippi State University students are testing their problem-solving skills with real challenges instead of hypothetical situations this semester.

Whether they are graphic design students dreaming up a new logo for the Mississippi Sweet Potato Council’s boxes or communication students developing videos to help 4-H’ers improve their public speaking skills, students are working with community partners to address existing needs.

CLEVELAND – Mississippi farmers want to show off their rice crop at its best, served in hundreds of dishes for sampling at the 23rd annual rice-tasting luncheon in Cleveland.

The dishes will be available from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Sept. 20 at Delta State University’s Walter Sillers Coliseum.

Laura Giaccaglia, Bolivar County Extension agent and coordinator, said the event attracts about 1,500 people each September, which is National Rice Month.

GOODMAN – Fruit, vegetable and flower growers can learn about growing fall crops and a new legal services program during a Sept. 20 field day at the Alliance for Sustainable Agricultural Production Demonstration Farm in Goodman.

By Dave Storment
MSU Forest and Wildlife Research Center

PICAYUNE – The traditional skills, crafts and arts of Mississippi’s Piney Woods region will be showcased during the Piney Woods Heritage Festival at Mississippi State University’s Crosby Arboretum Nov. 15 and 16.

Visitors to the Picayune facility will enjoy educational exhibits and skills demonstrations, including blacksmithing, wood carving, quilting, storytelling and more. Craftsmen and artists also will offer their work for purchase.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi State University scientists are working to find out why some pregnancies are successful and others are not.

Jean Feugang, a research assistant professor in the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences, is studying the reproductive stage that remains one of the most mysterious -- the time just before conception.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi State University’s commitment to its land-grant mission and to the state’s $7.5 billion agriculture and forestry industry resulted in a top spot in a recently released National Science Foundation report.

JACKSON – Gardeners can keep insects and diseases under control and make spring planting easier with a little bit of cleanup right now.

“Good sanitation is one of the easiest and most economical methods of insect and disease control in the vegetable garden,” said Rebecca Bates, Mississippi State University Extension Service Lincoln County coordinator.

In vegetable gardens, plants should be removed as soon as production stops. Any live plant material will continue to provide food for insect pests and allow them to mature and multiply.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- In a state where tornadoes, hurricanes and floods are regular -- although unwanted -- visitors, Mississippi State University has plans for how to preserve data and ongoing research projects.

Hurricane Katrina’s Aug. 29 anniversary provides reminders of the havoc natural disasters can wreak with lives, homes and businesses. Losses to research are less tangible but can be just as devastating.

Dr. Stephen Pruett, head of basic sciences at MSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine, knows just how high those losses could mount.