Feature Story

BILOXI -- The team of professionals at Mississippi State University's Coastal Research and Extension Center provides services to all parts of the state's seafood industry.

Extension professor of marine resources Dave Burrage, with assistance from fisheries technologist Peter Nguyen, provides educational programs on regulations, new types of equipment and other industry-related issues for commercial fishermen on the Mississippi Coast.

BILOXI -- Shrimp boats and their tasty harvest are part of the image most people have of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, but other important seafood crops are pulled from the waters of the Gulf.

Before Hurricane Katrina, the oyster industry pumped about $100 million into the Mississippi economy each year. Oysters contribute to the economies of all the Gulf Coast states, and these states traditionally harvest the majority of the U.S. domestic oyster supply.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A long-time volunteer leader with the Mississippi 4-H Program is the state’s newest member of the national organization’s Hall of Fame.

Hobson Waits of Brandon was inducted in October during ceremonies held at the National 4-H Council headquarters in Chevy Chase, Md. He was a member of 4-H during his youth in Washington County in the 1940s and 1950s.

“Once you are involved with 4-H, you don’t want to let go,” Waits said. “People may become involved at another level within the organization, but they never leave.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Clergy across the state are being asked to lend their support to efforts to improve marriages in Mississippi, and a series of summits is planned over seven days in late November and early December to better equip them for the task.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Several students at Mississippi State University are excelling in a field that did not even exist when they were born.

In a program that combines the fields of biology, chemistry, physics and engineering, MSU biological engineering and biochemistry and molecular biology students are constructing DNA “machines” to do jobs at the genetic level. “Synthetic biology” is the term used for the new field of study that emerged in the late 1990s.

By Andrea Cooper
College of Forest Resources

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Research by scientists at the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station is reaping benefits for Nature's Catch, the largest pond-based producer of hybrid striped bass in the United States.

For more than 11 years, MSU researchers Lou D'Abramo and Terry Hanson have worked with managers of the Clarksdale-based aquaculture enterprise to develop a more efficient culture system for rearing hybrid striped bass.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi State University students proved again this year in two competitions that they are among the best in the country at determining the quality of dairy products.

Five MSU students competed in a group of 60 students in October at the National Dairy Products Evaluation Contest in Las Vegas. The team placed fifth among the 20 teams, and graduate student Robert Anderson finished second in overall product rankings.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The sights, scents and sounds of the holiday season will dazzle visitors during the Holiday Open House hosted by the Mississippi State University Department of Plant and Soil Sciences and The University Florist Nov. 30.

Poinsettias of 58 varieties in shades of red, pink and white, as well as a few novelty-type plants, will be on display during the open house located in the greenhouses behind Dorman Hall on Stone Boulevard. The greenhouses will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A little motivation and moderation may be the best strategy for individuals with chronic illnesses to survive the holidays with their health intact.

By Courtney Coufal
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The holiday season can be a great opportunity to bring families closer together as children are out of school and parents take time off from work.

Extra days at home during the holidays can create a natural opportunity for families to spend time together, said Tabitha Staier, family education and policy specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The holidays fall in the middle of the annual flu season, increasing the need to avoid the spread of germs.

Jane Clary, health specialist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service, said visits to and from loved ones from other regions can hasten seasonal influenza's progress across the country and the globe. Every year there is the potential for seasonal flu to become pandemic, which is a disease outbreak that spans the world.

By Bonnie Coblentz
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Sticker shock, violent themes and product recalls can make holiday toy buying difficult for parents and others with children in their lives.

Buying gifts for children usually means a trip to the online or actual toy store. This year has seen the recall of millions of toys, many because of lead in the paint of some toys made in China and a recent round made in Mexico because they contain parts too small for children.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi State University will auction about 60 horses and one pony on Nov. 17 to raise money to support MSU's equine research.

The sale will begin at 1 p.m. after a sponsored noon lunch for sale participants. Buyers can begin viewing stock at 10 a.m., and horses under saddle will be displayed between 10:30 and 11 a.m.

STONEVILLE--Planning for the 2008 growing season will be the focus of the Delta Crop Summit on Nov. 13 at the Mississippi State University Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville.

Registration will begin at 7:30 a.m. in the Charles W. Capps, Jr. Entrepreneurial Center. The program will begin at 8 a.m. There is no cost to attend and lunch is provided.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- No matter how much they thought they knew, the two- and four-legged students in Peter Ryan's new “special topic” class are learning a lot.

The class, Equine Behavior Modification, is giving 15 students the opportunity to learn how to break horses without breaking themselves. The horses -- as untamed as rarely handled cattle -- are learning that people are more trustworthy than they originally suspected.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Neither the chill nor the early hour dampened the enthusiasm of 100 Mississippi State University students who gave up their weekend beauty sleep to bag 20,000 pounds of sweet potatoes for the Mississippi Food Network.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi State University researchers are working to develop a new vaccine to protect catfish from a devastating bacterial disease that costs the industry millions of dollars each year.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded more than $371,400 to MSU's College of Veterinary Medicine to study enteric septicemia, or ESC. Researchers believe a modified live vaccine against the disease could dramatically reduce economic losses to catfish farmers.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi's Christmas tree producers should see a $1.6 million holiday season, but there is room in the market for other growers to join the party.

Steve Dicke, forester with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said the state is expected to produce 49,500 choose-and-cut Christmas trees this year. This number is slightly down from last year, and significantly down from pre-Hurricane Katrina years.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Michael T. Kidd has assumed duties as head of Mississippi State University’s Department of Poultry Science.

Kidd, whose experience includes both university and industry research, succeeds Wallace Morgan, who retired in June.

“We are fortunate to have a person with his academic and industry experience,” said Vance Watson, vice president of the Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine. “Poultry is an important part of the Mississippi economy, and Dr. Kidd has a proven record of teaching and research in support of the industry.”