Feature Story

PEARL, Miss. -- Representatives from the Mississippi poultry industry and state agencies realize that information is key in bird flu preparation, response and recovery if the foreign virus lands in the state this winter.

Dr. Brigid Elchos, deputy state veterinarian for the Mississippi Board of Animal Health, invited communication officers who may be involved in a bird flu outbreak to meet at the Pearl office of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency on Sept. 11.

HAZLEHURST, Miss. -- South Mississippi homeowners in small communities and rural areas can learn how to better manage, operate and protect their private wells during an Oct. 13 program in Copiah County.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- When brooding chicks are warm, they grow well in poultry houses, but when heaters are not operating efficiently, it drives up the already high cost of broiler production.

This is the problem John Linhoss, an animal environment specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, took on for his doctoral research. The study was done in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agriculture Research Service’s Poultry Research Unit in Starkville.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Specialty markets in pork production are cropping up across the U.S. in response to a growing interest in pasture-raised pigs.

Before the 1960s, most U.S. pork was raised in outside lots or on pasture systems. Commercial pork production today generally relies on large warehouse-like buildings or barns that house sows and pigs in stalls or pens.

By M.K. Belant and Keri Collins Lewis
MSU Ag Communications

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Nature offers a narrow and unpredictable window for breeding fish, and Mississippi State University scientists are studying ways to help hatcheries stock the state’s lakes.

What if conditions could be controlled within hatcheries so the intense seasonal workload could be dispersed over time? This ability would be especially beneficial for the popular black, white, and hybrid triploid Magnolia crappie.

NEWTON, Miss. -- Mississippi State University’s Coastal Plain Branch Experiment Station is completing a transformation from the state’s premier dairy research facility to a site that focuses on land management.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Four prominent landscape designers and Mississippi State University alumni are returning to campus to share ideas with amateur and professional gardeners.

The 60th Edward C. Martin Jr. Landscape Symposium will be held Oct. 21 from 9 a.m. to noon at the MSU Bost Extension Center Auditorium.

Speakers for this year’s symposium, themed “Landscape Rehab 101,” are Christian Preus, Kirk Cameron, Phillipe Chadwick and Carol Reese.

INDIANOLA, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service is partnering with stakeholders in the Delta to offer preparation courses aimed at prospective entrepreneurs.

Applications are being accepted for the Simply Effective Entrepreneur Development program, which begins at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 21 at the Mississippi Delta Community College Capps Technology Center in Sunflower County. Classes will meet each Monday night for seven weeks.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Grandparents provide a loving, low-cost and flexible alternative to center-based child care for many families across Mississippi. The benefits to the parents, children and grandparents in these situations are significant for many reasons.

Nearly 11 million children under the age of 5 in the United States go to some type of child care for an average of 36 hours each week. Some children are in multiple child care settings because of their parents’ nontraditional working hours.

POPLARVILLE, Miss. -- Home gardeners and industry professionals can hear research updates and see the top performing plant varieties of 2015 during the Ornamental Horticulture Field Day.

The event will be held Oct. 1 at the Mississippi State University South Mississippi Branch Experiment Station in Poplarville.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi State University experts found an invasive insect that attacks crape myrtles on the coast this spring and now have spotted the pest in two cities on opposite ends of the state.

The insects are crape myrtle bark scale, or CMBS, and they were found March 15 in Ocean Springs in Jackson County. In August, the insects were detected at five locations in Olive Branch and Southaven in DeSoto County.

CRYSTAL SPRINGS, Miss. – The Southeast’s most popular home gardening event will open to home gardeners and horticultural professionals Oct. 16 and 17 at the Mississippi State University Truck Crops Branch Experiment Station in Crystal Springs.

Each year, the Fall Flower & Garden Fest draws an average of 5,000 visitors interested in learning about all aspects of vegetable, flower and herb gardening.

Many homeowners consider it a point of pride to have a nicely manicured landscape. Southern Gardening is one of many sources of information to help gardeners with maintenance tips and plant selection.

But sometimes, especially at the end of a long, hot summer, the home gardener loses landscape momentum. As I admitted in last week’s column, I’ve found myself in this position. To tell you the truth, it bothers me even though I downplayed the situation.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- A free webinar series will offer business owners tips for using technology to improve online branding and social media tools.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service, Mississippi’s Creative Economy and the Mississippi Development Authority Entrepreneur Center are partnering to deliver four sessions related to business development.

By Brandi Van Ormer
MSU College of Veterinary Medicine

FLOWOOD, Miss. -- Most amazing stories begin on a normal day, and the story of a collie named Lad was no different.

But what started as a routine day of play ended with a long-term relationship with experts at the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine’s affiliate emergency and specialty center in Flowood.

VERONA, Miss. -- Gardeners are invited to attend the North Mississippi Research and Extension Center Fall Flower and Vegetable Tour on Sept. 26.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station will host this annual tour in Verona from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.

MSU horticulture experts will lead educational seminars, provide tours of the flower and vegetable gardens, and answer gardening questions. Fun activities for children will be available.

September is National Catfish Month…

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Catfish is high in protein and low in saturated fat, making it healthy and delicious.

Mark Peterman, an aquaculture associate with the Mississippi State University Extension Service based in east Mississippi, said all of Mississippi’s catfish must pass a minimum of three sensory taste tests before processing plants will accept delivery.

If I didn’t know better, I would swear that Mother Nature is teasing us.

This past weekend was glorious in my south Mississippi garden, especially in the humidity department. I don’t know the last time the humidity was 40 percent at the end of August and the heat index was below the temperature of the surface of the sun.

Like many other home gardeners, this break from the oppressive summer heat got me back out into the landscape to do some chores that needed to be done.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Mississippi State University leaders realized the importance of instituting a standardized response system to assist with all types of catastrophes that might strike the state.

Six months after Katrina, the MSU Extension Service Center for Government and Community Development began training university employees, as well as local emergency management officials, 911-call-center operators, and elected and appointed officials.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- With so much loss after Hurricane Katrina, it would have been easy to overlook some of the state’s most vulnerable citizens: infants, toddlers and preschool children. Families needed to get back to work whenever possible, but without someone to watch their children, what could they do?