Feature Story

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Teachers, students and parents need to be on the same page when disasters happen during school hours.

Ryan Akers, assistant Extension professor of community preparation and disaster management at Mississippi State University, said basic plans can make a huge difference for everyone involved when emergencies occur.

“Emergency plans are becoming more important to schools, and not just the traditional fire and tornado drills,” Akers said. “Schools are gathering supplies and working on extensive communication plans to help everyone involved.”

STONEVILLE -- Mississippi State University increased its support of the state’s rice industry in the state with the recent appointment of Ed Redoña as rice breeder at the Delta Research and Extension Center.

STONEVILLE -- Growers and consultants are invited to the Mississippi State University Delta Research and Extension Center Aug. 13 for a look at late-season issues affecting the state’s row crop acreage.

The half-day field day begins with registration and exhibits at 11 a.m., followed by lunch at noon and field tours that start at 1 p.m. Visitors will make several stops in the research station fields to examine current crop conditions and hear reports and information from MSU researchers and Extension Service specialists.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Many children get sick when the school year starts up, and germs may be lurking in an unexpected place: the lunch box.

Natasha Haynes, a family and consumer sciences agent for the Mississippi State University Extension Service in Rankin County, said lunch boxes and bags can harbor bacteria.

“Kids don’t always wash their hands before handling their lunch boxes and food,” Haynes said. “Since most lunches include finger foods, it’s easy to see how germs and bacteria can make kids sick.”

CORINTH -- Despite jokingly being called her father’s “second son” because of her willingness to help with chores while growing up on her family’s farm, Sandy Coleman Mitchell has proven that women make valuable contributions to the agricultural industry.

RAYMOND -- Fruit and vegetable growers can learn how to grow and sell produce for farmers markets during an upcoming short course.

Micro Farming: Growing for Farmers Markets will be held Aug. 27 and 28 in Raymond.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Winning first place at a state-level competition earned senior-level Mississippi 4-H’ers a unique, four-day trip across the state.

From July 15–18, 60 young people will tour the state in the 2014 4-H Cooperative Business Leadership Conference.

GOODMAN – Fruit and vegetable growers who sell their produce at local farmers markets and to schools or retailers can learn about food safety training, certification programs and new government rules during a July 18 field day in Goodman.

The Alliance for Sustainable Agricultural Production Demonstration Farm will host the field day.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A biochemist with 37 years of experience has been named head of Mississippi State University’s Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- People like graduate student Alyssa Barrett are turning the Mississippi State University goal of international outreach into reality.

Barrett, a master’s student in agricultural and Extension education from Wiggins, went to the West African nation of Ghana in March to collect data for her thesis, which is examining the effectiveness of an agricultural education program. In 2013, she traveled to Nigeria to teach the same agricultural program.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi producers planted more of the state’s major row crops than they planned in March, and the majority of them are in good condition.

Every winter, Mississippi producers estimate how many acres they will plant of each crop they intend to grow. The U.S. Department of Agriculture tabulates these in March and issues the planting intentions report. On June 30, USDA released actual planted acre figures for the state.

VERONA -- The North Mississippi Research and Extension Center’s Agronomic Row Crops Field Day on Aug. 7 will present the latest research to area farmers and consultants.

The field day will be from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Lee County Agri-Center Magnolia Conference Center on Highway 145 South in Verona.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Students who struggle with math rarely consider it interesting or fun, but 30 Mississippi teachers spent 80 hours of intensive training in June learning how to change those students’ attitudes.

IMPACT2, or In-depth Mathematical Practices and Content Teacher Training, is a professional development opportunity for teachers to meet the requirements for their “highly qualified” certification in mathematics.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A Mississippi State University undergraduate student and research scholar has won the Harold Weaver Undergraduate Student Excellence Award for his research on the flammability of hardwood forests.

Senior forestry major Zach Senneff of Caledonia, received the honor from the Association of Fire Ecology at the Large Wildland Fires Conference in Missoula, Montana.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Some of Mississippi’s future medical professionals demonstrated their dedication by taking college-level classes the summer before their senior year in high school.

This year, 23 academically gifted high school students participated in the five-week Rural Medical Scholars program at Mississippi State University. Since the program began in 1998, 317 students have participated, experiencing college life and shadowing doctors and other medical professionals for an on-the-job view of their professional lives.

PICAYUNE -- Visitors to the Mississippi State University Crosby Arboretum can view the work of area artists in the arboretum’s new art gallery.

Located in the recently remodeled visitor center and gift shop, the gallery opened June 21. It displays artwork that celebrates the natural world, and much of the art was made on or inspired by the arboretum grounds in Picayune.

BROOKHAVEN -- Mississippi’s cold, wet winter and spring gave the state’s new tea farm its first test.

Owner Jason McDonald and business partner Timothy Gipson started the farm in October. Their 250 one-gallon plants and 10 three-gallon plants are thriving this summer, despite some losses.

JACKSON -- Proposed changes to the nutrition facts label should make it easier for consumers to make decisions about the food they eat.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is updating the label for the first time since it appeared on packaged foods in 1993. The only major change made to the label in its 20-year history was the required addition of trans fats in 2006.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Steak lovers beware: scientists have discovered certain tick bites can cause an allergy to red meat.

Jerome Goddard, medical entomologist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said the lone star tick species carries a sugar that can be transmitted through its bite. The transmission of the sugar may cause people to become allergic to red meat.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi State University experts will share the latest tips and best practices for creating healthy, beautiful and low-maintenance landscapes at an Aug. 1 short course.

Garden enthusiasts can attend the sustainable landscapes workshop at their county Extension office. Up to 20 participants can attend in Room 409 of the Bost Extension Building. The workshop will be broadcast through the distance education interactive video system.