Feature Story

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Dr. Richard M. Hopper, professor with the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine, has been awarded the El Toro Award for Excellence in Food Animal Medicine at Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

Hopper, who teaches in the Department of Pathobiology and Population Medicine and is an MSU Extension Service veterinarian, received the award during Auburn’s 107th veterinary annual conference.

COLLINS – When Jo Lynn Mitchell started an agritourism business to add income to the family farm, she had no idea she would end up proving that people can still farm for a living.

Mitchell fell in love with farming as a way of life after marrying her husband Don, and she wanted to introduce farm life to children and adults. In 2006, she planted pumpkins and invited schools and churches to visit for an educational experience on how crops grow. The children each received a pumpkin to carry home as a reminder of what they learned at the farm.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- One of local government’s oldest and most essential jobs is being recognized for its services during an upcoming week of local, national and international activities.

The 44th annual Municipal Clerks Week will be observed May 5-11. During this week, municipal clerks in many of Mississippi’s cities, towns and villages will take part in activities to increase the public’s awareness of municipal clerks and the vital services they provide for local government and the community.

YAZOO CITY -- Mississippi Women for Agriculture will kick off a new lunch-and-learn program May 2.

The first meeting of the “Farm Women Friday” series will be hosted by the Mississippi State University Extension Service at the Yazoo County Extension office and broadcast to county Extension offices across the state.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Getting and keeping a job often depends on an individual’s ability to use basic computer programs and social media applications.

The Mississippi State University Extension Center for Technology Outreach provides a variety of training workshops on common software programs for word processing, spreadsheets, and graphic design. Staff members also teach classes on using tablets and smartphones, digital cameras and GPS systems.

By Brittnie Burton
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Learning opportunities for teens do not end when school lets out for the summer in communities across Mississippi.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service is recruiting students in six counties for the inaugural Mississippi Youth Preparedness Initiative, or MyPI.

By Brittnie Burton
MSU Ag Communications

CLEVELAND -- Horse lovers may think of horses as family, but they should always handle the large animals with caution.

Laura Giaccaglia, Bolivar County coordinator with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said safety comes first in horse handling.

“Horses are massive animals, and when you are around them, you have to keep your guard up at all times,” Giaccaglia said. “We teach our 4-H members that respect is the foundation for safety for the animal and the people around it.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Most centenarians are slowing down and avoiding modern technology, but the Mississippi State University Extension Service is doing neither as it approaches its 100th birthday.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Soybeans have been an important commodity in Mississippi for more than 50 years, but recent advances have pushed the crop’s value above $1 billion.

Mississippi soybeans had a value of $267 million in 2006, $1.27 billion in 2012 and $1.17 billion in 2013. Prices have been high for the past several years, but state producers put more effort into management and increased yields to a record average of 45 bushels an acre in 2012 and 2013.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service is offering white-tailed deer management workshops to give landowners and managers hands-on education on improving deer herds and hunting opportunities.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service is tuning up its sewing machines as the requests for sewing classes stack up.

“Everything old is new again,” said Sylvia Clark, family and consumer sciences Extension associate. “There is a renewed interest in sewing, in making clothes and items for the home that reflect a personal sense of style and save money.”

Most schools in Mississippi, like those in many other states, no longer offer sewing classes.

JACKSON – Commercial fruit and vegetable growers can learn to produce strawberries for local markets during a one-time short course offered May 13 and 14 in Choctaw.

Experts from the Mississippi State University Extension Service, the Research and Extension Division of the University of Arkansas, and the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce will present information about crop production and marketing.

Strawberry expert Barclay Poling of North Carolina State University and strawberry grower Mel Ellis of Mayhew Tomato Farm in Columbus are featured speakers.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station recently honored several members of the Mississippi State University faculty, staff and student body for outstanding research, service and facility maintenance.

Fei Yu, a MAFES scientists and assistant professor in the MSU Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, received the 2014 Excellence in Research Award sponsored by Mississippi Land Bank. Yu also received the MAFES Grantsmanship Award for amassing more than $4.5 million in grants.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Eliminating ramshorn snails is a proven method of controlling a major catfish parasite, but producers must be constantly vigilant to keep a small problem from exploding into big trouble.

Digenetic trematodes, which are spread by ramshorn snails, can cause costly problems in Mississippi catfish ponds, including slow fish growth, susceptibility to diseases and fingerling death. This parasite is showing signs of reemerging as a significant problem, and it has spread from the Delta to east Mississippi ponds.

MEADVILLE – Genette Hunt and Sarah Harvill live their dream every day.

The two own and operate Sage Farms in Franklin County, a 140-acre cutting-edge beef cattle operation.

“Owning farmland is something we both always wanted to do,” said Hunt, who has owned cattle with longtime friend Harvill since 1987. “When I was a child, 6 or 7 years old at the most, I’d go with my mother around our farm, and I’d ask her how many cows we had and how much land we had. I’ve always been interested in it.”

WEST POINT -- Representatives of the 4-H Foundation of Mississippi touted a 63-acre multipurpose youth complex as a great example of community partnerships during a ribbon-cutting ceremony in West Point Thursday (April 10).

MACON -- East Mississippi catfish producers are invited to an April 30 workshop that will help them address a new challenge to their profit margins.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service is offering a short meeting on trematode infection in catfish. All industry professionals are encouraged to attend the Wednesday session from 1:30-2:30 p.m. at the Noxubee County Civic Center in Macon. Registration begins at 1 p.m.

BROOKLYN – Students at Forrest County Agricultural High School now have the resources of Mississippi State University at their fingertips.

The school entered a partnership with the MSU Extension Service this year that allows students, faculty and staff to attend Extension educational trainings through an interactive video system. Extension and school representatives and local and state officials marked the occasion with a ribbon cutting on April 8 at the high school.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi State University scientists have created a new software program to help foresters and landowners manage hardwood timber.

Emily Schultz and Tom Matney, forestry professors in the MSU Forest and Wildlife Research Center, developed the software and user’s guide based on 33 years of research.

The free software provides expected yields and future growth values for the red oak-sweetgum forest mixture that is widely distributed across Mississippi river bottoms.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Jerry Don Keith has been gardening for years, but he had the best garden he’s ever grown after he attended the Master Gardener training last spring.

“I knew I had a lot to learn, but I had no idea that the Master Gardeners would cover so much,” Keith said. “It’s not just about vegetable gardening, but trees, weeds, grass and soil. It’s learning what to do in gardens and yards. Sometimes the little things we learn are the most important.”