News

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Many national and state campaigns promoting rural safety focus on the responsibility of adults to protect children, but it helps when kids know how to keep themselves safe.

Children remain at risk when adults are careless or disregard what they have learned. Many county Extension offices hold an annual agricultural safety day for children to strengthen the overall effort of reducing risk.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Angelface Dark Violet angelonia came out this year and caused a stir with its unique color. It is by far the darkest angelonia we've seen in the market. It is also vigorous, sending up a bounty of wonderfully spiky flowers that are so welcome in the garden.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A “Southern girl” with roots in north Florida is the new specialist in Family Education and Policy for the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

Tabitha Staier, who began her position Aug. 1, is responsible for the development of programs that promote healthy relationships for individuals, couples and families in Mississippi. She will work with county Extension personnel to evaluate needs of couples and families, and implement relevant family-related programs in those areas.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- An animal scientist with expertise in herd reproduction is the new beef cattle specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

Justin D. Rhinehart, who began his duties July 1, has been working with the state’s beef cattle producers to maintain and develop Extension programs that improve feeder calf marketing, stocker cattle management and heifer development.

“I saw an attractive opportunity presented by Mississippi State to work in an area where beef cattle are an important part of the economy,” he said.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Corn in the Delta is producing record yields because it was irrigated or caught timely rains, but corn elsewhere in the state struggled to produce low yields because of the drought.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is predicting the nation will produce the largest corn crop in history. Mississippi's corn acreage increased from 340,000 acres in 2006 to 980,000 acres in 2007. The Delta, where most of this season's corn was grown, is experiencing record yields.

By Andi Cooper
College of Forest Resources

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Part of the damage after Hurricane Katrina roared ashore across the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005, was 5 million acres of broken timber.

The U.S. Forest Service estimated that the volume of damaged wood across the Southeast was enough to build 800,000 single-family homes. 

Researchers at Mississippi State University are measuring the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the structure, performance, capacity and future of the region's lumber industry. 

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Any Mississippian can turn a sandwich and a trip to the county Extension office into a learning experience.

Each Thursday from noon until 1 p.m., county Extension offices receive Quick Bites live, interactive video feeds from Mississippi State University.

There is a new topic each week, and the topics are as varied as the state of Mississippi, said Extension distance education coordinator Susan Seal.

STARKVILLE -- Cattle producers and horse owners can take part in certified training through the upcoming Master Stockman programs at Mississippi State University.

The Mississippi Master Horseman and Mississippi Master Cattle Producer programs will take place Sept. 14-15 at the Mississippi Horse Park, located adjacent to MSU’s South Farm near Starkville. Each program will offer different tracks to accommodate specific interests and experience levels -- basic and advanced. The cattle tracks will address cow-calf production and stocker cattle management.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A one-day workshop for farmers, landowners and resource managers will provide the tools to start and manage a natural resource enterprise. 

The Sept. 18 event will begin at 8 a.m. It will be held on privately owned property south of Brandon, just off of Highway 18 in Rankin County.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Beyond Paradise leads a parade of new copper plants finding its way to garden centers across the country. You will love the plant for its brilliantly variegated, colorful leaves.

At the end of the summer, when little else is looking good, Beyond Paradise will be a beacon in the garden, garnering admiration from those who pass by your home.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Sod producers could not grow grass fast enough last spring to keep up with demand, but late-summer sales have plummeted because of enormous water demands during the hot, dry conditions.

Wayne Wells, turf specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said 2007 has been a good year for growing sod across the state, and sales were strong during the first months of the year. At the same time, water demands and energy costs have added to the cost of production.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Hot, dry weather has taken a toll of many things in home lawns this summer, but the list does not include mosquitoes.

While mosquito populations in general are much lower in dry weather, the species most commonly found around homes usually does not decline significantly, said Mississippi State University Extension Service entomologist Blake Layton.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Summer's heat tends to drive people indoors, and it can do the same for some unwanted pests.

Mississippi is home to three kinds of large roaches that reach 1-2 inches long as adults. Blake Layton, entomologist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said the American, Smoky Brown and Brown cockroaches are all found in the state and look very similar. These winged insects can fly, but they usually don't unless provoked.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A series of career camps with the goal of motivating middle school students to become future Delta medical professionals is raising interest from youth, parents and educators in the region.

The camps are part of Delta Futures, a cooperative project between the Mississippi State University Extension Service and the Delta Health Alliance. The alliance, founded in 2001, addresses issues surrounding the shortage of medical facilities and personnel in the region.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

My recent stroll through the display gardens at Mississippi State University's Truck Crops Experiment Station brought a few pleasant surprises. The biggest was the Persian Shield.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- From the catfish in the smallest pond to the tree with the deepest root system, Mississippi's agricultural commodities are feeling the heat.

Catfish, poultry, livestock, field crops and timber are struggling through the hottest days of summer, much like the farmers who grow them. The damage from heat stress can be seen in a matter of minutes in some of the most vulnerable animals, catfish and poultry; in days or weeks with field crops or livestock; or in months or years in the case of timber.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- When Lauren Beatty decided to go to a football game rather than visit the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she worried she made the wrong choice.

Then Mississippi State University beat the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa 24-16. Beatty was on the sidelines as a Bulldog cheerleader in that November 2006 game.

“The moment was priceless,” she said. “The Alabama fans left the stadium early because they knew they had lost.”

While sports won out over academics that time, that is not the norm for Beatty.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Dancing Flame salvia lives up to its name in a couple of ways. This spectacular variegated salvia with scarlet flowers mesmerizes like a fire dancing at night.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Most Mississippi farmers have never seen Asian soybean rust in their fields and hope to never encounter the yield-robbing disease in their crop.

STONEVILLE -- Mississippi State University Extension personnel found Asian soybean rust on soybeans in Mississippi for the first time in 2007 on Aug. 10.

Retired MSU Extension agent Lee Taylor located the disease on soybeans in a sentinel plot in Pearl River County in south Mississippi. Two days later, Tom Allen, MSU Extension plant pathologist for the Delta, found the disease on soybeans in a sentinel plot at Stoneville in Washington County in north Mississippi.