News

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Parents who want to see that their children get the best education possible know that learning takes place both inside and outside the classroom.

Jana Carolyn Everett, a fourth-grade teacher of talented and gifted students in Starkville, said students make more lasting connections to education when learning happens not only at school, but also at home.

“When learning can be expanded beyond the walls of the classroom, the material learned comes alive,” Everett said.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Packing a balanced school lunch that kids like requires one skill: observation.

Brent Fountain, nutritionist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, recommended that parents recognize what their children like eating the most at home.

JACKSON, Miss. – The Early Years Network celebrated the grand opening of the new Hinds County Resource and Referral Center and was recognized as a community partner on June 25.

The new resource and referral center is located at 350 West Woodrow Wilson Avenue in the Jackson Medical Mall. The center provides special-needs materials, learning toys, teaching resources, books and equipment for infants, toddlers, preschoolers and school-age children available for check out to families and providers in the state free of charge.

By Jeanne Jones, Professor, and Daryl Jones, Extension Professor
MSU Forest and Wildlife Research Center
Mississippi State University

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Our childhood was full of memorable experiences related to wildlife, thanks to our father’s encouragement on family outings, including one that conjured unusual images of frogs.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Travel emergencies can happen at any time, but planning ahead with well-stocked first-aid kits can help take the sting out of road disasters.

David Buys, an assistant professor in the Mississippi State University Extension Service and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, said preparation and prevention are crucial for travelers.

BILOXI, Miss. -- A long-time Mississippi State University floral professor is now teaching the Mississippi public about floral design.

Jim DelPrince, who taught students on the Starkville campus for 23 years, joined the MSU Extension Service as a floral design specialist July 1. He is stationed in the MSU Coastal Research and Extension Center in Biloxi.

A long road trip I’m currently on made me realize that our climates may be significantly different, but our plants are often very similar.

This week, I’m participating in the National Agricultural County Agents Association conference in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. As I was driving north of Omaha, Nebraska, on I-29, I observed and enjoyed the blazing orange flower clusters of Asclepias tuberosa, commonly called butterfly weed.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Record beef cattle prices are making Mississippi producers happy to be in the business this summer.

Brian Williams, a Mississippi State University Extension Service agricultural economist, said 400- to 500-pound Mississippi calves are selling for $282.50 per hundredweight, and 700- to 800-pound steers are selling for $200 per hundredweight.

“Mississippi feeder cattle prices are higher this year than a year ago by about $20 to $30 more per hundred pounds,” Williams said.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Backyard hobbyists and commercial producers of fruit and vegetable crops share a common need: pollinators.

Without them, flowering plants would be unable to produce fruit and seed. Bees are most commonly associated with pollination, but butterflies, hummingbirds and flies also are common pollinators.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- A Mississippi State University Extension Service nutritionist has been granted a fellowship by the world’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- For many of Mississippi’s wild animals, winter and spring are times of courtship. Bucks chase does across pastures during the winter, and gobblers roam the woods listening and looking for receptive hens during the spring.

STONEVILLE, Miss. -- John Orlowski joined the Mississippi State University Extension Service and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station July 1 as soybean agronomist.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi fishermen and shoppers are wondering where the shrimp are as they wait for the on-again, off-again shrimp season to really get underway.

Dave Burrage, Mississippi State University Extension Service professor of marine resources at the Coastal Research and Extension Center in Biloxi, said shrimp season might have opened too early this year.

HOLLY SPRINGS, Miss. -- Homeowners in small communities and rural areas without public water supplies can learn how to better manage, operate and protect their private wells.

The “Water Quality and Private Wells” workshop will be July 28 from 6 to 9 p.m. The program is available as an online webinar or in person at the Marshall County Extension office in Holly Springs.

STONEVILLE, Miss. -- Rice growers and consultants will be able to cross two meetings off their lists on one day: July 30.

Mississippi State University and the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation will sponsor a summer meeting and field day at the MSU Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville. The Farm Bureau summer rice grower meeting will begin with lunch at noon in the Capps Center, followed by a program at 1 p.m. The Rice Field Day will begin at 3:30 p.m. with a field tour of research plots.

By Karen Templeton
MSU College of Veterinary Medicine

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- When Henry Wilson of Columbus noticed the eye of his beloved horse, Tender, was changing color, he knew something was wrong and did not waste any time getting her to a veterinarian.

“Tender has ridden in a lot of shows and parades and, of course, relies a lot on her good vision,” Wilson said. “In addition to the eye discoloration, she was squinting a lot, and there was discharge around one of her eyes.”

It’s pretty easy to grow plants when water is plentiful, and that’s the situation much of the time in Mississippi. But sooner or later, the weather gets hot and dry, and Mississippi gardeners know that we need plants that can thrive in the summer heat.

Mississippi gardeners also must know how to keep themselves safe while working in the heat. Working outdoors for any length of time in the hot sun can take a toll on even the hardiest gardener.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- A Seed Technology Short Course with the theme “Storing for Quality” is scheduled for Aug. 4-5 at the Bost Extension Center at Mississippi State University.

The MSU Extension Service designed the short course for seed industry professionals. University experts will address seed storage topics such as moisture, drying, aeration, harvest practices, postharvest management and maintaining quality in storage.

BILOXI, Miss. -- Mississippians interested in working with the state’s natural resources can get in-depth education and certification through an 8-week course.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service and Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium will host the Coastal Mississippi Master Naturalist Program from Sept. 3 to Oct. 21.

Participants will meet once a week from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to learn basic principles of natural resource ecology and management through classroom instruction, field activities and team exercises.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Producers of Mississippi’s four major row crops have managed heavy spring rains followed by extended windows of muggy but mostly dry June conditions with mixed results.

These weather extremes have had different effects on corn, cotton, soybean and rice crops across the state, depending on the crop and the planting time.