News

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- After three years of depressed timber markets, prices are increasing because of strong demand for forest products and low inventories of logs following the year’s wettest months.

David Jones, assistant forest products professor with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said the first half of 2010 showed a marked increase in demand for a number of forest products and price increases in most timber product categories.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

FRANKLIN, Tenn. – Although she looks for symptoms and clues when examining her animal patients, Mississippi State University veterinary alumna Paula Ann Schuerer never suspected the real reason when a former instructor called with questions.

The MSU College of Veterinary Medicine was considering Schuerer as its 2010 Alumnus of the Year. The college’s feline specialist, Dr. Sharon Grace, needed to complete the nomination about Schuerer and her veterinary practice in Franklin, Tenn., a town on the outskirts of Nashville.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

COLUMBUS – The Culinary Arts Institute at Mississippi University for Women kicked its cuisine up another notch after partnering with Mississippi State University to restore the program’s overcrowded herb garden.

The garden still features many common herbs, such as sage, oregano and thyme, but it now includes several varieties of each one. In the works are plans to add fruit trees and other plants that will broaden students’ knowledge of the preparation and presentation of food.

The Chastetree has begun flowering, and its brilliant blooms are causing many to stop and take notice.

The native range of Chastetree is the low woodlands of southern Europe and western Asia. It was first introduced to the United States by settlers in the 1500s. Known botanically as Vitex agnus-castus, the name dates back to ancient Greece, when Athenian woman lined their beds with the leaves during the feast of Ceres. It also known as chasteberry and monks pepper.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – An army of scientists and experts are closely monitoring the Gulf of Mexico oil leak and local conditions to ensure that seafood being sold in Mississippi is safe for consumers.

Dave Burrage, a marine resources specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service in Biloxi, said the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and the Mississippi Health Department are guarding the safety of seafood being caught and sold.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Spring rains have been kind to most Mississippi farmers, and conditions are offering cotton one of its best starts in recent years.

Darrin Dodds, cotton specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said most of the state’s crop has been slightly ahead of schedule.

“The weather has not caused a significant amount of replanting, but there are always exceptions, and if you are one of those farmers, it is significant,” Dodds said. “We also have had some fields needing replanting because of herbicide damage.”

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

CORINTH – As a child, Alma Hopper was too shy even to say “please pass the peas” at the family dinner table, but a lifelong journey in 4-H helped her find her voice as an advocate for youth.

Hopper is an adult volunteer leader in Alcorn County’s 4-H program. She serves as a resource person for all of the county’s 4-H clubs. Many club members and leaders speak of her enthusiasm and dedication to the 4-H creed of “making the best better.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A fish longer than 7 feet, heavier than 200 pounds and able to survive outside the water for up to two hours sounds like a fictional animal. This fish is the alligator gar, however, and researchers at Mississippi State University are working to protect it.

The population of the alligator gar is in decline, primarily due to loss of spawning habitat and over-fishing by anglers. Scientists and graduate students in MSU’s College of Forest Resources are hoping to reverse this trend.

MISSISSIPPI STATE — A forest management specialist at Mississippi State University has been named Extension Forester of the Year by the Forest Landowners Association.

Stephen Dicke, Extension professor in MSU’s College of Forest Resources, will receive the honor at the organization’s annual meeting in Stevenson, Wash.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A high-performance bermudagrass developed at Mississippi State University may soon appear on golf courses and sports fields in the Far East because of a licensing agreement between the university and a prominent company in Japan.

The agreement allows Zoysian, Inc. Japan Branch to sell and market Choice, a bermudagrass developed by MSU researchers Wayne Philley and Jeff Krans of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station.

Verbenas are great flowering plants that have been garden staples for many years. They will provide you with three seasons of color if you provide a few necessities for them.

There are more than 250 species of verbenas with many native to the New World. Breeders have been hard at work, and most new selections bear little resemblance to their forbears.

STONEVILLE -- The state’s catfish industry -- battling high feed costs, low prices and foreign competition -- is seeing many acres come out of production as producers fight to remain profitable.

In 2009, 15,000 acres of ponds went out of catfish production, and more are expected to leave production this year. Mississippi continues to lead the nation in catfish production and acreage, but the state’s current 65,000 acres is 43 percent short of its peak of 113,000 acres in 2002.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Natural and manmade fires are important forest management tools, and problems can develop when fire is eliminated.

As spring turns into summer, gardeners start looking at flowering plants that take the heat while putting on a good floral display. Annual vinca is always a good choice.

Annual vinca’s foliage is a dark, glossy green with a prominent rib in the middle of the leaf. This dark background really sets the stage for showing off the white, pink, purple and red flowers.

Annual vinca is available in both upright and spreading growth habits. Various series have been studied extensively in the Mississippi State University trials at Crystal Springs and Poplarville.

MISSISSIPPI STATE - Today’s K-12 students are surrounded by communications technology both in and out of the classroom; and technology literacy is essential as students learn to assess information, collaborate, innovate and solve problems.

In meeting this need, educators face the challenges of both teaching technology skills and measuring students’ technology literacy levels.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi State University will hold two camps this summer to teach teens about the science behind the foods they eat.

MSU’s Department of Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion is sponsoring two Culinology for Teens camps for incoming ninth- through 12th-grade students. Both camps will blend culinary arts and food science.

STONEVILLE -- Owners of retired catfish ponds and current catfish pond owners looking to reduce their pond acreage can benefit from a June 16 workshop that explores ways to develop former aquaculture ponds into natural resource enterprises.

By Karen Templeton
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi peanut growers will finish planting on time and will fare better than last year as long as Mother Nature cooperates.

Peanut planting began the first week of May and is slated to wrap up by June 1.

“Planting is going well so far thanks to the moist soil,” said Mike Steede, Mississippi State University Extension Service director in George County. “We need the moisture for the seeds to germinate. The rain we got in the beginning of the month has created some optimal conditions for now.”

BILOXI – Oil spewing from BP’s destroyed Deepwater Horizon rig had not reached the Mississippi coastline by mid-May, but Mississippi State University experts were already working to help with the problem.

An estimated 5,000 barrels of crude oil have been spewing daily from the BP well that exploded April 20. Crude oil is a volatile mixture of compounds that are flammable, sticky, foul-smelling, persistent in the environment, poisonous and cancer-causing.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi State University’s apparel, textiles and merchandising majors found a fitting way to end the spring semester by staging their first-ever fashion exhibit on campus.

Fashion Focus, a student organization, held the event to demonstrate the ability of MSU fashion majors to master design, business and technical skills needed for successful careers in the industry.