News

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Many furniture manufacturers have indicated their desire for formal manager education and training within their organizations, and Mississippi State University has responded to this need by designing specialized training.

In the furniture industry, first-line supervisors are responsible for managing workers and coordinating all of the activities to make, ship, sell and deliver thousands of pieces of furniture, but there is little formal education and training available to them.

JACKSON -- The Dixie National Sale of Junior Champions is more than a place to highlight the state’s top market animals; it is a place to meet the next generation of champion youth.

Parents Connie and Allen Keene of Hattiesburg took part in livestock projects when they were teen-agers. Now, they are watching their children -- Alexandra Pittman, 12, and Carson Keene, 5 -- follow in their footsteps and beyond.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

VICKSBURG – Crocheting may be a dying art to some people but not to Gloria Smith.

Smith is a 4-H volunteer leader in Warren County and has spent 50 years providing youth the direction they need to be successful in life. She began her lifelong journey by learning a skill that put her on a path to work with youth.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi’s forest industry is poised to take advantage of an old technology that turns sawmill residues into environmentally friendly energy sources for heat and electricity.

Wood pellets are made of the waste products of lumber production, and they can be burned for heat in homes and used to produce energy for industry. The knowledge and technology to make wood pellets have been around for centuries.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Diabetes can be difficult to manage in animals, but one Columbus family learned to master the task with help from Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – The Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station will hold a Farm and Industrial Equipment Auction Feb. 27 at the Mississippi Horse Park and Agricenter in Starkville. 

The auction will begin at 10 a.m. and feature a wide range of surplus equipment being sold for Mississippi State University. The equipment and vehicles for auction include tractors, trackhoes, ditchers, skid steers, combines, cotton pickers, trailers and ATVs.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – The Southern Rural Development Center at Mississippi State University will administer a federally funded program that encourages new and innovative research on food and nutrition assistance issues.

We've all seen it happen, and some of us have even committed it. We try not to stare, but we can't look away. It's just so...well, ugly. It is 'crape murder,' and it's no laughing matter.

Crape murder occurs when crape myrtle trees are pruned to the same point for many years, causing unsightly knots on the trunks. This greatly diminishes the plant's aesthetic appeal and its structural integrity.

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, many people start thinking of giving roses to their sweetie, but they often worry that their choice will send the wrong message on this day dedicated to love.

Valentine’s Day has many legends surrounding its origin, but the truth is, no one really knows much about its beginnings. Some say St. Valentine of Rome is the saint associated with this holiday, while others claim it is St. Valentine of Terni. Both died on Feb. 14.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Newton’s business and civic leaders have always expected a visit from Johnnie Mae Walker on behalf of the annual 4-H bike-a-thon for St. Jude Children’s Hospital, but they grew worried when other people appeared in her place. 

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi gardeners will have an opportunity to attend an exposition honoring plants and all things related to them at an event the first weekend in March.

The Everything Garden Expo will take place March 6 and 7 at the Mississippi Horse Park, located on Mississippi State University’s South Farm. Doors will be open from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Saturday and from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $5, and children 6 and younger are admitted free.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi Women in Agriculture will hold its annual state conference March 11-12 at Mississippi State University with an agenda that continues the program’s goal to improve business skills of farm owners and managers.

The conference will be at the Bost Extension Center on the MSU campus. Registration is $100 and due by March 4. Topics include legal trends, leadership, groundwater regulations, climate change and alternative energy.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – The South’s already long growing season can be extended by high-tunnel production, a low-cost technique that is new to many Mississippians.

Mississippi State University is offering the High Tunnel Field Day on March 11 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Crystal Springs at the MSU Truck Crops Experiment Station. Registration includes lunch and is $15 by March 1 and $25 per person after that.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Greenhouse tomato growers and people with an interest in this business should mark their calendars for the 20th annual greenhouse tomato short course to be held in Raymond March 9-10.

The intensive, one-of-a-kind short course is dedicated to helping producers of greenhouse tomatoes. Mississippi is home to about 100 growers who produce a $6 million greenhouse tomato crop annually.

Rick Snyder, Mississippi State University professor and vegetable specialist in Crystal Springs, is organizing the short course.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Horse owners can look to Mississippi State University for their mares’ reproductive services from quality studs including a new, top-pedigree thoroughbred stallion.

West Coast businessman Neal Jones donated Big Train A’ Comin, a 3-year-old bay stallion. He is the son of Giant’s Causeway, the 1997 European Horse of the Year, and Snowfire, also a past winner in European races. His arrival comes more than a year after MSU lost its top stallion, Minister Slew, to a catastrophic leg injury during a severe thunderstorm.

Late January is a great time to get garden beds ready for spring and summer by adding organic matter to help build a healthy soil.

Peat moss and pine bark mixes are commonly added to garden soil to increase organic content, but other materials, such as yard waste and manures, can also be used. Yard wastes and manures generally give favorable results when used with ornamental plants.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Three truckloads of peanut butter are headed to the hungry survivors of Haiti’s earthquake, and a portion of this donation was made by generous Mississippi peanut growers.

The Peanut Butter for Haiti project was initiated by Early County 2055, a non-profit organization in Georgia, but the program quickly spread to Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. The Mississippi Peanut Growers’ Association is part of efforts that have generated $100,000 in donation pledges as of the end of January.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Those with a desire to learn the latest in a variety of landscape maintenance topics will have a chance to do so in a two-day short course offered through  Mississippi State University and the University of Arkansas.

The 2010 Landscape Short Course will be held Feb. 18-19 at the Desoto County Board of Education Building in Hernando. It is jointly sponsored by the MSU Extension Service and the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Several wildlife groups will assist in a Feb. 13 youth event in an effort to lay the foundation for safe and responsible hunting.

Mississippi State University’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in the College of Forest Resources is offering a squirrel hunt for young people. The hunt will take place at the Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge, located southeast of Starkville.

Youth ages 16 years or younger are eligible to hunt. A parent, grandparent or guardian must attend with them. A hunting license is not necessary for this hunt. 

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Young hunters will learn about quail hunting and conservation at two upcoming day-long events in Clarke and Clay counties.

Quail Forever is organizing the Feb. 27 and March 6 events with help from the Mississippi State University Extension Service, the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, and the 2009 Youth Participation Initiative Program. Applications for the limited openings are due by Feb. 10. Participation is free and open to youth ages 12 to 18. Lunch and dinner are provided.