Agriculture
For 100 years, the Mississippi State University Extension Service has provided practical, research-based education to farmers and agri-business owners.
MSU Extension’s Agriculture and Natural Resources program supports the largest sector of Mississippi’s economy. Agriculture and forestry account for up to one-third of the state’s gross economic product, with a farm-gate value of more than $7 billion.
Our experts are scientists and educators who take university research and turn it into real-world education you can trust. Extension programs help the state’s food and fiber producers provide quality farm and forest commodities, safer food supplies, and new value-added products. In turn, Mississippians benefit from Extension education offered in all 82 counties.
Publications
News
POPLARVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi blueberry producers expect to see substantial yield losses in the state’s largest commercial fruit crop after the hard freeze that hit the state on the weekend of March 18. Eric Stafne, fruit and nut specialist with the MSU Extension Service, said growers will see significant losses. The condition of the crop is poor based on what commercial growers are reporting to him and his observation of damage to blueberry plants at the South Mississippi Branch Experiment Station in Poplarville, where he is based.
(Photo by MSU Extension)
Have you considered becoming a vendor at your local farmers market? It’s important to do some research, check regulations, and make a plan before you begin a business or begin selling your products at one.
These tips can help you create a plan for selling at farmers markets and other similar venues.
Sweet potato growers in Mississippi can get free nematode testing of soil samples they send to Mississippi State University from now until Dec. 31, 2024. The samples can be submitted in nematode bags available at local county MSU Extension Service offices; samples are also accepted in quart-sized, sealed plastic bags.
The tarnished plant bug is Mississippi’s No. 1 most economically damaging insect in cotton, costing an estimated $42 million in yield losses plus millions more spent to control the pest.
The E.G. (Gene) Morrison Brown Loam Branch Experiment Station in Hinds County, which has sat largely vacant for two years, now has a new purpose, updated facilities and a new life after reopening this spring. The research station, part of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station at Mississippi State University, is a 1,700-acre facility dedicated to cattle, forage and agronomic crop research. It is part of the Central Mississippi Research and Extension Center in Raymond.
Success Stories
Opening the right lines of communication is usually a prerequisite for anyone planning to start their own business.
On paper, Mike Wagner seems like an ordinary, successful Mississippi producer, but, in person, he defies expectations.
Sharing links to popular social media posts and new feeds.
Brian Andrus irrigated exactly zero times on his Sunflower County farm in 2021. He didn’t even turn on his well.
