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
Mississippi State University Extension Service personnel were honored in February for their work in support of horticultural science.
While it seemed like winter would never end last week, many parts of Mississippi are already experiencing spring-like temperatures. I can’t think about the return of spring without thinking about bees!
For several years, my husband and I kept several bee colonies after he took an MSU Extension beekeeping course. When people ask us how to get started beekeeping, it’s no surprise our first recommendation is always, “Talk to your local Extension agent!”
PINEY WOODS, Miss. -- The Alliance of Sustainable Farms is celebrating its 10-year anniversary and unveiling its new demonstration farm during a virtual field day Feb. 19.
The event will feature a virtual tour of the new farm located at the Piney Woods school in Rankin County, Miss.
Topics will include crop and variety selection, seed acquisition, marketing risk and spring field preparation. The event also includes a seed starting demonstration. The program begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 2:30 p.m.
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Each February marks the occasion for producers to share their research and programming needs with Mississippi State University agricultural specialists in person.
To comply with COVID-19 social distancing guidelines, the opportunity will be extended virtually this year.
The Mississippi State University Extension Service has a new specialist to support the important small-ruminant industry in the state.
Leyla Rios de Alvarez began work at MSU in December as an assistant Extension/research professor of small ruminant production in the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences.
Success Stories
Variety trials exemplify Extension’s service to growers through pandemic
For 10 years, a small portion of Moody Farms in Tishomingo County has been sectioned off for cotton variety trial plots. That streak continued in 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vardaman producer named Farmer of the Year
When Joe Edmondson surveys his farming operation at Topashaw Farms, he thinks about his more than 40 full-time employees and the hundreds of seasonal workers who work the acres.
New endowment honors longtime Extension swine specialist
In his 34 years as swine specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, Dr. Mark Crenshaw was one of the state’s most prominent advocates for the pork industry. Now, an Extension endowment fund bears his name.
See what is new in Extension... Extension partners to promote beef quality assurance program, Extension recognized in Gulf Guardian Award Project, First Ag leadership class graduates, and Extension supports residents participating in U.S. Census 2020.
Neal Smith grew up in Picayune in Pearl River County and has lived in Ohio for 27 years. As the chief executive officer and executive secretary for the American Jersey Cattle Association, Smith has been able to stay connected to the reason he joined 4-H as a child—his love of dairy cattle. He first joined 4-H because he wanted to show his Jersey calf at the Pearl River County Fair.
