STONEVILLE, Miss. -- In response to producer concern over a significant agricultural pest, the Mississippi State University Extension Service will host a forum on Aug. 17.

The free ArkLaMiss Emergency Forum on Redbanded stink bugs will be at 2 p.m. at the Capps Center in Stoneville on the campus of the Delta Research and Extension Center. University researchers, Extension specialists and crop consultants from Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi will share the latest data and management recommendations.

VERONA, Miss. -- Mississippi State University experts are hosting a Mississippi Medallion Program Aug. 24 in Verona to demonstrate how these top-performing ornamental plants can be used in home gardens.

The event runs from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at the North Mississippi Research and Extension Center. The presenter will be Geoff Denny, horticulture specialist with the MSU Extension Service.

Combines began rolling in Mississippi Delta rice fields as soon as growers marked the beginning of August, but wet weather soon shut down early harvest attempts.

Bobby Golden, a rice and soil fertility agronomist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said yields are expected to be favorable when fields are dry enough for harvest, though overall acreage will be down this year.

PICAYUNE, Miss. -- What was once a Grade A dairy farm for more than 20 years now serves as the flower farm owned by Terri Doyle and her husband, Dave.

Located on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Coastal Ridge Farm offers fresh bouquets that can be found at Rouse's Markets in the New Orleans area and on the coast from May to November.

"The dairy industry had been getting tougher every year for small dairies," Terri Doyle explained. "When Hurricane Katrina hit and destroyed a lot of our property, Dave and I decided it was time to close the dairy."

LUCEDALE, Miss. -- Farmers can learn about free-range livestock rearing and pecan orchard practices during the Aug. 18 Alliance of Sustainable Farms field day.

Sweet Grass Pastures in Lucedale will host the event. Topics include raising pastured poultry, beef and pork using rotational grazing. Attendees will tour the farm’s pecan orchard, and farm owners will demonstrate how to set up a mobile chicken coop and mobile hog fencing.