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
Last week, I sang the praises of my favorite cool-season vegetable and explained how it is both edible and ornamental. Kale is a multitasking super food that is really easy to grow from seed. But there are other great cool-season vegetables like lettuce and collards. I consider these must-haves for my garden, and they also are easy to grow from seed, especially in containers.
The 2020 Mississippi State University Extension Service Row Crop Short Course has been cancelled as COVID-19 cases trend back up in Mississippi.
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Soybean growers in the Mississippi Delta are hustling to beat Hurricane Delta.
Row crop producers across the state are joining in the scramble to harvest as many of their crops as possible before the storm’s expected heavy rains batter their fields.
The National Hurricane Center forecasted on Oct. 8 that Delta would be at least a Category 2 hurricane when it makes landfall in Louisiana Oct. 9. Damaging winds and up to 1 foot of rain is probable for Mississippi in the second weekend of October.
A soggy planting season dissuaded some Mississippi producers from planting corn this year, but those who stuck with the crop have mostly been rewarded with a solid harvest.
Some fields benefited from timely rains, while others either received not enough or too much.
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.
