A young woman with brown hair and a pink shirt stands smiling while holding a black and white speckled chicken next to her face.

When Emma Grace McGrew became Mississippi’s 2017 Miss Hospitality, a year of exciting experiences awaited the former Prentiss County 4-H’er and self-proclaimed country girl.

A man wearing a green and white plaid shirt, blue jeans, and a brown baseball cap stands in front of a bright red machine parked inside a metal building.

Greg Chambers is one Mississippi producer who’s focused on innovating. Whether he’s growing soybeans and wheat on his Prentiss County property or raising cattle and goats on other acres, Chambers is always looking for a better, more efficient way of doing things.

A woman wearing a white visor, maroon shirt, jeans, and boots marks a clipboard as five cows and three calves rest under a tree.

See what's new in Extension: Gather for First Extension Beef-Production Workshop, the Food Factor Goes Digital, Extension Professionals Share Expertise, and Extension Offers New HappyHealthy Program. 

: On the left, a younger woman wearing a patterned pink shirt holds one side of a crocheted grey shirt shirt. In the middle, and older woman smiles. On the right, another older woman with grey hair and a crocheted piece of clothing smiles and holds the shirt.

When Julia Bailey returned to her native DeKalb in 1992, she wanted to get involved in her community.

When Calhoun County supervisors helped buy a grain bin rescue tube for their fire departments, they hoped no one would ever have to use it

A teen with brown hair and wearing a green Junior Master Wellness Volunteer T-shirt stands in front of the Cleveland, Mississippi, Welcome Center.

Katelyn Orr helped Cleveland residents get their hearts pumping and burn a few calories during the Community Walk in April.

A man with a white 4-H shirt and khaki pants stands in the Mississippi capitol building holding a golden frame with the 4-H green four-leaf clover in the center. Surrounding the logo in a circle are more than 20 4-H pins.

Harry Dendy of Clinton first joined the Mississippi State University Extension Service 4-H Youth Development program in Chickasaw County 62 years ago, when he was 10 years old. Forestry was his main project area.

Seven teenagers wearing green blazers and tan slacks form a U standing on steps in front of six gray columns.

Mississippi State University Extension Service 4-H’ers met with elected of­ficials during their trip to the Mississippi State Capitol for Legislative Day 2018. 

A green tractor, flanked on the right by a smaller red one, stands beneath a metal roof.

Before adopting RISER techniques on his farm, irrigating was the part of the growing season Clark Carter always dreaded.

“We would string out plastic pipe, punch holes in it every couple of feet, and hook it up, only to see it blow out when we turned the water on,” says the Rolling Fork row-crop producer. “Very seldom did you get a run of pipe to fill up and water a field. It was unorganized chaos every year.

A young female dressed in a white polo and blue jeans smiles and holds up the second-place ribbon around her neck. On the left is an adult woman dressed in a white sheer top with a white vest and blue jeans and is holding a bigger red ribbon. On the right is an older woman wearing a pink AKA hat and a black long-sleeved AKA T-shirt with brown slacks, and she holds up a purple ribbon.

You know you’re a tall 10-year-old when your grandma packs your birth certificate with your goat-grooming supplies before you head to a livestock show—just in case anyone questions your age.

At 10, Peyton Bell is well over 5 feet tall and has been showing dairy goats in the Mississippi State University Extension Service’s 4-H program in Adams County for just 1 year. But what a year it has been.

Upturned magnolia leaves stretch to the blue sky speckled with white clouds.

On December 10, 1817, Mississippi officially joined the United States of America as the 20th state. Two hundred years later, the state governor, legislators, and other elected officials encouraged residents to commemorate the bicentennial. Officials with the Mississippi State University Extension Service heard the message loud and clear.

A gray-haired man with white goatee wears a brown blazer over a red polo with blue jeans and brown shoes. He stands in a dirt path flanked on both sides by parsley, about waist-high.

John Monroe has been familiar with the Mississippi State University Extension Service since he was a child.

“I grew up on a small farm in George County,” says Monroe. “My dad took gardening seriously, and we weren’t blessed with the best soil. So my dad worked very closely with the county agent. He’d come out to our place on a regular basis.”

A blonde woman with glasses, wearing a yellow shirt and a motley scarf, stands smiling on a sidewalk in front of trees beside a sign marking “UF University IFAS Extension State Headquarters Florida 4-H Youth Development.”

4-H

Joy Cantrell Jordan, 4-H alumna, shares her memories and other thoughts about Mississippi 4-H.

Six children, all dressed in blue T-shirts and slacks, bend over a raised bed garden with growing cabbages and tomatoes.

After a tragic car accident in 2017 led to the deaths of two Central Elementary School students, school leaders raised money to support their funerals. Their efforts inspired many South Mississippi residents in Lucedale and across George County.

Three men, all wearing orange life vests and baseball caps, hold a shark, and the bearded man in the center prods the animal’s side with an orange-handled instrument.

The Mississippi Master Naturalist volunteer group, trained and supported by natural resources experts with the MSU Extension Service, learned about marine life during a recent boating trip off Gulf Shores, Alabama. Marcus Drymon (center), assistant Extension professor, measures and tags a great hammerhead.

A woman, leftmost, wearing a coral blouse and brown slacks, points and talks to two teens sitting in yellow chairs at a gray table.

When family and consumer sciences teacher Cassandra Tittle was approached about incorporating a wellness program into her health classes, Walk-A-Weigh was her first preference, because she knew first-hand how effective it could be.

A smiling woman with blonde hair, a red scarf, a denim shirt, and black pants rests her arm on the side of a “Welcome to the Mississippi Gulf” sign.

Kelly Griffin remembers when Harrison County began its recycling program.

“I was in elementary school when the county began curbside recycling,” she says. “My sister, brother, and I would argue every week about who was going to take the bin out to the road.”

A white sign with dark green lettering reads, “Monarch Waystation: This site provides milkweeds, nectar sources, and shelter needed to sustain monarch butterflies as they migrate through North America. Certified and registered by Monarch Watch as an official Monarch Waystation. Create, Conserve, & Protect Monarch Habitats.”

See what's new in Extension: a new monarch garden, a storytelling series will begin, the Garden Expo highlights Extension education, and Keep America Beautiful recognizes MSU Extension.

Red potatoes in a biodegradable basket are flanked on either side by green snap beans.

From the youngest to the oldest generations, thousands of people are visiting, shopping, and enjoying themselves at the Hernando Farmers’ Market, held Saturdays on the historic DeSoto County Courthouse lawn.

The market has more than just fresh produce. It connects the community by uniting the shoppers, producers, and artisans who come.

A female teen in a brown 4-H jacket, boots, and jeans squats beside a white cow moving toward its feeder.

Fun fact about Mississippi State University Extension Service 4-H’er Katelyn Shoemake: she is currently the only Native American in the state showing livestock.

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Extension Matters Issues

About Extension Matters Magazine

Extension Matters magazine is the premier publication of the Mississippi State University Extension Service, telling our clients’ own stories of success through Extension education.

“We are excited to have our clients tell their stories, and we are thankful for the opportunity to interact with Mississippians through our local offices in all 82 counties across the state,” says Dr. Gary B. Jackson, director of Extension.

Extension Matters profiles people just like you, men and women who want to expand their knowledge base and learn about the latest innovations. Families, farmers, business owners, and government leaders are benefitting from the educational opportunities Extension agents and specialists are bringing to people and communities just like yours. Extension Matters shares our clients’ successes to show how you, too, can succeed through Extension.