Extension Matters: Volume 7 Number 3

  • A smiling young girl wearing a floral blouse standing in front of a military museum exhibit.

    Quiet Leadership

  • A sign marking the entrance to the Heritage Demonstration Garden with children standing in the background.

    Extension in Action

  • A man holding three ears of corn stands in a corn field.

    Plowing On

  • A man wearing a colorful plaid shirt stands in front of a desk.

    Where Are They Now?

  • A woman wearing a white and blue striped shirt and holding fresh vegetables stands in front of a kitchen sink.

    Empowered to Change

  • A corn field at sunset.

    Golden Waves

  • A woman wearing a Mississippi State University mask happily speaks with a woman pushing a grocery cart down an aisle of cereal in a grocery store.

    Bringing Groceries Home

  • A man wearing a large hat and red shirt standing in a field.

    What’s New

  • A woman wearing a white coat stands behind floral arrangements and a bucket full of flowers.

    Doing the “Heart” Work

  • A man holding a large wooden measuring stick stands in front of a wall with several framed photos.

    Where You Are

  • A man wearing a yellow hard hat and holding a chain saw stands in front of a trailer holding harvested timber.

    Safety First

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    Social Media Connection

  • Four people on a grid.

    Development Direction

A smiling young girl wearing a floral blouse standing in front of a military museum exhibit.

Mississippi 4-H’er receives prestigious recognition

While volunteering is nothing new for Rankin County 4-H’er Abbye Buchanan, her participation as lead ambassador for 4-H in the Red Cross Totes for Hope campaign is an experience that stands out from the rest.

A sign marking the entrance to the Heritage Demonstration Garden with children standing in the background.

Warren County Master Gardeners share the Heritage Demonstration Garden

It’s the team, the community of Master Gardeners and the people that I talk to who are so excited to learn. They keep me coming back.

A man holding three ears of corn stands in a corn field.

Producers build on foundation of Extension education

If you produce corn in Mississippi, you’ve probably heard of Mike Pannell. That is, if you don’t already know him personally.

A man wearing a colorful plaid shirt stands in front of a desk.

Since he was featured in the first issue of Extension Matters magazine in 2015, Nic Carter has continued his involvement in 4-H, breeding show pigs and attending the Dixie National Sale of Junior Champions when he can.

A woman wearing a white and blue striped shirt and holding fresh vegetables stands in front of a kitchen sink.

Client makes healthier choices using Extension’s Dining with Diabetes program

When it comes to changing eating habits, even if you’re ready, willing, and able, eating more nutritiously can seem like an insurmountable challenge.

A corn field at sunset.

Mississippi’s corn crop was planted in mostly good conditions during favorable weather in early March, but flooding in early June until well into July killed parts of some crops.

A woman wearing a Mississippi State University mask happily speaks with a woman pushing a grocery cart down an aisle of cereal in a grocery store.

Extension helps town secure grant funding to land local grocery

From 2017 to 2021, living in Quitman County meant driving nearly an hour to Batesville and back to buy groceries.

A man wearing a large hat and red shirt standing in a field.

Extension/Research Professor Named Co-Investigator on $1 Million Grant

The Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program recently announced a $1 million research and education grant. 

A woman wearing a white coat stands behind floral arrangements and a bucket full of flowers.

Arranging Joy

Dr. Tamela Gartman has always loved flowers and being outdoors.

A man holding a large wooden measuring stick stands in front of a wall with several framed photos.

Assessing and Adjusting

In one day, bad weather can change the potential of a farm’s crop. Bad weather for a whole week can kill all the potential.

A man wearing a yellow hard hat and holding a chain saw stands in front of a trailer holding harvested timber.

Training a priority for third-generation logger

Logging can be a dangerous profession, but Brian Smith makes safety a priority.

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Four people on a grid.

Dear friends,

As you read the powerful client testimonies featured in Extension Matters, you can see the positive impact of Extension’s programs in agriculture, youth development, conservation, healthy living, and community building. Your generosity can help Extension accomplish even more!

 

 

 

Extension Matters cover volume 7 number 3.

Message from the Director

Dr. Gary
Jackson

As we finish up the harvest season and State Fair and move into the holidays, Extension continues demonstrating its value to Mississippi.

We continue our mission of extending knowledge and changing lives even as old routines resume and new ones begin. Usually, this issue highlights the Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Ag Expo Mississippi Farmer of the Year, and Extension continues to celebrate long-time sweet potato producer Joe Edmondson, who was appointed to the post for 2 years in late 2020. We told his story, available at http://msuext.ms/zjwy3, and Edmondson was honored in Moultrie, Georgia, at the Southeastern Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Ag Expo. Check out Extension’s social media feeds to see pictures from the event.

In this issue, other farmers from North Mississippi, including a corn producer, a soybean producer, and a peanut producer, explain the different ways Extension has impacted them, respectively, by supplying up-to-date information, providing agricultural damage assessments, and offering long-term support.

A Warren County Master Gardener and a Harrison County Master Floral Designer explain how their volunteer work with young people is making a difference in the southern part of the state.

The mayor of Marks, a town made nationally famous when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. began the Poor People’s Campaign there in 1968, explains Extension’s role when community leaders began work to open a local grocery store. Also, the 2020 Outstanding Logger of the Year shares how Extension supports his business.

Finally, one Rankin County 4-H’er explains how 4-H positioned her to receive the prestigious Prudential Spirit of Community Award, and a former Humphreys County 4-H’er, featured in the first-ever issue of Extension Matters, checks in to tell us how 4-H set the stage for his continued professional success.

All these people—whether improving yields, serving their communities, or strengthening local economies—are improving their quality of life through Extension education. We continue our mission to better serve all Mississippians, and we hope the clients featured in this issue inspire you as much as they inspire us.

Sincerely, 

Gary Jackson
Director, MSU Extension Service