News

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Making resolutions together can bring a family closer and provide a support system for choosing healthier behaviors in the new year.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Low national home construction levels and relatively dry weather resulted in a slightly lower year-end harvest value for Mississippi forest products, but the preliminary estimate still exceeds $1 billion.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – An administrator with almost 20 years of experience as an Extension educator at Mississippi State University is serving as interim head of the Extension service’s statewide youth program.

Paula Threadgill will lead the Department of 4-H Youth Development, pending final approval. She will continue as leader for Extension Family and Consumer Sciences.

Gary Jackson, director of the MSU Extension Service, said Threadgill brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the 4-H program.

When the weather outside is frightful and nothing is blooming, gardeners must rely on plant features other than flowers for color.

Plants that produce colorful berries can enhance the winter landscape. Mississippi gardeners are lucky because we have some real beauties to help shake up the winter landscape.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – The majority of Mississippi’s farms are family-owned, and they not only put fresh produce on the table but also contribute significantly to the state’s No. 1 industry, agriculture.

Products of small farms tend to be sold locally, while those from large farms are usually sold as raw commodities for animal feed or further processing before being purchased by consumers. Both have their roles in food and fiber production in Mississippi.

Gifts for the technology lover do not have to be confusing or expensive, and there are many options that can help fill in spaces under the tree without breaking the bank.

My mother referred to these smaller items as “filler” presents. If we woke up Christmas morning to find a shiny bicycle beside the tree, we knew that every other present underneath the tree would be socks and underwear.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Loren “Wes” Burger Jr. has been named associate director of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and the Forest and Wildlife Research Center at Mississippi State University effective Dec. 15.

As associate director, Burger will manage all sponsored programs in MAFES and FWRC and work on other related projects.

MISSISSIPPI STATE--The dairy products judging team at Mississippi State University is the “cream of the crop,” placing third overall in the national 90th Collegiate Dairy Products Evaluation Contest.

The six-member team also took second in ice cream and cottage cheese evaluation, and third in cheddar cheese.

Besides the Christmas tree, the poinsettia is the plant most often associated with the Christmas season. You can hardly go wrong with their colorful bracts brightening your decorations.

The color spectrum of poinsettia is truly remarkable. Colors range from red to white to even maroon, making it hard to choose favorites. There are bicolored, speckled and marbled poinsettias. And if that’s not enough, growers are even painting leaves and adding glitter.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi State University’s Extension Service has selected Trent Irby as the new soybean specialist to assist the state’s soybean growers.

Irby, a Mississippi native, has research and practical experience that make him uniquely suited to help support the state’s nearly $1 billion per year soybean industry, said Gary Jackson, director of MSU’s Extension Service.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Kudzu can grow a foot per day, and today it covers nearly seven million acres in the South.

Now listed as a federal noxious weed, kudzu was imported to prevent soil erosion and to feed livestock. The semi-woody plant covers large tracts of land from eastern Texas to the East Coast and as far north as Maryland. Kudzu climbs, covers and eventually kills trees, destroying the timber-producing value of these lands. It reduces land productivity by millions of dollars yearly.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A whirlpool bath, oatmeal hair rinse, blow-dry and massage may sound like a day at the spa, but it is a physical rehabilitation session for Curly, a patient at Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

The Animal Health Center operated by CVM is one of a handful of veterinary programs across the United States with the qualified staff and financial support to operate a rehabilitation clinic.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi State University was one of 26 horse breeders from across the United States and Canada recently honored by the American Quarter Horse Association for 50 years of breeding to produce the best quarter horse traits.

The holidays are quickly approaching, and little ones have begun the eager countdown to Christmas morning. A tradition in many families is to write a letter to Saint Nick, and many tech-savvy children are turning to the Internet to get their letters to Santa in on time.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Researchers at Mississippi State University have found a cost-effective and environmentally friendly strategy for fighting one of the most serious soil-borne diseases in poinsettia production.

Pythium stem and root rot is a common problem in poinsettia production because the fungus thrives in cool, saturated and poorly drained soils, said Maria Tomaso-Peterson, associate research professor in MSU’s Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology.

I think my garden plants have enjoyed the cooler temps of autumn as much as I have enjoyed them. As the weather becomes colder, we need to think about protecting our garden plants.

Gardeners pay close attention to weather predictions of cold temperatures. We often use the terms “frost” and “freeze” interchangeably because both refer to cold temperature events. In reality, a frost and a freeze are completely different things.

FLOWOOD – The holidays are full of tasty treats, glittery decorations and shiny new toys, but for pets these things could mean big trouble.

And for pet owners, that may mean emergency trips to the veterinarian.

“During the holidays, we see a lot of emergencies,” said Dr. J. Darrell Phillips, hospital administrator of Animal Emergency and Referral Center in Flowood, an affiliate of Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

Tablet computers burst into the technology market a little less than two years ago with the launch of Apple’s iPad tablet. The iPad tablets account for nearly 80 percent of the tablet market, but other manufacturers, like Amazon, Motorola, Samsung and Toshiba, are introducing their newest version of the tablet just in time for the holiday season.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Two student-sponsored sales at Mississippi State University will offer shoppers many choices of holiday decorations and plants.

Poinsettia varieties and novelty plants will be available for purchase at the Dec. 2 Mississippi State University Horticulture Club’s annual holiday plant sale.

The MSU student horticulture club will sell poinsettias and Christmas cacti from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. in the campus greenhouses behind Dorman Hall on Stone Boulevard. Customers are encouraged to get to the sale early as supplies are limited.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Southern dairy producers will meet at a January conference in Atlanta to address major issues facing the industry.

Stephanie Hill Ward, assistant professor if animal and dairy science at Mississippi State University, is chairing the Southern Dairy Conference planning committee. She said the objective of the Jan. 24-25 conference is to offer informative and thought-provoking presentations on all facets of the dairy industry.