News

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Soybeans remained the state’s most valuable row crop in 2010, bringing an estimated $821 million to growers, a 16 percent increase over the previous year.

The increase came despite a somewhat late start and a very hot, dry summer. The Mississippi Agricultural Statistics Service estimates 1.95 million acres of soybeans were harvested, yielding a state average of 39 bushels per acre. The average market year price is estimated to be $11.45 a bushel.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – The estimate for this year’s forestry year-end harvest value is better than last year’s dismal showing, and if the forecasted improvement in the overall economy is accurate, this trend could continue for the next few years.

The preliminary estimate for forestry’s overall harvest value is $1.078 billion, which is comparable to 2008’s value of $1.079 billion. The harvest value for 2009 was $864 million, the first time in 16 years the value dipped below the billion-dollar mark.

By Karen Templeton
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi’s poultry industry remains the state’s top agricultural commodity by responding to export market changes and meeting the needs of consumers.

Poultry ended the year with an estimated $2.5 billion production value, an 8 percent increase from 2009. That figure includes a broiler value of $2.3 billion, eggs at $178 million and chickens at $5 million.

By Cheree Franco
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Despite a bleak economy, career outlooks are promising for agricultural students.

Ag business is big business in the state of Mississippi and according to experts, it’s only getting bigger. Increased diversity and enrollment numbers at Mississippi State’s Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine indicate that young adults recognize this potential and are thinking far beyond the family farm.

With their brightly colored bracts full of holiday cheer, poinsettias are truly the quintessential Christmas plant.

The range of available poinsettia colors is truly phenomenal. Red, white, pink, maroon, speckled and marbled are just the tip of the iceberg. Recently, you may have noticed orange and even blue poinsettias with sparkles. Growers use plant dyes to change the bract colors and expand the variety of colors available to consumers.

By Karen Templeton
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Feral swine, commonly called “wild pigs,” can do more than damage crops and property; they also can transmit diseases to humans and domestic animals.

Feral swine are a non-native, highly adaptable species found throughout the country. They have been seen in Mississippi since the 1980s and have caused significant agricultural and environmental damage.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – The myth that a single type of person uses food stamps was examined in a recent Southern Rural Development Center study that impacts how to best reach those in need of food assistance.

The report, “One-size doesn’t fit all: Different reasons drive food stamp use in areas across the South,” looks at certain characteristics of food stamp users in the Borderland in Texas, the Appalachia region in West Virginia, the Delta in Mississippi and Louisiana, and the Black Belt in Alabama.

By Alicia Barnes
Southern Rural Development Center

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A national economic development program coordinated by the Southern Rural Development Center has received $1.7 million to expand an initiative to help high poverty and oil spill-affected communities.

Launched in 2010 as a pilot study in eight states, Stronger Economies Together, or SET, encourages communities to look beyond city and state borders to capitalize on shared assets and strengthen regional economies.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Online tools from the Mississippi State University Extension Service can help those facing reduced income gain regain financial control.

Prompt action is the most important step in achieving control.

“When income is reduced or lost, many families don’t adjust their lifestyles for six months,” said MSU Extension family resource management specialist Bobbie Shaffett. “The best chance to land safely on the other side of a financial emergency is to take control of resources as quickly as possible.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Four Mississippi State University entomologists are among a group of Mid-South colleagues being honored for a continuing project to identify effective cotton pest management strategies.

The group received the “Friends of IPM ‘Pulling Together’” award from the Southern Region Integrated Pest Management Center at North Carolina State University. The award recognizes the success of groups working with integrated pest management, which is a combination of techniques and strategies to control agricultural pests.

The freezing temperatures we are experiencing this week are a stark reminder of the need to provide winter protection for some landscape and garden plants.

Here are some tips to help ward off some of old man winter’s chill. One of the best things you can do for evergreen landscape plants is to give them a good layer of mulch and water them thoroughly. The mulch acts as a blanket, insulating the root system from cold temperatures.

A plant I first saw early this year that has continued to amaze me through summer and fall is Galphimia glauca, commonly known as Golden Thryallis. It started flowering early in the summer, and the stand-out yellow flowers caught my full attention.

The flowers are a bright and cheery yellow and occur in clusters that are up to 6 inches long. Flowering begins in early June and continues through the fall. If warm temperatures linger, the flowering period will extend to the fall.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A local bank turned Bulldog football games into significant events for young people with life-threatening conditions.

Macon-based BankFirst teamed up with the Mississippi State University athletic department to make a $10,000 donation to the Catch-A-Dream Foundation, which is affiliated with the MSU Extension Service. BankFirst made a donation each time the team scored touchdowns at home. The Bulldogs scored 28 home touchdowns this year on their way to an 8-4 football season and a bowl game appearance after Christmas.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Where some saw an eyesore, others saw an opportunity: could an old hatchery be transformed into a much-needed child-care center?

With a lot of hard work, patience and some help from the Mississippi State University Extension Service, not only did Sanderson Farms Inc. administrators create a place for their employees’ children to be cared for, they developed it into the most highly rated child-care center in the area.

By Dr. Walter Mullen
MSU College of Veterinary Medicine

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Pet owners need to realize that Christmas decorations attract more than human eyes during the holidays, and many of those items can pose hazards to curious animals.

When new plants are brought into the home, they can interest a mischievous pet. Unfortunately, some festive holiday plants can poison pets.

By Dr. Joel D. Ray Jr.
MSU College of Veterinary Medicine

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The holiday season is a fun time for family and friends to celebrate, but it is also a time when pet owners should be aware of holiday dangers for dogs, cats and other beloved pets.

By Dr. Joel D. Ray Jr.
MSU College of Veterinary Medicine

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- As gifts, travel companions or left-behind loved ones, pets need special attention by responsible owners during the holidays to ensure their long-term health and happiness.

When the cooler months arrive, many home gardeners think it is time to put away thoughts of fresh vegetables on the table and settle for the local grocery store’s offerings. If this describes you, I hope to change your mind by giving you tips on growing fresh lettuce during the winter months.

The cool months of winter are the perfect time to grow lettuce as it can tolerate frost and light freezing temperatures. It doesn’t get bitter from the heat of summer. You don’t even have to grow it in your normal vegetable garden.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi State University scientists have found a new way to turn wood into highly absorbent charcoal and automobile parts.

While wood has been used to manufacture charcoal since the early 1600s, the new technique can create charcoal and other carbon-based products with a higher absorption capacity. Charcoal has been used widely to treat water and clean up chemicals, but the production of magnetic charcoal creates new possibilities. Magnetic charcoal is more efficient in cleaning environmentally hazardous chemicals.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi cotton, soybean and corn producers who take advantage of a three-day short course in December will receive valuable information about how to succeed in agriculture.

Registration for the Dec. 6-8 Row Crop Short Course is free until Nov. 26 and $40 a person after that. The event is hosted by Mississippi State University’s Extension Service and will be held on campus in the Bost Extension Center. The program begins with lunch at noon on Dec. 6 and concludes with lunch on Dec. 8.