News

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi's peanut growers have been planting ahead of the five-year average, but fields need rain to keep them on track.

By the May 6 crop report issued by the National Agricultural Statistics Service in Mississippi, farmers had planted 12 percent of the state's peanut crop. The five-year average for that date is 5 percent. Agronomists with Mississippi State University's Extension Service said the ideal planting time typically concludes around June 1, but peanuts can be planted later if necessary.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Many Mississippi teenagers become mothers long before they are ready to celebrate Mother's Day, leaving many of them with a lifetime of struggle.

Mississippi has the highest teen birthrate of any state in the nation, according to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy Web site, http://www.teenpregnancy.org. In 2003, the last year for which data is available, 65 girls per 1,000 age 15-19 had children, for a total of 6,625 babies born to teenagers.

By Courtney Coufal
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Efforts to take university-level training to every corner of the state have earned the Mississippi State University Extension Service two national awards.

The American Distance Education Consortium and the U.S. Distance Learning Association both recognized the Extension Service for its outstanding and comprehensive distance education program. The program provides Mississippians with educational instruction when physical distance separates students and instructors.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The lantana is probably the plant you're looking for if you want a flower that gives vibrant color from late spring though frost. Lantanas, which are native to tropical America, are related to verbenas and have the common name shrub verbena.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A Mississippi State University Extension forestry specialist is the Forest Landowners Association’s Extension Forester of the Year.

The organization, which is comprised of forest landowners in 17 southern states, selected MSU Extension professor Timothy Traugott for the 2007 honor. 

During 22 years as an MSU Extension forestry specialist, Traugott has conducted almost 300 workshops and short courses for more than 8,000 Mississippi landowners.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Each morning Carl Blair, like many people, checks the weather, but his interest in the weather is part of a tradition that goes back 125 years.

Blair is an equipment operator for the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station at Mississippi State University and his duties include recording data collected by National Weather Service equipment located on campus.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi's 2006 timber harvest value declined almost 17 percent from the previous year, and industry watchers do not expect much improvement in 2007.

Glenn Hughes, a forestry professor with Mississippi State University's Extension Service, said a significant amount of Hurricane Katrina-damaged timber remains in storage -- wet-decked -- in lumber yards awaiting use.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A new reality show will help Mississippi's 3- and 4-year-old children prepare for their first day of school.

Mississippi State University's Extension Service is tapping into the latest media trend by providing a unique glimpse into an accredited classroom and training child-care providers to prepare preschoolers for kindergarten. They are demonstrating that some reality shows are not only entertaining, they also can be educational.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Camping often brings people closer to nature, but Mississippi State University is also offering the opportunity to learn about wildlife, fisheries and the great outdoors to parents, teachers and children as young as 10.

Two camps will be offered this summer: June 3-7 and July 8-12. The cost for each camp is $225 per person and includes on-campus lodging, meals, field trip transportation and a camp T-shirt. During the week, participants will eat a wildlife meal after receiving tips on cooking game.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Periwinkle planting time is here, and you have got to try the 2007 Mississippi Medallion award-winning Titans. The Titan periwinkles really live up to the name in vigor and performance.

The botanical name of periwinkles is Catharanthus, which means pure and without blemish. That is how you will feel about the Titan series. You may remember them as Vinca rosea, but the official name is Catharanthus roseus.

By Robert H. Wells
Delta Research and Extension Center

STONEVILLE -- A Delta researcher is using new biological control technology to combat reniform nematodes, underground worms that cause Mississippi cotton producers losses of $30 million annually.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- High fuel prices give many people a reason to complain, but they also may drive the resurgence of an industry that was big business in Mississippi 100 years ago.

David Nagel, vegetable specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said fuel prices have made it more difficult for vegetable growers on the West Coast to ship produce across the country and still make a profit.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Poultry companies are facing significantly higher production costs in 2007 as corn prices remain at historic levels without much relief in sight.

John Anderson, agricultural economist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service, said corn prices are about $1.25 per bushel higher than a year ago.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A job that seems secure one day can be gone the next, leaving those without an income struggling unless preparations were made before the job loss.

In West Point, the Bryan Foods plant closed at the end of March, putting more than 1,600 people out of work. In nearly every community across Mississippi, some people lose their jobs almost every week.

Bobbie Shaffett, family resource management specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said a savings is the best defense against financial ruin.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Blue is one of the colors that catches your eye when used in the garden and is a color we all treasure.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Many Mississippi fruit and nut growers are waiting to see what impact Easter weekend's freezing temperatures had on their crops.

Blueberries and pecans were at a vulnerable stage when temperatures dropped the first weekend in April. Strawberries were already being harvested and were mostly unharmed, and the new growth on muscadine grapes appears unhindered by the cold.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Local economic development officials, a Mississippi State University team and railroad owners are working to revive a 92-mile section of tracks linking the Delta and the eastern part of the state.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Irises are among the most versatile plants for the North American landscape. They are prized for both flower and foliage.

Mention iris, and the first one that comes to mind is the bearded iris. The spring bloom of the bearded iris is a site to behold because of the size and shape of the bloom and its deeply saturated colors.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi's hog producers are finding ways to stay in business despite the major blow dealt by the March 30 closing of Bryan Foods' West Point plant.

The Sara Lee Corp. decision to close the meat-processing plant caused the state's swine industry to scramble to find new markets and a new direction. Mark Crenshaw, swine specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said the closing has a devastating impact on the swine industry in Mississippi and surrounding states.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi's wheat that thrived in March's balmy weather experienced major damage during two nights of freezing temperatures over the Easter weekend.

Erick Larson, small grains specialist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service, said the early warm temperatures had advanced the maturity of the crop and made it more vulnerable to the freeze. Wheat was about two weeks ahead of schedule.