News

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Agricultural producers and consultants are encouraged to register for the annual Mississippi State University Row Crop Short Course.

Hosted by the Mississippi State University Extension Service and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, the 2024 Row Crop Short Course will be held Dec. 9-11 at the Mill Conference Center in Starkville.

PICAYUNE, Miss. -- History enthusiasts of all ages can try their hand at traditional skills and crafts at a festival hosted by the Crosby Arboretum.

The 22nd Annual Piney Woods Heritage Festival will take place on Nov. 9, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Crosby Arboretum, located at 370 Ridge Road in Picayune. This yearly event celebrates traditional skills and crafts, providing a platform for artisans to show their expertise in various heritage activities.

I recently visited Rosie’s Garden in Brandon, a community space where volunteers cultivate a deeper appreciation for how food is grown while also helping to provide fresh produce to those in need.

The garden features 36 raised beds arranged in the shape of a cross, offering a diverse array of vegetable crops, herbs and flowers designed to attract pollinators.

Retired state specialist Larry Alexander was honored by being inducted into the National 4-H Hall of Fame for his career spent serving young people through the Mississippi State University Extension Service 4-H Youth Program.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- A Mississippi State University associate Extension professor of water and wastewater systems is one of nine recipients of annual awards presented by the Universities Council on Water Resources, or UCOWR.

Jason Barrett, interim director of the Mississippi Water Resources Research Institute, or WRRI, was honored with the UCOWR Institute Mid-Career Award for Extension, Outreach and Engagement. The award acknowledges outstanding contributions to water-related efforts in each of these areas.

Plants have always sparked my curiosity, and I am not alone in this. The Rankin County Master Gardeners have beautifully captured that sense of wonder with their Garden of Curiosity at the Brandon Public Library in Brandon, Mississippi.

Rural water systems in Mississippi face some daunting challenges when it comes to upgrades and improvements. Funding ranks at the top of those challenges.

Children’s learning gardens are a wonderful way to educate young people about plants. They are designed as places for young children to use their imaginations to relate to their surroundings, explore, touch and play as they develop an affection for the natural world. A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of visiting the Pearl Public Library Children’s Learning Garden in Pearl, Mississippi.

Harvest for two of the state’s most significant row crops is well underway, with soybeans and cotton both ahead of schedule.
As of Oct. 6, 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated that cotton was 43% harvested, ahead of the five-year average of 31% complete by this date. Soybeans were 76% harvested, where typically the crop is just 60% harvested.

I’ve always enjoyed visiting educational gardens across the state, and my recent trip to the Hill Garden in Brandon, Mississippi, was no exception.

Established by the Rankin County Master Gardeners in 1995, this garden is a treasured landmark and one of the oldest Master Gardener projects in Mississippi.

PICAYUNE, Miss. -- The Crosby Arboretum was recently designated an Outpost Business by the Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area, opening the door to future funding opportunities.

The 104-acre plant conservatory managed by the Mississippi State University Extension Service, was eligible for the award through its participation in Gulf Coast Outpost -- a business recognition program launched by the Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area, or MGCNHA, for nature-based tourism business owners. The Arboretum’s designation was made Sept. 20.

Corn and rice harvests wrapped up for Mississippi fields a bit ahead of schedule, helped by the ideal weather leading up to the harvest window.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated corn harvest was 96% complete by Sept. 22, 2024. This put harvest ahead of the five-year average, which typically has corn 89% harvested by that date.

This time of year, my Firespike is putting on a show in my garden. This herbaceous perennial is known for its large, dramatic spikes of bright red, tubular flowers. Each spike features densely packed clusters of 3-inch-long blooms that emerge in a striking, fiery red color, which can deepen to a rich crimson at the tips.

Knowing that the severity of a drought is more than a measure of weather data, Mississippi State University Extension Service agents across the state gather photos and data weekly to document actual conditions.
Mike Brown, MSU professor of geosciences and state climatologist, helped develop and now oversees an app that allows him to submit detailed, highly localized information to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The Drought Monitor is a publication provided by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and is the basis of much drought-relief efforts nationwide.

On a recent visit to the Mississippi State University South Mississippi Branch Experiment Station in Poplarville, I was captivated by the beauty of the Angelonia plants in their display gardens.

The Angelonia Angelface series truly impressed me with their snapdragon-like flowers and versatility in various garden and landscape settings.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Hurricane Francine was reduced to a tropical storm by the time it reached Mississippi, and its rainfall and wind were not enough to cause major damage to the state’s cotton crop despite two-thirds of it having opened beforehand.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service estimated just under 70% of the cotton bolls around the state had opened as of Sept. 9, three days before Francine reached the state.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Amy Knight has seen her 13-year-old son, Cameron, make substantial strides in his speech and core strength since he began horse riding three years ago.

GLUCKSTADT, Miss. -- Children, parents and child care providers in the Gluckstadt area now have a new learning center with free resources. The Mississippi LIFT Resource and Referral Network at the Mississippi State University Extension Service provides mini-learning stations throughout the center with themed hands-on, play-based educational activities each month. Various free services are available through the center, including an educational lending library, referrals for teacher training, and family support services training.

I have fond memories of walking daily as a kid past my grandmother’s chain-link fence, admiring the bright red flowers on the Turk’s Cap growing along it. Every time I see those flowers today, childhood memories rush through my mind.

Now as an adult gardener, I’ve come to appreciate Turk’s Cap even more for its beauty and resilience.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi 4-H is developing new programs incorporating ScratchJr, an introductory computer programming application for children ages 4-7, and an instructor with the research group that created the software recently visited Mississippi State University to train educators on its curriculum.