News

RAYMOND -- E.G. “Gene” Morrison spent more than 40 years with Mississippi State University, where he devoted his career to research projects aimed at improving livestock production methods.

On Nov. 20, 2014, former colleagues, friends and family celebrated with him as the MSU Brown Loam Branch Experiment Station was named in his honor. Morrison, a native of Utica, served at the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station facility as superintendent for 33 years, beginning in 1956.

While dressing a deer this fall, there are some common parasites you may encounter. None of these parasites actually affects the quality of the deer meat, but it is important to recognize what they are.

Louse flies…

Have you ever noticed little wingless critters crawling around on a deer’s belly? Those are louse flies -- also called deer keds. The adult flies shed their wings and become flightless. While at first glance louse flies resemble small ticks, they only have six legs.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Farmers can’t choose the weather or the prices they get for their crops, but they can choose the best seed for their growing conditions, thanks to research by Mississippi State University.

MSU conducts extensive official variety trials each growing season to document the performance of seed varieties under different growing conditions. MSU offers variety trial information on corn, cotton, grain sorghum, peanuts, rice, soybeans, wheat, oats and forage.

Valuable effort …

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The Early Years Network at Mississippi State University is celebrating Regina Hinton, owner of Little Pebbles Child Care in Hattiesburg, as the network’s first provider to earn an important professional credential.

Hinton is the first in-home provider enrolled in the Early Years Network scholarship program to complete the In-Home Child Development Associate credential.

STONEVILLE -- Row crop producers, landowners and others interested in the latest research findings and technologies related to water management can attend a one-day event in Stoneville.

State and regional experts will gather Dec. 10 in the Capps Center, located at the Mississippi State University Delta Research and Extension Center, for the Irrigation and Water Conservation Summit.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Young children can receive free developmental screenings at a one-day event in Petal on Dec. 2.

The Early Years Network’s Special Needs program is hosting a Developmental Screening Day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Petal School District Center for Families and Children located at 201 West Central Avenue.

A team of early childhood specialists will check children 6 months to 5 years for age-specific physical and educational milestones.

To register, call Leslie LaVergne at 601-266-6225.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Deer hunters can take wildlife biologists’ expertise with them to the woods this season by downloading free apps from Mississippi State University.

Three smartphone apps were developed by experts with the MSU Deer Lab, a collaborative effort of the MSU Extension Service and MSU Forest and Wildlife Research Center.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Holiday lights brighten the inside and outside of homes during this season, but these decorations should be treated with caution.

Mississippi State University experts have some safety tips every homeowner should know before hanging decorative lights this year. Homeowners should make sure lights intended for indoor use have been approved by a certified laboratory. Outdoor lights should be labeled for outdoor use only.

PASCAGOULA -- Finicky eaters and hectic schedules make it hard for some parents to ensure their children have a well-balanced diet.

Children and parents who attended the healthy cooking fair at Pascagoula School District’s Super Saturday event sampled nutritious entrees and snacks and got recipes to try at home.

The Nov. 15 event was one of six Saturdays per year that the district partners with other organizations, businesses and industries to open its Aaron Jones Family Interactive Center to the public for a variety of learning opportunities.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- In the midst of a historical football season at Mississippi State University, the spotlight shines brightly on the Bulldogs, many of whom serve as role models both on and off the field.

Senior football players Robert Johnson and Matt Wells connect with local youth while completing their internships in the MSU School of Human Sciences.

The snapdragon is a longtime favorite flower of mine for the cool-season landscape.

Many home gardeners seem surprised when I tell them snapdragons are pretty tolerant of cold weather. We are lucky to be able to grow these great landscape plants in Mississippi from the cool, fall season to the rising temperatures of spring. Once planted and acclimated, snapdragons seem to say, “Bring on the cold weather.”

RAYMOND -- Consumers who want Mississippi-grown Christmas trees to deck their halls should shop early for the best selection every year.

“Choose-and-cut Christmas tree production in Mississippi is fairly flat because there are growers each year who retire,” said Stephen Dicke, a forestry professor with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. “Growers still in the business are producing more trees each year, but demand in heavily populated counties is much higher than the supply of trees.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- ’Tis the season to forget troubles and be happy, but Mississippians top the list of groups who cannot ignore a life-threatening concern lurking around their tables and lifestyles.

Mississippi leads the nation in obesity and ranks second in diabetes, and Mississippi State University Extension Service health specialist David Buys said the two go hand in hand.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Keeping healthy over the holidays is all about the germs.

David Buys, health specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said frequent, proper hand-washing and a flu shot are the best prevention tools.

“Flu and respiratory illnesses are the most common sicknesses in the winter, and they are both transmitted by mucus,” he said. “Viruses and bacteria are transmitted when somebody coughs or sneezes on their hand, and you touch their hand or an object they have touched, such as a doorknob, and then touch your mouth or nose.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Giving to good causes generates a wide range of happy feelings, and it is one reason why charitable organizations put such an emphasis on giving during the holidays.

Rita Green, family financial management specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said studies have shown that giving money to other people makes the givers happier than spending that same amount of money on themselves.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Jamie Earp operates a successful sweet potato farm in Chickasaw County, but he chose to work with a graphic design class at Mississippi State University to develop a new brand image.

Fifteen graphic art students in Suzanne Powney’s advanced print production class got to work with an actual client as they learned their craft. They completed the service-learning project with Earp.

As a wildlife specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, I get many phone calls and emails from hunters during the hunting season asking, “What’s wrong with this deer?” The hunter then provides some details regarding what he is seeing on the deer. Together we can usually diagnose the problem.

Most of the questions can be answered by one of two common disease categories: hemorrhagic disease or cutaneous fibromas. This summary of these two common deer diseases should help you at the skinning shed this fall and put your mind at ease.