News

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A recreational vehicle loaded with early childhood resources will tour Mississippi April 7-11 to celebrate the Week of the Young Child.

The Mississippi Child Care Resource and Referral Network, a program of the Mississippi State University Extension Service, is sending its mobile library to Pontotoc, Chickasaw, Copiah, Madison, Rankin, Tunica and Panola counties.

Providers, families and community members can tour the RV and receive giveaways. Providers can earn one contact hour by completing a make-and-take activity.

PICAYUNE -- Mississippi's diverse ecosystems take center stage in a Mississippi State University landscape architecture expert’s new book about the Crosby Arboretum.

Bob Brzuszek, an Extension professor of landscape architecture, recently launched “The Crosby Arboretum: A Sustainable Regional Landscape,” through the Louisiana State University Press.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Faculty and staff in the Mississippi State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences were honored for exemplary service during a recent awards ceremony.

The four faculty honorees, chosen from a field of 217 educators, were recognized for inspiring students both in and out of the classroom. Recipients of the college’s annual teaching awards for 2014 were Shien Lu, Angel Fason, Fred Musser and Charles Freeman.

The college also honored two staff members for their outstanding contributions.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Well-intentioned people may do more harm than good when trying to help large animals after disasters, trailer accidents and other catastrophes.

Doug Carter, an agent with the Mississippi State University Extension Service in Rankin County, said even people with large animal experience can make life-threatening mistakes. He was one of the Extension agents who took part in the Technical Large Animal Emergency Response awareness course at the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine on March 29 and 30.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Lauren Bright may not consider herself a pioneer, but she has blazed a trail for Mississippi State University veterinary medicine students interested in medical research careers.

In 2008, Bright became one of the first two students admitted to the newly combined doctor of veterinary medicine-graduate degree program at the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine, in which students earn a DVM and a Ph.D. at the same time. This May, she will become the program’s first graduate, when she receives her DVM degree in May 2014. She will receive her Ph.D. in spring 2015.

By Brittnie Burton
MSU Ag Communications

Spring is one of my favorite times in the garden because it is the transition from what seemed like a long, cold winter to colorful landscapes and gardens full of flowers in the summer.

I have always loved the spring-flowering bulbs, especially daffodils. These brightly colored flowers are a welcome sight when spring temperatures are still cool.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- This year’s cold winter slowed wheat growth so the late-March freeze across much of Mississippi probably did not cause major damage to the state’s wheat crop.

Erick Larson, grain crops agronomist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said most wheat across the state had not reached a growth stage where it would have been sensitive to freezing temperatures when the cold returned on March 26.

WEST POINT -- Jim McAdory wants to surround a group of Choctaw teens with academic and professional examples of people who are pursuing or embracing careers in agriculture.

McAdory, an agent with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, is working with the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians to develop an agricultural mentors program for high school juniors and seniors.

By James E. “Jim” Miller
Professor Emeritus, Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Aquaculture
MSU Extension Service

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Offering feed to wildlife is a trend gaining traction in newspaper outdoor columns, outdoor magazines, catalogs, ads and campfire discussions, but the practice can be harmful to wildlife.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A monthly garden series at Mississippi State University gives gardening enthusiasts timely tips and techniques to try out in their own landscapes.

Called the “Last Saturday Garden Series,” these events are hosted by the MSU Extension Service and the Mississippi State Trial Gardens. All the hands-on events are free, open to the public and typically held in the morning.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi youths recently took part in a competition with skills they can take to their graves.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A new environmental biologist specializing in conservation has joined the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

Jared Harris of Poplarville will serve as the lead contact for 23 southern counties as a coordinator for the Research and Education to Advance Conservation and Habitat, or REACH, program. His work is a new collaborative effort between the MSU Extension Service, REACH, EPA-Gulf of Mexico Program office, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and Pearl River Community College.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Sixteen tax assessors and appraisers from throughout Mississippi recently participated in the Certified Appraiser School at Mississippi State University.

The March 3-7 and March 17-21 training sessions were conducted by the Mississippi Department of Revenue and coordinated by the MSU Extension Service Center for Government and Community Development.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Garden enthusiasts can welcome spring with a variety of plants available for purchase at the Mississippi State University Horticulture Club’s spring plant sale.

The student-run event will be from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 4 and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 5 at the greenhouses behind Dorman Hall. The event is open to the public.

Shopping in a garden center in the spring confronts visitors with an almost dizzying array of new plants with flower colors that seem to go beyond our imagination.

But today, I’m not writing about any of those plants. I want you to consider an old-time garden staple that many gardeners forget about -- the nasturtium. I’ve been growing nasturtiums in my garden and landscape for the past couple of years and couldn’t be happier with the results.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- How to feed the world’s growing population is a continuing challenge for agricultural researchers and producers, and one expert who spoke Thursday at Mississippi State University said pesticides are essential for meeting that challenge.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mary Jane Coign, of Starkville, is no newcomer to the agricultural industry -- or the challenges women face in it.

Coign grew up on a farm as one of four daughters, and her father trained her and her sisters to help with farm chores out of necessity. These skills eventually paid for most of her college tuition at Mississippi University for Women.

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State University and its leaders earned national recognition recently for promoting and maintaining healthy trees and inspiring faculty, staff, students and community members to conserve.

The Arbor Day Foundation named the university a Tree Campus USA. The program honors campuses that implement proper urban forestry management principles and promote environmental stewardship.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- If thoughts of keeping bees have been buzzing in your head, you’re not alone.

“Beekeeping can be a fascinating hobby, a profitable sideline, or a full-time occupation,” said Jeffrey Harris, beekeeping specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

Mississippi is home to approximately 12 full-time commercial beekeepers, 35 part-time honey producers, and several hundred hobbyists. The state ranks twenty-eighth in the nation in honey production, with about 2.25 million pounds of honey produced each year.