News

By Suzanne Berry

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The overpopulation of domestic cats gone wild can cause health problems for humans and their pets, but with help from Mississippi State University's veterinary students, Tunica area residents can rest a little easier.

Non-sterilized domestic cats that have been abandoned by their owners produce wild offspring that likely never will have human contact. These wild offspring are referred to as feral cats.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi dairy and beef producers will benefit from efforts of Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station researchers attempting to synchronize ovulation in heifers to improve reproductive performance and increase profitability.

Methods are in place to synchronize estrous, or heat, but not to control ovulation, or release of the egg. Ovulation typically occurs 24 to 48 hours after a cow comes into heat.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

A Mississippi native has garnered top honors for the spring of 2000. When plants pour in from places like Australia, China and Japan, it is refreshing to announce one of the most beautiful shrubs in the United States, the oakleaf hydrangea, as a Mississippi Medallion winner.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi rice acreage is following national trends and dropping as prices for the crop being planted do not look better than they did last year.

Some farmers got into the fields to begin planting the second week of April, but rain postponed most state rice planting until the third week. Joe Street, rice specialist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service and rice researcher with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, said the crop was about 25 percent planted by Good Friday.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- When a family member dies or a couple divorces, the dog may be the last thing on anyone's mind, but the event can be life-shattering to this member of the family.

Dr. John Harkness, animal behaviorist at Mississippi State University's College of Veterinary Medicine, said separation anxiety can be a big problem with dogs as they bond so closely with humans.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Dirty litter boxes and hairballs probably top most cat owners' lists as the most distasteful parts of having a cat.

Most cat owners know to watch their step when they hear the hacking of their cat, but many don't know that hairballs can be life-threatening, not just a nuisance.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- In many Mississippi homes, pets are more than animals; they're part of the family.

About 47 percent of Mississippi's households own pets, according to a 1997 survey by Mississippi State University's Social Science Research Center. The survey, sponsored by the Mississippi Veterinary Medical Association, found that 39 percent of the homes had dogs and 22 percent owned cats.

While these loving creatures provide companionship and enjoyment for their owners, the owners have a responsibility to provide essential care for the pet's health and happiness.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- "Walk up," "stand," "lie down" and "that'll do." Simple phrases spoken softly by one person and the working dog herds a group of animals like an expert.

In fact, sometimes the dog is the expert, but often the real brain at work is the experienced handler communicating directions to a canine companion.

Leroy Boyd, professor of animal and dairy science at Mississippi State University, has trained border collies since 1978 and helped trained handlers as well.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

If you want your landscape or patio to look like French Martinique, the jewel of the Caribbean, you should try growing this year's Mississippi Medallion award-winning yellow shrimp plant.

The yellow shrimp plant, Pachystachys lutea, is the first tropical plant to receive the Mississippi Medallion award. These plants will bloom all summer and are so easy to grow you will be amazed. You may start hearing the tropical sounds of steel drums in the distance.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi's wheat crop headed into April with a bright outlook, but recent weather sent farmers to the fields looking for freeze and disease damage.

Erick Larson, wheat specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said the dry winter was favorable to the state's wheat.

"Overall, the wheat crop has been in real good shape going into the spring," Larson said. "Recent rains caused some water- logged spots and killed some plants."

An early-April freeze damaged some wheat, but only time will tell how much.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The blossoms of spring have bordered on the spectacular this year, and the Lady Banks rose has contributed to the gorgeous displays.

Lady Banks is a species rose, not a hybrid, that hails from China. It is named after the wife of Sir Joseph Banks, the legendary head of the Royal Horticultural Society of Great Britain.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Universities in five southern states are joining forces to offer a national Internet based radio network for agricultural, food, human and natural resource information.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- When the Mississippi Legislature passed a law last year requiring high schoolers be taught money management, Mississippi State University's Extension Service stepped in to help make this happen.

The High School Financial Planning Program in Mississippi was offered to school districts to help them comply with a law passed in 1999. This law requires all public school districts to teach personal finances courses. MSU's Extension Service is providing the training for the teachers who will present this material.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Many Mississippi fields needed rain, but the early April deluge may have provided more long-term water for the streams and lakes than for farm soils.

Six to 8 inches of rain fell across much of the state the first few days of April, with some reports near 10 inches.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Sociologists see a disappearing middle in many areas of American life, and agriculture is no exception.

Joe Molnar, professor of rural sociology at Auburn University, said large farms are getting larger and more small farms are springing up while mid-size farms are declining. His findings were released in "Agriculture in transition: Food and fiber livelihoods in an industrialized context," a publication of the Southern Rural Development Center at Mississippi State University.

By Suzanne Berry

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Horses are an integral part of the lives of many Mississippians, but owners should consider the cost of their breeding, training, events, healthcare, shoeing, stabling and feeding.

Providing quality feed and care for horses is important for horse owners not only because they are sometimes considered part of the family, but also because horses are a major investment.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Shoppers hoping to find something different in the new millennium may be disappointed to find women's fashions reminiscent of the 1970s, but they will be relieved to find more feminine influences returning.

"The fashions for this spring and summer can best be described as retro 1970s," said Everlyn Johnson, apparel and textile project leader with Mississippi State University's Extension Service. "Many of the looks made famous by the `Charlie's Angels' television show will be returning."

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

If your neighborhood has any deep red-bronze Japanese maples growing, they are probably this year's Mississippi Medallion award winning tree, the Bloodgood. This maple has earned the respect of landscapers and gardeners throughout the South.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- If you thought it was hard paying to fill up your car, try buying diesel for a farm tractor to plant crops that may not sell for enough to cover total production costs.

Tom Jones, agricultural economist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service, said farm fuel prices are running at least 55 percent higher than they did last year. While market prices have improved since last fall enough to soften the blow, crop prices remain below adequate levels.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The first flower to have its own web site has garnered another honor, the 2000 Mississippi Medallion Award. This prestigious honor goes to the Wave series of petunias, whose web site can be found at www.wave-rave.com.