News Filed Under About Extension

POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The Mississippi State University Extension Service in Pearl River County has a new temporary location after the building housing its office sustained irreparable damage from an overnight fire.

Located at 204 South Julia Street in Poplarville behind the county courthouse, the facility is scheduled to be operational by April 16. The main office number, 601-403-2280, is still active for clients in need of assistance. MSU Extension operations in Pearl River County will take place at this location indefinitely.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service is launching a new Extension Center for 4-H Youth Development to grow the next generation of leaders. This name change leverages current funding and restructuring of existing positions to allow for greater support and service to Mississippi’s young people. 4-H provides nonformal youth development education across the state for 8- to 18-year-olds through programs delivered locally by Extension agents and registered 4-H adult volunteers.

Longtime Mississippi State University Extension Service administrator and MSU Extension professor Paula Threadgill announced her retirement effective Dec. 31, 2020.

Many of Mississippi’s annual traditions were interrupted this year due to COVID-19, but the Mississippi State Fair Livestock Show will go on.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service resumed in-person activities with social distancing guidelines in place Sept. 1.

Meetings at all Extension offices and units -- including the Bost Extension Center, the four regional Research and Extension Centers, and each of Extension’s 82 county offices -- will be limited to 50% seating occupancy for conference spaces and auditoriums. Participants must remain 6 feet apart.

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Staff members in Mississippi State’s Office of Agricultural Communications and Office of Public Affairs are bringing prestige to the university with two Grand Awards and other honors from the College Public Relations Association of Mississippi’s annual competition.

A Mississippi State University research professor is a newly appointed member to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Committee. U.S. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler and U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) announced today [June 17] the appointment of Jeffrey Gore, one of 33 new committee members.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service is offering 10 of its online professional development courses free of charge through June 30.

Those who enroll in any of the self-paced classes will have three months to complete all course materials from the time they start the course. Course descriptions are available at https://bit.ly/2SVJPpQ.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service’s cancellation of in-person educational meetings and events through August 1 does not affect events hosted by other organizations, which Extension personnel and clients may participate in.

All scheduled Extension face-to-face educational events and meetings through that date have been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service will continue operations as it has through the statewide shelter-in-place order, but has canceled all face-to-face events, meetings and trainings through August 1 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The cancellation includes all scheduled Extension in-person conferences as well as 4-H youth programs on and off campus.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service has a new cotton specialist.

Brian Pieralisi was appointed to that role on April 1. He replaced Darrin Dodds, who took the helm of the university’s Department of Plant and Soil Sciences.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Necessary restrictions on travel and gatherings are affecting how the Mississippi State University Extension Service operates, but its ability to respond to the needs of its clients, the public and state agencies during the COVID-19 pandemic continues uninterrupted.

Extension’s roles during crises are many: emergency management, local level assistance, support for the state’s agricultural industry, and dissemination of public information and education.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service has postponed all of its in-person events, trainings and meetings across the state through May 10 amid public health concerns surrounding COVID-19.

All Extension offices and units will remain open, and basic operations will continue as normal until further notice. This includes the Bost Extension Center on the main campus in Starkville, the four regional Research and Extension Centers and each of Extension’s 82 county offices. Online educational programming will also proceed as scheduled.

2020 marked Bill Fitts’ 27th consecutive appearance at the annual North Mississippi Producer Advisory Council meeting.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Once every decade, Mississippians have the chance to make a difference at the local, state and national levels.

Participating in the U.S. Census has a large impact on daily life. Being underrepresented as a state leads to reduced representation in Congress and less federal funding for education, infrastructure, emergency response and wellness programs. In short, there are long-term negative effects of not participating in the census.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- While the Rotary Classic Rodeo is a competitive tournament featuring bull riding, barrel racing, steer wrestling and other contests, the event offers something for the whole family.

Hosted by the Starkville Rotary Club, the annual rodeo sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association is returning to the Mississippi Horse Park Feb. 7-8.

General admission is $15 at the door and $12 in advance.

STONEVILLE, Miss. -- A former leader of Mississippi State University’s largest agricultural research center will soon return to that role on an interim basis.

Steve Martin will become interim head of the Delta Research and Extension Center July 1. He will also continue in his current role as associate director of the MSU Extension Service. Jeff Johnson, who served since 2013 as head of the Stoneville-based center, has accepted a full-time faculty position on the MSU main campus in Starkville.

STARKVILLE, Miss.—From writing, photography and video to social media, television and web design, Mississippi State University’s Office of Agricultural Communications and Office of Public Affairs are receiving various honors in the College Public Relations Association of Mississippi’s annual awards competition.

Every year Mississippi State University Extension administration, faculty, agents, and staff gather to celebrate exemplary programs, honor contributions to Extension’s mission, and to discuss the vision for Extension’s future. (Photo by Micheala Parker)

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Community engagement and its role in higher education was the focus of a Mississippi State keynote and workshop this week by one of the nation’s leading authorities on engaged scholarship.