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News Filed Under Agriculture

Close up of tomatoes and yellow squash in farmers market baskets.
January 25, 2023 - Filed Under: Local Flavor, Farmers Markets, Local Food System Economies, Marketing and Business Planning, Community, Small Business

POPLARVILLE, Miss. -- Current and prospective market vendors can learn valuable marketing skills in a Feb. 9 workshop in Poplarville. Farmers Market Vendor Workshop: Boosting Your Revenue will teach participants valuable skills to help them increase sales. The workshop is open to vendors who sell at festivals, farmers markets and other similar venues.

January 20, 2023 - Filed Under: Irrigation, Natural Resources

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Delta-based agricultural producers in a four-state region are invited to participate in a survey designed to gauge opinions and identify current practices related to water use.

The online “Delta Region Irrigation Producers’ Survey,” or DRIPS, also includes questions related to how producers prefer to receive educational information, which will help the Mississippi State University Extension Service design future programs. Survey results are confidential, and participants remain anonymous.

January 17, 2023 - Filed Under: Agriculture, Crops, Commercial Horticulture, Commercial Fruit and Nuts, Farming, Forages, Livestock, Natural Resources, Forestry, Wildlife

RAYMOND, Miss. -- Producers in Mississippi can provide feedback and input on the agricultural research and educational programs offered by Mississippi State University during the upcoming producer advisory council meetings. Hosted by MSU Extension Service and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station personnel, the Producer Advisory Council meetings will be held in February. These meetings allow producers to learn about current research and educational opportunities, as well as to communicate their needs in these areas.

A bee sits on a flower
January 12, 2023 - Filed Under: Agriculture, Livestock, Beekeeping, Apiculture: Honey Bee Health, Lawn and Garden, Flower Gardens, Landscape Architecture

Pssst…You know you don’t have to be a beekeeper to help support honey bees, right?

A close-up photo of blueberries on a branch of a bush.
January 10, 2023 - Filed Under: Commercial Fruit and Nuts, Fruit, Farmers Markets

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service will host two free educational workshops for blueberry growers in January -- one in person and another online.

The in-person workshop will be held Jan. 24 at the MSU Extension Forrest County office at 952 Sullivan Drive in Hattiesburg from 1-4 p.m. The virtual workshop will be Jan. 26 from 2-4 p.m.

A photo montage displays soybeans, a chicken and trees.
December 20, 2022 - Filed Under: Agriculture, Agricultural Economics

Mississippi agricultural producers shattered previous records in 2022 with an estimated $9.7 billion in production value based on high market prices that almost kept pace with higher production costs.

Chicken drinks water droplets from a nipple waterer.
December 20, 2022 - Filed Under: Agriculture, Agricultural Economics, Poultry

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Poultry was already Mississippi’s top agricultural commodity before its overall value increased even more in 2022.

The estimated value of production for the state’s poultry in 2022 was $3.8 billion. This 48% increase over 2021’s record production value of $2.6 billion will rewrite the record books if these totals hold when the final numbers are released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture next April.

Man with a bull
December 19, 2022 - Filed Under: Livestock, Natural Resources, Environment, Marine Resources

Coastal development compounded with the impacts of climate change are making natural resource managers struggle with restoring and managing coastal uplands due to the heavy front-end investment and need for continuous maintenance.

Some activities essential to management of coastal uplands for habitat benefits include clearing of thick woody underbrush and removal of invasive species. Common invasives found in coastal uplands locally include kudzu, Japanese climbing fern, Chinese tallow, Chinese privet and cogongrass.

December 16, 2022 - Filed Under: Agriculture, Commercial Horticulture, Local Flavor, Specialty Crop Production

VERONA, Miss. -- Current and prospective greenhouse vegetable producers are invited to attend the Mississippi State University Greenhouse Vegetable Short Course March 7 and 8, 2023, in Verona, Mississippi. The short course, formerly known as the Greenhouse Tomato Short Course, will be offered at the MSU North Mississippi Research and Extension Center in Verona.

Graphic titled, Why is the census of agriculture important to you?
December 6, 2022 - Filed Under: Agriculture

Mississippi farmers and forest landowners have the opportunity to provide data that helps shape future farm policy when they complete the 2022 Census of Agriculture. The deadline to be counted in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s census is Feb. 6, 2023.

November 21, 2022 - Filed Under: Agriculture, Crops, End of Growing Season

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Time is running out to preregister for the 2022 Mississippi State University Row Crop Short Course.

The course, scheduled for Dec. 5-7 at the Cotton Mill Conference Center in Starkville, is hosted by the MSU Extension Service and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station.

Online registration is available at http://extension.msstate.edu/row-crop-short-course. Preregister by Nov. 27 for free admission to the conference, which includes all meals. Registration on or after Nov. 28, including at the door, is $40.

Two rows of trees extend into the distance.
November 11, 2022 - Filed Under: Commercial Fruit and Nuts, Nuts

Mississippi pecan producers faced a particularly challenging year with drought and then rain at the wrong time, but irrigated orchards are making a good crop.

Eric Stafne, fruit and nut crop specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said the dry summer did one very good thing: It helped control pecan scab, a disease that is often a problem for the state’s pecan trees.

A man on a tractor drives through Christmas trees.
November 8, 2022 - Filed Under: Agriculture, Crops, Farming, Agri-tourism, Christmas Trees

RAYMOND, Miss. -- Larry Haley is expecting a busy year at his Christmas tree farm in Saucier. Haley said he sells about 500 trees per year. That may sound like a lot, but they go fast. Families who want to be sure to get the perfect tree should visit their local tree farm as early as possible.

White chickens
November 8, 2022 - Filed Under: Agriculture, Animal Health, Poultry, Avian Flu, Food and Health, Food Safety, Produce Safety

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Mississippi Board of Animal Health is asking backyard bird owners to be vigilant in their biosecurity procedures after a commercial breeder chicken flock in Lawrence County tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI.

A close-up photo of a pile of sweet potatoes.
October 31, 2022 - Filed Under: Agriculture, Sweet Potatoes, Agri-business

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Lorin Harvey has heard from several Mississippi sweet potato growers that the quality of this year’s crop is the best they have seen in 20 years.

“The high quality of the crop is what stands out to me this year,” said Harvey, sweet potato specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. “We have to see how things hold up in storage, but I have high hopes.”

Eleven people standing and posing on a staircase.
October 25, 2022 - Filed Under: Thad Cochran Agricultural Leadership Program TCALP, TCALP Class News

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Class is officially in session for the newest members of Mississippi’s principal agricultural leadership program.

The third class of the Thad Cochran Agricultural Leadership Program -- or TCALP -- features 10 participants in a range of careers, from farming to sales and law, linked to food and fiber production.

Aerial view of a tractor and a load of grain being transferred.
October 10, 2022 - Filed Under: Corn, Cotton, Rice, Soybeans, Forages

“Snow” appearing on the sides of highways and bare ground visible for miles is a sure indication that row crop harvest in Mississippi is well underway. As of early October, the majority of the 2022 crop was already harvested, although much work remains for certain crops.

October 10, 2022 - Filed Under: Agricultural Economics, Poultry, Natural Resources

Mississippi State University is the lead partner on a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to conduct climate-smart projects. Beth Baker, an Extension specialist in natural resource conservation in agroecosystems, is the lead investigator on the grant project announced Sept. 14

Peanuts on the vine
October 3, 2022 - Filed Under: Agriculture, Crops, Peanuts, Farming

RAYMOND, Miss. -- Mississippi peanut producers should see an average year in terms of crop quality and yield. Mississippi producers planted about 14,500 acres of peanuts. That number is down about 20% from 2021 acreage because of higher commodity prices for other crops at planting time. Yield is expected to be between 4,000 and 4,200 pounds per acre.

Field corn.
September 27, 2022 - Filed Under: Agriculture, Crops

As you travel Mississippi roads, it’s common to spot a corn field or two during your travels. Corn is the fourth ranked crop in the state, bringing in over $700 million each year!

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