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News From 2010

Harold Rone of Starkville uses a hose to water his garden when rainfall is not adequate. If the idea of a hose doesn't appeal to you, consider installing an irrigation system. (Photo by Scott Corey)
December 30, 2010 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden, Flower Gardens

The brand-new year is the perfect time to make gardening resolutions.

My job at Mississippi State University’s Coastal Research and Extension Center in Biloxi gives me the opportunity to answer a lot of questions and solve many garden problems. Based on this experience, here’s my list of resolutions Mississippi gardeners can make to be more successful in the new year.

When it's cold outside, it's easy to make elaborate garden plans for the spring. These gardens of our dreams may be too big to properly maintain, so start small and add more garden as time allows. (MSU Extension Service photo)
December 23, 2010 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden, Flower Gardens

Gardening, be it vegetables or flowers, is a popular pursuit. But as enjoyable as gardens can be, there are times when gardeners have problems. Here are some of the traps that gardeners fall into from time to time, and tips to help you avoid them.

Monsanto Co. representative Derenda Stanley, left, presents Susan Holder a ceremonial check for $5,000 in support of 4-H. Holder, director of the 4-H Youth Program with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said the funds will support the 4-H Cooperative Business Leadership Conference in 2011. This annual event is the reward given to senior-level 4-H members who placed first in their state competitions at 4-H Congress and state 4-H leadership team members. The primary objective of grants from
December 17, 2010 - Filed Under: 4-H
 
December 17, 2010 - Filed Under: Agriculture, Dairy

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Dairy producers in Mississippi and Louisiana are invited to participate in a management conference designed to help them learn to increase their profits.

The Mississippi-Louisiana Dairy Management Conference will be held Jan. 13 at the Southwest Events Center in Tylertown. The 9 a.m.-1 p.m. event is open to all dairy producers, dairy managers and dairy farm employees.

December 16, 2010 - Filed Under: Community

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi State University is merging the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology to promote cost savings and further strengthen research efforts.

The faculty-led Select Committee on Efficiencies and Innovations made the department merger recommendation after consulting with departmental faculty from both units.

Formed in fall 2009, the Select Committee on Efficiencies and Innovations was appointed by MSU President Mark Keenum to address financial challenges.

December 16, 2010 - Filed Under: Agriculture, Agri-business, Agricultural Economics

By Cheree Franco
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Despite a bleak economy, career outlooks are promising for agricultural students.

Ag business is big business in the state of Mississippi and according to experts, it’s only getting bigger. Increased diversity and enrollment numbers at Mississippi State’s Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine indicate that young adults recognize this potential and are thinking far beyond the family farm.

December 16, 2010 - Filed Under: Agriculture, Agricultural Economics, Poultry

By Karen Templeton
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi’s poultry industry remains the state’s top agricultural commodity by responding to export market changes and meeting the needs of consumers.

Poultry ended the year with an estimated $2.5 billion production value, an 8 percent increase from 2009. That figure includes a broiler value of $2.3 billion, eggs at $178 million and chickens at $5 million.

December 16, 2010 - Filed Under: Agriculture, Agricultural Economics, Timber Harvest

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – The estimate for this year’s forestry year-end harvest value is better than last year’s dismal showing, and if the forecasted improvement in the overall economy is accurate, this trend could continue for the next few years.

The preliminary estimate for forestry’s overall harvest value is $1.078 billion, which is comparable to 2008’s value of $1.079 billion. The harvest value for 2009 was $864 million, the first time in 16 years the value dipped below the billion-dollar mark.

December 16, 2010 - Filed Under: Agriculture, Crops, Soybeans, Agricultural Economics

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Soybeans remained the state’s most valuable row crop in 2010, bringing an estimated $821 million to growers, a 16 percent increase over the previous year.

The increase came despite a somewhat late start and a very hot, dry summer. The Mississippi Agricultural Statistics Service estimates 1.95 million acres of soybeans were harvested, yielding a state average of 39 bushels per acre. The average market year price is estimated to be $11.45 a bushel.

Mississippi Value of Production Estimates
December 16, 2010 - Filed Under: Agriculture, Crops, Corn, Cotton, Soybeans, Agricultural Economics, Forages, Livestock, Poultry, Forestry, Catfish

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi farmers are finding out not only what a difference a year makes, but also what a difference a decade makes.

Agricultural economists with Mississippi State University’s Extension Service predict a record $6.9 billion production value for the state’s farm enterprises. The figure represents a 19 percent increase, or $1.09 billion, from 2009’s disastrous bottom line. After adjusting for inflation of agricultural prices, it is 45 percent, or $1.55 billion, better than in the year 2000. The previous record of $6.4 billion was set in 2005.

A poinsettia combined with the Mississippi Medallion winner Diamond Frost euphorbia looks like it is growing on a bed of frost. (Photo by Norman Winter)
December 15, 2010 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden, Flower Gardens

With their brightly colored bracts full of holiday cheer, poinsettias are truly the quintessential Christmas plant.

The range of available poinsettia colors is truly phenomenal. Red, white, pink, maroon, speckled and marbled are just the tip of the iceberg. Recently, you may have noticed orange and even blue poinsettias with sparkles. Growers use plant dyes to change the bract colors and expand the variety of colors available to consumers.

December 9, 2010 - Filed Under: Agriculture, Community

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Four Mississippi State University entomologists are among a group of Mid-South colleagues being honored for a continuing project to identify effective cotton pest management strategies.

The group received the “Friends of IPM ‘Pulling Together’” award from the Southern Region Integrated Pest Management Center at North Carolina State University. The award recognizes the success of groups working with integrated pest management, which is a combination of techniques and strategies to control agricultural pests.

December 9, 2010 - Filed Under: Family, Family Financial Management

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Online tools from the Mississippi State University Extension Service can help those facing reduced income gain regain financial control.

Prompt action is the most important step in achieving control.

“When income is reduced or lost, many families don’t adjust their lifestyles for six months,” said MSU Extension family resource management specialist Bobbie Shaffett. “The best chance to land safely on the other side of a financial emergency is to take control of resources as quickly as possible.”

December 9, 2010 - Filed Under: Disaster Response, Rural Development, Family

By Alicia Barnes
Southern Rural Development Center

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A national economic development program coordinated by the Southern Rural Development Center has received $1.7 million to expand an initiative to help high poverty and oil spill-affected communities.

Launched in 2010 as a pilot study in eight states, Stronger Economies Together, or SET, encourages communities to look beyond city and state borders to capitalize on shared assets and strengthen regional economies.

December 9, 2010 - Filed Under: Community, Family

MISSISSIPPI STATE – The myth that a single type of person uses food stamps was examined in a recent Southern Rural Development Center study that impacts how to best reach those in need of food assistance.

The report, “One-size doesn’t fit all: Different reasons drive food stamp use in areas across the South,” looks at certain characteristics of food stamp users in the Borderland in Texas, the Appalachia region in West Virginia, the Delta in Mississippi and Louisiana, and the Black Belt in Alabama.

Recent testing has found that some feral swine in Mississippi have been exposed to diseases that can be transmitted to humans and domestic animals. Landowners are encouraged to trap or hunt feral swine to help reduce their population in the state. (Photo by Andrea Cooper)
December 9, 2010 - Filed Under: Nuisance Wildlife and Damage Management

By Karen Templeton
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Feral swine, commonly called “wild pigs,” can do more than damage crops and property; they also can transmit diseases to humans and domestic animals.

Feral swine are a non-native, highly adaptable species found throughout the country. They have been seen in Mississippi since the 1980s and have caused significant agricultural and environmental damage.

Use PVC pipe and plastic sheeting to make a simple greenhouse structure to provide cold-weather protection for landscape plants.
December 8, 2010 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden, Flower Gardens

The freezing temperatures we are experiencing this week are a stark reminder of the need to provide winter protection for some landscape and garden plants.

Here are some tips to help ward off some of old man winter’s chill. One of the best things you can do for evergreen landscape plants is to give them a good layer of mulch and water them thoroughly. The mulch acts as a blanket, insulating the root system from cold temperatures.

Golden Thryallis has bright, cheery clusters of yellow flowers that bloom from early June through the fall. Rusty reddish-brown branches provide a nice background for the flowers. The plant performs best in full sun. (Photo by Gary Bachman)
December 2, 2010 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden, Flower Gardens

A plant I first saw early this year that has continued to amaze me through summer and fall is Galphimia glauca, commonly known as Golden Thryallis. It started flowering early in the summer, and the stand-out yellow flowers caught my full attention.

The flowers are a bright and cheery yellow and occur in clusters that are up to 6 inches long. Flowering begins in early June and continues through the fall. If warm temperatures linger, the flowering period will extend to the fall.

December 2, 2010 - Filed Under: Poultry, Family, Children and Parenting

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Where some saw an eyesore, others saw an opportunity: could an old hatchery be transformed into a much-needed child-care center?

With a lot of hard work, patience and some help from the Mississippi State University Extension Service, not only did Sanderson Farms Inc. administrators create a place for their employees’ children to be cared for, they developed it into the most highly rated child-care center in the area.

BankFirst made a donation to the Catch-A-Dream Foundation every time the Mississippi State University Bulldogs scored touchdowns. BankFirst's Jerry Wilson, left, presents a ceremonial check for $10,000 to Marty Brunson at the MSU-Arkansas game Nov. 20. Wilson is accompanied by his grandchildren, Mauri and Miller Wilson. (Photo by MSU Ag Communications/Kat Lawrence)
December 2, 2010 - Filed Under: Community, Family, Children and Parenting

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A local bank turned Bulldog football games into significant events for young people with life-threatening conditions.

Macon-based BankFirst teamed up with the Mississippi State University athletic department to make a $10,000 donation to the Catch-A-Dream Foundation, which is affiliated with the MSU Extension Service. BankFirst made a donation each time the team scored touchdowns at home. The Bulldogs scored 28 home touchdowns this year on their way to an 8-4 football season and a bowl game appearance after Christmas.

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