News Filed Under Crops
Agriculture advisory groups will meet across the state next month to provide input on educational programing and research conducted by Mississippi State University. The three regional meetings offer agricultural producers the opportunity to share their needs for the upcoming year with the MSU Extension Service and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station.
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Blueberry growers and those interested in entering this industry can participate in an online Mississippi State University workshop Jan. 27.
Register for this MSU Extension Service workshop by Jan. 26 at . There is no cost to attend the online workshop, which runs from 2-4 p.m. Jan. 27.
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- An improved price environment for soybeans pushed the crop’s value of production to near record highs in Mississippi in 2021.
Soybean production grew about 25% from $1.2 billion in 2020 to $1.49 billion this year. It is Mississippi’s second largest agricultural commodity for the second straight year and by far the state’s most valuable row crop.
Will Maples, a row crops economist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, estimated soybean prices to be up around 20% from 2020.
A new online platform can help farmers learn about and implement management practices to improve profitability, soil health and land stewardship. Created by a multistate team of university Extension professionals and farmers, One Good Idea provides farmers across the U.S. an online classroom to learn through videos and podcasts. Topics include cover crops, conservation tillage, rotational grazing and nutrient management.
Researchers at Mississippi State University looking at how to successfully use cover crops in corn production systems must develop strategies to overcome challenges unique to this row crop. Cover crops are plants grown outside of the normal cropping season mainly for conservation purposes.
With rising prices everywhere, families may expect to pay more for their choose-and-cut Christmas trees this year. But that may not be the case. Mississippi Christmas tree growers faced some challenges in 2021 with weather conditions and price hikes for many of their inputs. However, many growers may decide not to pass those costs on to consumers of their choose-and-cut Christmas trees.
STONEVILLE, Miss. -- Jeff Gore, a long-time Mississippi State University entomologist and researcher, has been named interim head of the MSU Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville.
Gore, an entomologist with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and the MSU Extension Service, will begin this position Nov. 16, 2021, serving up to one year in a management and supervisory capacity at the center. He has been stationed at the Delta center since 2007.
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Harvest is slightly behind schedule for Mississippi’s pecan crop due to a cold, wet spring and early summer, but quality and yield are looking good so far in much of the state.
One exception is in the state’s southeast quadrant, which was battered by Hurricane Ida in late August.
Mississippi’s nationally significant sweet potato harvest is shaping up to be below average because of flooding both early and late in the growing season. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates the sweet potato crop to be 37% harvested as of Oct. 10. USDA estimates 38% is in fair condition and 48% in good condition
Pumpkins are a fall staple and a great way to add a bit of festive decor to your home. I’ve had a pumpkin display out at my home since mid-September. I’ll keep this fall arrangement up until after Thanksgiving and then replace it with Christmas lights and decor.
Mississippi’s corn crop faced challenges ranging from a midseason flood to an early-September hurricane, but yields and quality look positive on the nearly complete harvest. On Sept. 13, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated the crop was 75% harvested
Mississippi State University recently welcomed a new sweet potato specialist. Lorin Harvey joined the MSU Extension Service after completing postdoctoral work with sweet potatoes at the Pontotoc Ridge-Flatwoods Branch Experiment Station, which is part of the North Mississippi Research and Extension Center.
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- When the calendar turns to September, many who call Mississippi home long for cooler temperatures to relieve the summer’s heat, but the state’s cotton growers want high temperatures and dry weather to drag into October.
A crisis exemption that allowed Mississippi rice farmers to control fall armyworms helped them keep this year’s crop in good condition as harvest approaches.
People can enjoy the annual rice tasting event held in Bolivar County in a different format this year. The Rice Festival will be held Sept. 16 from 4 to 7 p.m. in the streets of downtown Merigold.
Most soybeans in Mississippi are having a good year to date, with 82% of the crop appearing in good or excellent shape past the midway point in the season.
Prices also look good, with averages above those of recent years.
In late July, 54 stakeholders from across the country met in person and remotely to hammer out their perspectives on the best way to sustain the nation’s sweet potato industry.
One month ago, watermelon production in southeast Mississippi was on track. Now, growers there have lost much of their crop to the summer’s wet weather.
