News

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Dairy producers from across the state will converge on a farm in Scott County May 19 to learn about waste and energy issues as well as animal health and milk quality topics.

Registration for the 2005 Statewide Dairy Field Day begins at 8:30 a.m. at Quinton Mills Dairy north of Forest. Mills' farm is the first commercial dairy farm in the state to use tunnel ventilation to cool cows and has installed a methane digester to turn dairy waste into electricity for on-farm use.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi berry producers are optimistic about their 2005 crops as strawberry harvest approaches the midway point and blueberries show promise of an upcoming bumper crop.

Mel Ellis of Mayhew Tomato Farm in Lowndes County is in his second year of strawberry production. He has doubled his crop size this year to half an acre, or 7,000 plants.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- High school students from across Mississippi can learn about horticulture and landscape architecture during a three-day summer program at Mississippi State University.

Students currently enrolled in grades 10 through 12 are eligible to attend the program June 12-14. The summer seminar in horticulture and landscape is co-hosted by MSU’s Department of Plant and Soil Sciences and Department of Landscape Architecture, and it is sponsored by the Garden Clubs of Mississippi.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Eight years, two grant renewals and 75 individuals later, the Mississippi AgrAbility Project continues to do its part to keep farmers on the farm.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service began offering AgrAbility in 1997 with two partners: the Mississippi Easter Seals Society and MSU's T.K. Martin Center for Technology and Disability. Soon, the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services joined.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Paul Myrick learned with tomatoes that a business must change with the times or lose its market.

Each year, Myrick has 500 to 700 plants in commercial field tomato production in Stringer. He and his wife have been in the business for about 12 years.

Several years ago, the Mississippi State University Extension Service helped Myrick and other growers get a grant and loan to build a tomato packing shed.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

One plant that seems to have caught on in a big way with gardeners is the calibrachoa. This petunia-like flower arrived only a few years ago, and now there are more varieties than I can keep up with. Million Bells was first, then came Colorburst and Liracashowers, then Calle and Starlettes, and now there are Superbells, MiniFamous and Cabaret, plus others.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Soybean growers will not be deterred by the threat of Asian rust or spring rains as they work to plant the 2005 crop as soon as possible.

Alan Blaine, soybean specialist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service, said growers have been running later than last year, but not significantly off the five-year average.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The headline, "Mare produces three foals in one season," reads like the front page of a grocery store tabloid, but one Mississippi State University mare actually accomplished this feat in 2005.

Super Mom...

Described by her former owner Buddy Wiggins as a star among cutting horses at the age of 3, Cal Senorita's athletic efforts in the arena resulted in career-ending leg problems. Wiggins donated the American quarter horse with an outstanding pedigree and more than $16,000 in earnings to MSU in 2000.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Along with budding flowers and buzzing bees come spring storms, and resulting damage to trees may require a professional's help.

Steve Dicke, a Mississippi State University Extension Service forestry professor, said homeowners should choose a licensed, certified arborist to repair or remove damaged yard trees. Dicke, now a member of the International Society of Arboriculture, said he learned this lesson the hard way.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Some new and often unfamiliar names are showing up in the used compact tractor market, providing alternatives to more traditional brands.

Used compact tractors are popular with owners of large yards and small farms. Vintage Ford and Farmall Cub tractors are favorites among those looking for economical, small-horsepower machines. But the newcomers to the U.S. compact tractor market, including Yanmar, Mitsubishi, Hinomoto, Iseki and Shibaura, are sold used and usually cost less than half of the price of a new, similar-horsepower domestic model.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The word "plectranthus" sounds like it could be some dinosaur that's been discovered in a South Mississippi gravel pit, but believe it or not, a variety named Mona lavender is a 2005 Mississippi Medallion Award winner.

Mona lavender, which is one of the hottest plants in the world, has passed muster in Mississippi State University trials and was chosen by the Mississippi Plant Selections Committee for this prestigious award.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Two upcoming workshops will help Mississippi catfish producers evaluate operational changes and the overall financial health of their farms.

The east Mississippi workshop will take place on May 10 at the Four-County Electric Power Association building in Mayhew. The Delta workshop will be on May 17 in the Charles W. Capps Jr. Entrepreneurial Building at the Thad Cochran National Warmwater Aquaculture Center in Stoneville. Both workshops will take place from 1 to 4:30 p.m.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Rains every few days across much of the state have kept corn producers out of the field and are threatening to prevent much of the crop from being planted on time.

Erick Larson, small grains specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics show the crop only 50 percent planted by the week of April 10.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A Mississippi State University veterinarian is urging parents to make educated, not panicked, decisions about taking their children to petting zoos and other agriculture-related settings.

Dr. Carla Huston, an assistant professor of epidemiology in MSU's College of Veterinary Medicine, said the recent Escherichia coli 0157:H7 outbreak in Florida has frightened many parents into believing they should avoid agricultural settings altogether. The March outbreak caused several children to become seriously ill after visiting one of three petting zoos in Florida.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The tornadoes that swept across Mississippi April 6 caused an estimated $10.3 million in timber damage, and affected landowners must find a way to handle the loss of this cash crop.

According to information released by the Mississippi Forestry Commission, Pike and Walthall counties received the most damage. A tornado left a half-mile wide by 25-mile long path through 4,000 acres in the two counties, causing timber losses of $9.3 million.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Clothing designers and manufacturers around the world can benefit from the work of an award-winning Mississippi State University professor, thanks to a prestigious award.

Phyllis Bell Miller, associate professor of human sciences, will travel to Bulgaria this summer on a Fulbright Scholarship for teaching and research. While in the East European nation, she will collect information for an Internet database of the country's traditional dress. She will also assist students in designing current fashions based on traditional dress.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

"Beautiful," "striking" and "tough-as-nails" are just a few of the adjectives horticulturists use to describe Purple Knight alternanthera, which just received the 2005 Mississippi Medallion Award. Purple Knight is guaranteed to take gardening to new levels of enjoyment.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Market prices are down and production costs are up, so why will Mississippi growers feel lucky to produce average yields?

"Wet conditions from last fall through the winter contributed to thin or sparse wheat stands and stunted growth. Now growers are seeing significant amounts of stripe rust, and it's happening much earlier than normal," said Erick Larson, small grains specialist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service. "We are looking at an average or below average crop right now."

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

An old favorite just got better -- and larger -- with the new Titan series, prompting some to reconsider periwinkles for the garden. Last year they made their local debut at the Mid-South Greenhouse Growers conference held in Raymond, and growers from several states were mesmerized.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Environmentally conscious producers in Panola County got more than 13 tons of waste pesticide off their farms during a one-day collection in March.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service partnered with the state Department of Agriculture and Commerce to offer the Agricultural Pesticide Disposal Program to area producers March 22 in Batesville. A grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality covered the cost of disposal.