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Feature Story from 2002

February 11, 2002 - Filed Under: Family, Equine Assisted Therapy Programs

By Linda Breazeale

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Therapeutic riding is gaining in popularity with therapists, community volunteers and among people with disabilities.

"The primary focus of therapeutic riding is to foster independence for people with special needs.

Ten-year-old Nolan Webb of Lafayette County 4-H has one last visit with Showboy, the grand champion market goat at the 2002 Dixie National Junior Livestock Show in Jackson, Miss., on Feb. 7, 2002.
February 11, 2002 - Filed Under: Youth Livestock, 4-H Livestock Program

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Blue ribbons and trophies may be the most recognized goals of Dixie National livestock exhibitors, but the top 4-H and FFA members walk away with much more.

Twenty-five scholarship recipients and the youth owners of 37 market animals received almost $197,000 during the 2002 Dixie National Sale of Junior Champions on Feb. 7.

February 11, 2002 - Filed Under: Children and Parenting

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi's in-home child-care businesses can take part in training to advance them to the next level in quality child care and in business techniques.

Mississippi State University's Extension Service offers the Nurturing Homes Initiative for home child-care providers. The Mississippi Department of Human Services' Office for Children and Youth funds the project, which is entering its second year in Mississippi.

February 11, 2002 - Filed Under: Community

By Ashley Crawford

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The Internet provides new opportunities for the expansion of businesses, and for a Mississippi woman's hair-bow business, the benefits come in the shape of dollar signs.

Darlene Seals began selling hair bows from the trunk of her car in her North Mississippi hometown of Holly Springs in 1991. Today, her business has expanded to the Internet with the help of Mississippi State University's Extension Service.

"About two years ago, I tried to put my business on the Internet, but it didn't work very well," Seals said.

February 18, 2002 - Filed Under: Greenhouse Tomatoes

JACKSON -- Greenhouse tomato growers should mark their calendars for a tomato short course to be held in Jackson on March 14 and 15.

The 2002 Greenhouse Tomato Short Course will be held at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum in Jackson. It is sponsored by the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

Marine resources specialist Dave Burrage  installs a bycatch reductions device into a shrimp net.
February 18, 2002 - Filed Under: Seafood Harvesting and Processing

By Charmain Tan Courcelle

BILOXI -- Any visitor to Mississippi's Gulf Coast can attest to the quality of its seafood, and scientists at the Coastal Research and Extension Center are working to ensure the continued availability of this food crop and the sustainability of Mississippi's seafood industry.

One such effort is led by marine resources specialist David Burrage, who is studying the inshore shrimp industry for the Mississippi State University Extension Service and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station.

February 25, 2002 - Filed Under: Cotton

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Cotton producers can learn about the latest developments in disease, insect and weed control during an upcoming Advanced Cotton Pest Management Short Course.

The seminar will take place March 20 at Mississippi State University's Bost Extension Building. The program will feature topics related to weed science, plant pathology and entomology. Sessions will address weed control, diseases affecting cotton production, nematodes in cotton, plant bug biology and discussion of stink bugs.

February 25, 2002 - Filed Under: Community

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Clarence E. Watson Jr., interim head of the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences at Mississippi State University, has been named associate director of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station effective Feb. 19.

As associate director, Watson will be responsible for planning and managing the Experiment Station's research efforts. He joins Marty Fuller, MAFES associate director for external affairs, and Vance Watson, MAFES director, in leading the research organization.

February 25, 2002 - Filed Under: Rural Health

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- An intense summer program aims to entice high school juniors into family medicine as Mississippi approaches a critical need for medical professionals.

With one out of five Mississippi physicians over the age of 60, the Rural Medical Scholars program's aim is to identify the state's future primary care doctors and help them become members of the medical school class of 2011.

February 25, 2002 - Filed Under: Animal Health

By Charmain Tan Courcelle

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The pooled resources of the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences and the College of Veterinary Medicine may help establish Mississippi State University as a leader in imaging technologies for the agricultural and veterinary sciences.

February 25, 2002 - Filed Under: Poultry

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi is one step closer to a better diagnostic facility for the state's $1.5 billion poultry industry.

Groundbreaking for a $500,000 Poultry Research and Diagnostic Laboratory took place on March 18 in Rankin County. Following the construction of this 2,000-square-foot building, officials plan to begin the second phase of the project which will culminate with the construction of a 40,000-square-foot diagnostic facility for all animal species with a total cost of more than $18 million.

March 4, 2002 - Filed Under: Community

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A report from the National Science Foundation ranks Mississippi State University fifth in the nation in funding for research in the agricultural sciences.

The university generated $68.4 million in research and development expenditures for the agricultural sciences in fiscal year 2000, an increase of almost 18 percent over fiscal year 1999 figures. MSU previously ranked eighth in agricultural sciences research.

March 4, 2002 - Filed Under: Biofuels

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi manufacturers, agricultural producers and economic developers can learn ways to reduce dependence on fossil fuels during an April 30 to May 1 conference in Starkville.

Mississippi State University and the Mississippi Biomass Council are sponsoring the Mississippi Alternative Fuels Conference, which includes a tour of a local paper mill. Registration fees are $140 for the conference and tour, $95 for the conference and $45 for the tour.

March 4, 2002 - Filed Under: Crops, Lawn and Garden

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Homeowners and growers should not overreact to potential damage to plants in home landscapes caused by extreme cold snaps, such as the one that hit Mississippi the last week of February.

March 4, 2002 - Filed Under: Community

By Ashley Crawford

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Granting outdoor wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses was a dream Bruce Brady never saw materialize, but the program developed in his memory carries out his dreams.

Catch-A-Dream is a wish-granting program that was founded to memorialize Brady, a long-time resident of Brookhaven. The program grants once-in-a-lifetime outdoor experiences to children under the age of 18 who have life-threatening illnesses.

March 11, 2002 - Filed Under: City and County Government

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Municipal officials across the state have another tool in their arsenal to provide efficient public service with the publication of the second edition of Municipal Government in Mississippi.

Published by the Mississippi State University Extension Service's Center for Governmental Training and Technology, the 412-page edition offers the latest thinking by 19 contributing authors and editors P.C. McLaurin Jr., Extension professor of local government, and Michael T. Allen, Extension governmental training officer.

March 11, 2002 - Filed Under: Waste Management

By Charmain Tan Courcelle

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Researchers at the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station are evaluating the environmental and economic impacts of land application of poultry litter as part of an ongoing effort to support the poultry industry.

March 11, 2002 - Filed Under: Vegetable Gardens

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Gardeners wanting a backyard success this summer can do more than hope it will happen.

Sonja Skelly, consumer horticulture specialist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service, said a soil test and drainage assessment will go a long way to ensuring a successful garden.

"The very first thing you should do is take a soil test from whatever part of the landscape you want to plant something in," Skelly said. "Take soil from several locations to be sure it is representative of the area you will be planting in."

March 18, 2002 - Filed Under: Waste Management

By Charmain Tan Courcelle

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A study of the practice of land application of poultry litter suggests copper and zinc may accumulate in amended soils using current nutrient management strategies.

Billy Kingery, soil scientist with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, has completed a study to determine the effect of long-term application of poultry litter on the amount and distribution of these metals in soil.

March 18, 2002 - Filed Under: Soils

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The array of numbers on a fertilizer bag can intimidate gardeners into either applying the fertilizer indiscriminately or deciding to let the plants do without.

In order, the numbers represent the percentage of nitrogen, phosphate and potash contained in the bag. Varying amounts of these three macronutrients are essential to the survival of plants.

Larry Oldham, soil specialist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service, said the numbers make it possible for gardeners to supply the correct amount of these nutrients to the soil.

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