Feature Story from 2007

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Many national and state campaigns promoting rural safety focus on the responsibility of adults to protect children, but it helps when kids know how to keep themselves safe.

Children remain at risk when adults are careless or disregard what they have learned. Many county Extension offices hold an annual agricultural safety day for children to strengthen the overall effort of reducing risk.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Rice fields in Mississippi may be headed for the second straight year of record harvests, giving producers a reason to celebrate National Rice Month in September.

“The rice that we've cut so far has been real good to excellent,” said Nathan Buehring, rice specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. “We have a long way to go before we're done, but things have fallen in line pretty well for us this year.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Walter N. Taylor, assistant dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Mississippi State University, has been designated a fellow of the American Association for Agricultural Education.  The designation is the highest honor given by the organization and recognizes contributions to teaching, research and service.

Taylor is a former president of AAAE and served as head of the Department of Agricultural Information Science and Education at MSU before assuming his current duties.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Fee fishing, fee hunting, agritourism, trail riding and wildlife watching are examples of outdoor recreational businesses based on natural resources commonly found on Mississippi’s private lands.

A one-day workshop will provide farmers, landowners and resource managers with the resources to start and manage a natural resource enterprise. This Oct. 11 event will be held at McKenna Ranch near Pachuta in Clarke County.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The 29th annual Fall Flower and Garden Fest in Crystal Springs to be held Oct. 12 and 13 will delight garden and horticulture enthusiasts with acres of vegetables, flowers and herbs.

The two-day event at Mississippi State University’s Truck Crops Experiment Station will be open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission and parking are free.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Imogene Triplett loves and supports her husband, but the first time she saw his work with what would become a lifelong career, her reaction was, “Glover this looks terrible, they're going to fire you!”

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Timely rains in July and now during sweet potato harvest have been the keys to any success Mississippi's growers have had during this second consecutive dry summer.

Bill Burdine, sweet potato specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said rains that passed through the state in early July were essential for the early sweet potato crop. Yields and quality have been slightly lower for the midseason potatoes.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Supply and demand forces are saving pet lives in Mississippi and making puppies and kittens available to owners in the Northeast.

Krista Gazzola, a second-year veterinary student at Mississippi State University's College of Veterinary Medicine, has a soft place in her heart for young strays.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Management plans that include alternative feeding strategies for livestock and horses will be the key to survival for producers facing severe hay shortages this year.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- While Mississippi peanut producers are having a good year, weather problems have hurt major peanut-producing states, driving supplies down and prices up.

 “We produce excellent-quality peanuts in Mississippi. The Southeast in general produces the highest quality peanuts in the world,” said Mike Howell, area agronomic crops agent in Harrison County with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. “Farmers get paid on a 72-grade peanut, and it's not uncommon for our producers to have peanuts in the upper 70s and 80s.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Let’s Go Walkin’ Mississippi and Mississippi State University have teamed up to encourage healthy living as part of the 29th annual Fall Flower and Garden Fest.

The annual horticulture event will be held Oct. 12 and 13 at the Truck Crops Experiment Station in Crystal Springs, and will focus on better health and nutrition with fruits and vegetables.

In keeping with this theme, Let’s Go Walkin’ Mississippi will kick off the flower and garden event with a one-mile walk on Oct. 12 beginning at 8:30 a.m.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Dr. Phil Bushby, a faculty member recognized for his innovative approaches to education and animal health, is the 2007 recipient of the prestigious Carl Norden-Pfizer Distinguished Teacher Award for Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- When presented with a mysterious animal death, a group of dedicated technologists at Mississippi State University's College of Veterinary Medicine spend their time looking for a few good clues.

By working together over the years in the Clinical Pathology Laboratory, Missy Bolin, Heather Peavy, Nicole McBrayer, Margaret Sanborn and Aleah Arney have a camaraderie that allows them to quickly provide information necessary for diagnosis and treatment.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Drought, Asian soybean rust, then rain at harvest combined to make Mississippi soybean production a struggle this year, but high prices are making producers happy with their harvest.

Dan Poston, soybean agronomist with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station in Stoneville, predicts a “decent crop” for most producers.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Landscape and nursery professionals will have the opportunity to become certified in their field during a Nov. 12-14 training course at Mississippi State University’s Central Mississippi Research and Extension Center in Raymond. 

The Mississippi Certified Nursery Professional Certificate is awarded to individuals who have successfully completed all requirements of the Nursery Professional Certification Program and whose employers are members of the Mississippi Nursery and Landscape Associa­tion.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A national organization is honoring a Mississippi State University associate professor for outstanding contributions to teaching.

Kirk A. Swortzel received a North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Teaching Fellow Award at the organization’s 2007 annual meeting.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Women who work in farming businesses are often the sole decision makers, and a new three-day program has been created to help them make the best choices.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service, the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation and the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce are sponsoring a business management seminar for farmwomen called Mississippi Women in Agriculture – Annie’s Project.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A founding faculty member of Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine received a 2007 distinguished alumnus award from Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

The Wilford S. Bailey Distinguished Alumnus Award honors Dr. Clyde Taylor’s contributions to animal welfare, his community and the veterinary profession. Taylor and fellow recipients Drs. Annelda Baetz of San Antonio and Wayne Roberts of Enterprise, Ala., accepted the awards during the college’s commencement ceremony.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi's pecan growers had to overcome a lot in recent years, but 2007 looks like the year their hard work and patience might pay off.

The state's yield is expected to be 3 million pounds, double last year's pecan harvest. Mississippi's average crop is about 1.5 million pounds.

John Braswell is a horticulture specialist with Mississippi State University's Coastal Research and Extension Center in Poplarville. He said Hurricane Katrina ruined the 2005 and 2006 seasons.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Cooler weather, turning leaves and black smears on windshields and vehicle hoods mean one thing in Mississippi -- lovebug season has arrived.

Lovebugs are scientifically known as Plecia nearctica and are small, black-winged flies with orange middle sections. They produce two generations a year, one in late spring and the second in September and October. Pairs fly around attached when mating.