Feature Story from 2016

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- One major cost of producing a good crop is ensuring plants are fertilized well, an operational expense that may consume a significant part of farm budgets.

Bryon Parman, an agricultural economist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said nutrient application and replenishment may consume more than 13 and 14 percent of total operating expenses for cotton and soybeans.

“For crops with high nutrient demand such as corn, this nutrient cost may comprise more than 40 percent of variable costs,” Parman said.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Family service providers know that parenting is never easy, especially when the children are not your own.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service is teaming up with the Mississippi Department of Human Services Division of Family and Children’s Services to provide workshops on topics such as parent/child communications, helping children cope with change, and coping with stress, depression and anger.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Riders involved in the Mississippi State University therapeutic riding program will demonstrate their skills in a special event April 19 at the Mississippi Horse Park.

About 46 riders will take part in the second annual Therapeutic Riding Expo, which begins at 6 p.m. The horse park is south of Starkville at 869 East Poorhouse Road. The event is free and open to the public.

COLUMBUS, Miss. -- The fear of being stung by thousands of swarming bees typically sends people running for a can of pesticide.

But swarming is a dramatic display of democracy in action and can be a source of wonder instead of panic for those who understand what is going on.

Reid Nevins, Lowndes County coordinator of the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said bees swarm as part of the natural process of establishing new colonies.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service will host a daylong queen-rearing workshop at the MSU Apiculture Lab on April 30.

The workshop will cover the benefits of raising queen bees, preparing a quality cell builder, troubleshooting problems with queen rearing, and grafting and non-grafting techniques. PowerPoint sessions will begin in the morning, followed by hands-on demonstrations and grafting practice in the afternoon.

POPLARVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi’s small towns and rural communities have a lot to offer visitors, and developing those tourism resources will be the focus of a two-day workshop at Pearl River Community College in Poplarville.

TYLERTOWN, Miss. -- Cattle producers in Louisiana and Mississippi can learn about animal handling and health issues during the Mississippi/Louisiana Beef and Forage Field Day May 21.

The event begins with registration at 8:45 a.m. at the Livestock Producers Sale Barn on Highway 98 East in Tylertown, Mississippi.

Experts with the Mississippi State University Extension Service and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station will join industry professionals to discuss low-stress animal handling and new vaccination regulations.

PICAYUNE, Miss. -- Gardening enthusiasts can learn how to attract pollinators during a two-part program at the Mississippi State University Crosby Arboretum on May 21.

Heather Sullivan, a botanist with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, will kick off the program with a habitat walk through the arboretum grounds from 10 to 11 a.m. On the tour, she will focus on the pollinators and native plants in each habitat.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Researchers at the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine pioneered a technique that can help advance the study of one of the deadliest foodborne bacteria in the United States.

Listeria monocytogenes, the bacterium that causes listeriosis, ranks No. 3 among the top five domestically acquired foodborne pathogens that cause death, according to 2011 estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

NEWTON, Miss. -- Landowners and producers who want to learn more about alfalfa production can attend a workshop next month in Newton.

The Mississippi State University Coastal Plain Branch Experiment Station will host an alfalfa hay production and equipment demonstration May 19.

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Therapeutic horseback riding is about much more than physical therapy.

Cassie Brunson, coordinator of the Mississippi State University Extension Service Therapeutic Riding and Activity Center, said participants first come to the program for the exercise, but they stay for the relationships.

RAYMOND, Miss. -- The Mississippi Pecan Growers Association will host a spring field day on May 3 in Raymond, Mississippi.

Registration for the field day will begin at 1 p.m., and the program will end at 4:30 p.m. The event, to be held at Pecan Hill Farms at 19470 Highway 18, is open to the public.

BILOXI, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service is offering a three-day food safety course for food industry personnel.

This course, developed by the Food Safety Preventative Controls Alliance (FSPCA) in collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration, will be May 23-24 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and May 25 from 8 a.m. to noon. The Coastal Research and Extension Center will host the event at 1815 Popps Ferry Road in Biloxi.

PRENTISS, Miss. -- Specialty crop farmers can learn how to build or improve their online presence and expand marketing strategies during the Alliance for Sustainable Agricultural Production field day May 20.

The on-farm field day will be at PL88 Farms, located at 5641 Highway 84 in Prentiss.

HOUSTON, Miss. -- Participants in the state’s first 4-H fishing program have not wet a line yet, but they are already getting outside more often and learning life skills in the process.

Scott Cagle, Chickasaw County coordinator for the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said 4-H membership in his county saw immediate growth after he started the program in February.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Choctaw Central High School senior Jasmine Hickman has known for a while that she will be a student at Mississippi State University next fall, but she didn’t know about the range of careers she could pursue in agriculture and natural resources.

Hickman is now reviewing all these options after having her eyes opened through a new MSU mentor program that she and 20 other Choctaw teens recently participated in.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine invites dog owners to enroll their pets in a new study.

In cooperation with local veterinarians, this research initiative is designed to develop practical and cost-effective methods of managing chronic diarrhea, a common condition in dogs.

Chronic diarrhea can be difficult for pet owners to manage, and community veterinarians often have to refer dogs to specialty centers, such as the MSU veterinary college, for care if commonly used treatments do not work.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Aging brings a variety of challenges to individuals, but taking steps to make sure family farms are inherited by relatives is a task that sometimes gets overlooked.

Older Americans Month in May is a good time to consider land succession, which is how land ownership often passes from one generation to the next.

Bryon Parman, Mississippi State University Extension Service agricultural economist, said the average age of Mississippi farm owners is 60. This age mirrors the national average and has risen steadily in the last few years.

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. -- Jeramie Kelly nearly lost a leg, but he found his heart.

After a work-related accident left him unable to walk for almost three years, Kelly could not return to his job on a riverboat. Without a high school diploma, he had few other options.

STARKVILLE, Miss -- Sometimes seeing is believing, and a group of early care and education providers got a firsthand look at what it takes to create high quality learning environments for young children.

Quality is the goal of all early care and education providers, but it might look different depending on resources and facilities. The Early Years Network recently hosted 36 early care and education providers and members of the staff from the Allies for Quality Care project based in Jackson for a tour of three different child care facilities to see quality in action.