Feature Story from 2016

NATCHEZ, Miss. -- Life in a rural community does not guarantee opportunities to experience agriculture, understand where food comes from or learn how to treat animals.

The Adams County Farm Camp offered 35 children, ages 8 to 13, hands-on activities around cattle, chickens, horses, fish, wildlife and gardens.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Parents who want to buy first-rate, back-to-school computers for their children on a midrange budget may want to keep their heads in “the cloud.”

Roberto Gallardo, an associate Extension professor with the Mississippi State University Extension Center for Technology Outreach, said speed and Wi-Fi capabilities should take priority over hard drive space, as more computer manufacturers are shifting to cloud-based computing, which relies on the internet for much of its digital storage capacity.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- A group of 34 elite 4-H’ers toured part of northeast Mississippi July 18-21 learning about leadership and business cooperatives.

The first-place winners in the senior level of 4-H competition at this year’s 4-H Club Congress, state 4-H Ambassadors and the state 4-H Council officers participated in the 2016 Cooperative Business Leadership Conference. Mississippi State University was home base for the group as they took a bus tour to Mayhew, West Point, Greenville and Greenwood.

DURANT, Miss. -- The Early Years Network and Durant Excel by 5 Coalition invite parents and young children to attend a grand opening event for the new North Central Mississippi Resource and Referral Center on Aug. 2.

The open house at 515 Northwest Ave. in Durant will be from 3-5 p.m. Following a brief ceremony, staff and Early Years Network personnel will be on hand to visit with patrons and community members.

CARRIERE, Miss. -- Mississippi State University will host the annual Muscadine Field Day Aug. 27 at the McNeill Research Unit.

Speakers from the MSU Extension Service, Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service will discuss muscadine cultivars, best production practices, and insects and diseases.

The field day is from 9-11 a.m. Preregistration is not required for the free event. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m.

JACKSON, Miss. -- Landowners and hunting clubs eager to earn extra income while improving land management for wildlife are invited to attend a Natural Resource Enterprises Business Workshop.

The Sept. 29 event will take place at the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation in Jackson, located at 6311 Ridgewood Road.

By Michaela Parker
MSU Extension Service

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Children are supposed to enjoy being around each other, but bullies can quickly spoil the fun and hurt a child’s feelings.

Watching children endure bullying is difficult, but what should parents do when their child is the bully?

Tashmia Turner, a family and consumer sciences agent for the Mississippi State University Extension Service in Madison County, said bullying is a behavior that should not be accepted.

By Michaela Parker
MSU Extension Service

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Student athletes will be returning not only to the classroom soon, but also to after-school practice and games.

Research shows that around 70 percent of children participate in organized sports. In addition to exercise, young athletes need nutritious, well-balanced diets to reflect their active lifestyles.

Learn by doing…

WINONA, Miss. -- Families, friends and agents of the Mississippi State University Extension Service watched smoke rise from several grills housed inside the Montgomery County Coliseum as an aroma of herbs, spices and charcoal filled the air.

Each year, dozens of 4-H members from Mississippi pack their grills, meat, utensils and secret ingredients to compete in the annual state 4-H Cook-Out.

CEDAR BLUFF, Miss. -- Farmers can learn about soil fertility, growing fall crops and preserving the harvest during the upcoming Alliance for Sustainable Agricultural Production field day Aug. 19.

The on-farm field day will be at High Hope Farm, located at 10705 Milam Road in Cedar Bluff.

Experts with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and cooperating agencies will present information and lead question-and-answer sessions. Farmers and vendors can also display their services and items for sale.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Department of Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion in the Mississippi State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences places an emphasis on outreach that is shown through more than a dozen programs offered in conjunction with the MSU Extension Service.

BILOXI, Miss. -- A Mississippi State University Extension Service employee recently received a national award for his significant contribution to the floral industry.

Jim DelPrince, an Extension floral design specialist, accepted the American Institute of Floral Designers Award of Distinguished Service to the Floral Industry during the organization’s annual National Symposium in July.

BILOXI, Miss. -- Mississippians interested in working with the state’s natural resources can get in-depth education and certification through an eight-week course.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service and Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium will host the Coastal Mississippi Master Naturalist Program from Sept. 2 to Oct. 21.

Participants will meet once a week from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to learn basic principles of natural resource ecology and management through classroom instruction, field activities and team exercises.

DURANT, Miss. -- Early child care educators, families and other residents in the Durant area now have a new place to visit and borrow educational books, toys and games.

On Aug. 2, the North Central Mississippi Resource and Referral Center celebrated its grand opening, becoming the 18th center of its kind in the state.

PONTOTOC, Miss. -- Mississippi State University faculty and specialists will update producers at a field day in Pontotoc Aug. 24 on recent sweet potato research.

Sweet potato producers, researchers, agriculture industry representatives and crop consultants can view research plots and variety trials at the MSU-Pontotoc Ridge-Flatwoods Branch Experiment Station during the program.

Personnel with the MSU Extension Service and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station will present information on weed management, crop fertility and sweet potato varieties.

By Michaela Parker
MSU Extension Service

STARKVILLE, MISS. -- Toddlers who like to bite are a common source of concern for parents, but moms and dads can help their children manage this behavior.

Biting is a normal developmental step that begins when a child starts teething, said Karen Benson, Neshoba County coordinator for the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi State University Extension Service entomologists and others are scouring the state for the mosquito species that carry the Zika virus.

RAYMOND, Miss. -- Food safety professionals who work for meat, poultry and other food processors can earn certification mandated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service during an upcoming workshop.

Experts with the USDA, Mississippi State University Extension Service, and MSU Department of Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion will teach participants how to comply with Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point, or HACCP, regulations.

NATCHEZ, Miss. -- More than 100 members of the U.S. military launched a health campaign, but local boots on the ground will work to keep it moving forward.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service and numerous other agencies provided local support for the 13-day wellness event at the Alcorn State University and Copiah-Lincoln Community College campuses in Natchez.

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi-grown foliage, flowers and value-added floral products will be the focus of creative demonstrations at Mississippi State University on Sept. 15.

The free demonstrations will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Bost Extension Center. Described as a “flower, farmer, florist spectacular,” the event is open to people of all ages and backgrounds who are interested in growing, selling and designing natural arrangements.