Feature Story from 2016

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Visitors to the Mississippi Horse Park will witness the most exciting minutes in sports as harness horses return to race around the renovated track in the first sanctioned events since 2006.

Bricklee Miller, manager of the Mississippi State University facility, said the races will begin around 2 p.m. on May 22. Admission is $5 per person, and concessions will be available. Bleachers will overlook the track, but she recommended lawn chairs and binoculars.

Miller said harness racing has a long history in the state.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Beef producers will hear reports of Mississippi State University’s research efforts related to a variety of livestock health and management considerations at a May 21 field day.

The free program will begin at 9 a.m. at the MSU Beef Unit, located south of the main campus in the Henry H. Leveck Animal Research Center.

STARKVILLE, Miss. – The American College of Theriogenologists has presented its highest honor to a professor in the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

BILOXI, Miss. -- Floral enthusiasts and professionals can attend a variety of hands-on floral design workshops this summer in Biloxi.

Jim DelPrince, floral design specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, will offer five individual workshops from May through August.

Four workshops are aimed at floral enthusiasts.

On May 26, participants will learn to create hemisphere arrangements, the classic half-globe-shaped centerpieces used for head-of-state dinners and wedding receptions.

May is Older Americans Month…

RAYMOND, Miss. -- Many people view senior adulthood as a time to slow down and relax, but too much free time can lead to unhappiness.

David Buys, health specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said volunteer work and community involvement are good ways for seniors to enjoy retirement.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- More than 20 campus units and 30 faculty and staff members at Mississippi State University are teaming up with state and federal agencies and local stakeholders to restore the water quality of a creek that flows through campus and is the focal point of the Catalpa Creek watershed.

May is Older Americans Month…

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- After pharmacist Jim Murray’s legs gave out at a Mississippi State University tailgate in 2007, his doctor told him his gardening days were over.

However, Murray is gardening again, thanks to the Pine Belt Master Gardeners’ salad table project.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- As children, Jessica and Rachel Wilson of Rankin County began working with animals, and now the sisters plan to devote their careers to this vocation after earning veterinary medicine degrees from Mississippi State University.

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. -- For military families, finding child care that accommodates their hectic schedules can feel impossible, which is what makes child care providers like Heather Bond so special.

For nearly six years, Bond has opened her home to military families who do not have traditional schedules, giving parents a safe and inviting alternative to conventional child care options.  

May is Older Americans Month…

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The phrase “you are what you eat” may be a cliche, but nothing is truer nutritionally for adults who have reached their 65th birthday.

Pamela Redwine, a Mississippi State University Extension Service agent in Yalobusha County, said a good diet provides the energy seniors need to be at their most productive.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Researchers recently gathered at the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine to share information about a common bacteria most people associate with ear and sinus infections.

Pneumococcal disease is also responsible for more serious infections, such as pneumonia and sepsis. Because of its prevalence and severity, MSU scientists are focused on finding preventions and treatments.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- For those in early childhood education, achieving accreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young Children is the mark of excellence in their field.

In Mississippi, few have earned this distinguished honor, but the School of Human Science’s Child Development and Family Studies Center at Mississippi State University is among the elite.

Director Melissa Tenhet learned on May 17 that the center’s efforts in recent years to achieve accreditation have been successful.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Boating in the summertime can seem like the perfect way to escape the heat, but it is important for everyone enjoying outdoor activities to be aware of sun safety.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated half of young adult Americans get sunburned every year. The CDC estimates that extreme heat kills an average of 658 Americans annually, which is more than the total number killed by tornadoes, lightning, hurricanes and floods combined.

QUITMAN -- Bringing rural Mississippi communities into the digital age is the objective of a newly established Mississippi State University Extension Service program.

The MSU Extension Intelligent Community Institute, or MSUE-ICI, is a joint project between the Extension Center for Technology Outreach, Extension Center for Government and Community Development, and its parent worldwide organization, the Intelligent Community Forum.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- When Brittany Storey of Terry, Mississippi, was searching for a major, she felt a little like Goldilocks -- she couldn’t find the career path that felt “just right.”

Although she loved animals and wanted a career in biology, she did not see herself as a veterinarian. She spoke with different department heads, but she could not picture herself in a career in agriculture or human medicine, either.

GREENWOOD, Miss. -- Farmers can learn about free-range poultry farming, high-tunnel vegetable and flower crops, and integrated disease and pest control during the Alliance for Sustainable Agricultural Production field day June 17.

The on-farm field day will be at Levee Run Farms, located at 802 Grenada Blvd. Extended in Greenwood.

Experts with the Mississippi State University Extension Service and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station will help farmers understand how to prevent, identify, monitor and manage insects, diseases and weeds.

BILOXI, Miss. -- Food safety professionals who work for facilities that manufacture, process or store food for human consumption can earn certification mandated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Food Safety Modernization Act during an upcoming workshop.

Experts with the Mississippi State University Extension Service and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station will offer Preventive Controls for Human Food on July 12-14. The course was developed by the Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance.

By Vanessa Beeson
Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Nearly half of all rice produced in the U.S. is exported, so Mississippi farmers need rice variety options to ensure strong foreign demand for their harvests.

In 2015, Mississippi growers harvested nearly 150,000 acres of rice across more than 250 farms. The crop had a production value of $132 million.

By Michaela Parker
MSU Extension Service

STARKVILLE. Miss. -- The iconic design of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Nutrition Facts label will stay the same, but the content of the label will soon be updated to reflect new scientific information.

The FDA announced on May 20 the final changes to the Nutrition Facts label for packaged foods. The label will keep many of the same nutritional facts it has displayed for more than 20 years, but several new features will give it more up-to-date, research-based data.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service invites state row crop producers to a seed technology short course to be held Aug. 2-3 at MSU.

Seed Tech 2016: From Bin to Bag will cover techniques in seed cleaning, separating and sorting. There will also be equipment demonstrations and workshops focusing on testing, labeling, intellectual property, legal issues and litigation.

The workshop will offer professional development credit. Commercial applicator recertification courses will be available for seed treatment or demonstration research.