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Feature Story from 2020

January 7, 2020 - Filed Under: Environment

Renee Collini began her role with the Mississippi State University Extension Service as a climate science educator Jan. 1.

January 7, 2020 - Filed Under: Agriculture, Commercial Horticulture

Mississippi farmers and gardeners who want to learn about plant propagation and seed starting are invited to attend the next Alliance of Sustainable Farms field day.

January 10, 2020 - Filed Under: Commercial Fruit and Nuts

Blueberry growers and others interested in growing blueberries commercially can learn more about the crop during an upcoming workshop.

January 10, 2020 - Filed Under: About Extension

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- While the Rotary Classic Rodeo is a competitive tournament featuring bull riding, barrel racing, steer wrestling and other contests, the event offers something for the whole family.

Hosted by the Starkville Rotary Club, the annual rodeo sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association is returning to the Mississippi Horse Park Feb. 7-8.

General admission is $15 at the door and $12 in advance.

January 27, 2020 - Filed Under: Rural Health

High school juniors interested in health care and other science-related careers can apply to participate in an exploratory, four-week summer program at Mississippi State University.

A man kneels on a football practice field beside a football.
January 28, 2020 - Filed Under: Turfgrass and Lawn Management

Since the best-managed sports fields are the safest, the Mississippi State University Extension Service is offering two workshops in February to improve the skills of field managers.

Field management workshops will be held Feb. 11 in Booneville and Feb. 18 in Columbus. Each event lasts from 8:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. with lunch provided. There is no cost to attend.

January 31, 2020 - Filed Under: Crops, Commercial Horticulture, Commercial Fruit and Nuts, Farming, Agri-tourism, Forages, Livestock, Local Flavor

Regional agriculture advisory groups will meet across the state next month to provide input on educational programing and research conducted by Mississippi State University.

Young girl stands and holds up the head of a white goat with a brown head while two young girls stand in the background.
February 7, 2020 - Filed Under: 4-H

JACKSON, Miss. -- Melissa Tolar was hopeful that her daughter, Emmy, would be featured in this year’s Dixie National Sale of Champions, but she admitted to some uncertainty about her chances at first.

Emmy, a 12-year-old 4-H’er from Marion County with autism, had difficulties with communication and presenting her animals dating back to when she began showing livestock four years ago. To advance to this year’s sale, one of the goats she showed had to place first in the Dixie National Junior Round-Up.

A man stands behind a table while demonstrating equine dental equipment on two horse skulls.
February 11, 2020 - Filed Under: Youth Horse, Equine

The romantic idea of owning and riding horses often does not match the costly and time-consuming reality of maintaining them, a discrepancy being addressed in workshops aimed at making horse ownership more rewarding.

Clay Cavinder, horse specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, offers a one-day workshop and a six-week program to address the tremendous amount of information that a horse owner must absorb.

February 11, 2020 - Filed Under: FARMtastic, Women for Agriculture, Small Business

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi women who want to grow their farm and agribusiness skills are invited to an upcoming conference in Starkville.

“Small Farm Success in a Global Market,” the 2020 conference of the Mississippi Women for Agriculture organization, will be held March 6 and 7 in the Bost Extension Center on the Mississippi State University campus. Mississippi Women for Agriculture is organized through the MSU Extension Service and provides information and education to help female agribusiness employees and owners build skills.

Woman in a green dress with a bag around her shoulder stands in front of a gate holding a laptop computer.
February 19, 2020 - Filed Under: Extension Program Priorities, City and County Government, SNAP-Ed, Rural Health, Nutrition

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Once every decade, Mississippians have the chance to make a difference at the local, state and national levels.

Participating in the U.S. Census has a large impact on daily life. Being underrepresented as a state leads to reduced representation in Congress and less federal funding for education, infrastructure, emergency response and wellness programs. In short, there are long-term negative effects of not participating in the census.

February 21, 2020 - Filed Under: Agriculture, Irrigation, Field Scale Crop Assessment with Drones, Water

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service will offer multiple opportunities March 3-5 for Delta row-crop producers to get help with an important irrigation planning tool.

A man in a baseball cap stands in front of long tables with a crowd of people in the background.
February 24, 2020 - Filed Under: Extension Administration, Agriculture, Cotton, Fruit, Beef, Dairy, Goats and Sheep

2020 marked Bill Fitts’ 27th consecutive appearance at the annual North Mississippi Producer Advisory Council meeting.

February 24, 2020 - Filed Under: Community, Food and Health

A Mississippi State University Extension Service educator has been selected to participate in the nation’s second oldest statewide leadership training program aimed at strengthening Mississippi’s quality of life.

February 25, 2020 - Filed Under: Agriculture, Farming, Pesticide Applicator Certification, Waste Management

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Farmers in Monroe and Tunica counties can dispose of unused hazardous agricultural products at two separate events.

The Waste Pesticide Disposal events, organized by the Mississippi State University Extension Service, will accept insecticides, herbicides and fungicides. Household chemicals, rinsates, and empty and bulk containers will not be accepted.

February 26, 2020 - Filed Under: Beef

Beef cattle producers looking to improve their farms’ herd and forage production are invited to a field day March 26. 

A tall, green weed in the foreground with a cloudy sky and cotton field in the background.
March 2, 2020 - Filed Under: Crops, Cotton

STONEVILLE, Miss. -- Pathologists with Mississippi State University will be monitoring a relatively new plant disease in state cotton fields once the growing season is in full swing.

Cotton leafroll dwarf virus, or CLRDV, was first reported in Alabama in 2017. It is closely related to a cotton virus known to occur in South America. Historically, that virus has caused up to 80 percent yield losses in Brazilian cotton fields.

Three individuals pose with a newly signed proclamation.
March 3, 2020 - Filed Under: 4-H

RAYMOND, Miss. -- Rylee Plemons was one of several Mississippians who met at the Mississippi State Capitol Feb. 26 to tell their stories and raise awareness about living with a rare disease.

The 10-year-old Stone County 4-H member was diagnosed with Multiple Epiphyseal Dysplasia, or Fairbank’s disease, five years ago. He began sharing information about the degenerative joint disease through the Mississippi State University Extension Service 4-H program.

A beekeeper teaching three young people about keeping bees while looking at bee hives.
March 6, 2020 - Filed Under: Beekeeping

Believe it or not, urban landscapes can provide enough plant diversity to sustain honeybee colonies, making beekeeping a suitable hobby for both city and country dwellers. Jeff Harris, beekeeping specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said both locales have their pros and cons when it comes to growing healthy honeybee hives. “Many urban landscapes contain ornamentals and other flowering plants that provide a better and more diverse diet than monoculture crops,” Harris said. “Just like humans, bees are healthier when their food comes from many different sources, not just cheeseburgers -- or in the bees’ case, 3,000 acres of corn.”

March 6, 2020 - Filed Under: City and County Government

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippians looking to learn more about county government have a free, up-to-date resource at their fingertips. 

The Mississippi State University Extension Service has released the sixth edition of its publication “County Government in Mississippi.”

A collaborative effort between the MSU Extension Center for Government and Community Development and the Mississippi Association of Supervisors, the book is available at https://gcd.extension.msstate.edu/.

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