Feature Story

GOODMAN -- Fruit, vegetable and flower growers can participate in a Jan. 18 field day highlighting sustainable growing practices.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service and several partner organizations will host the event at the Alliance for Sustainable Agricultural Production Demonstration Farm near Goodman from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Growers of all experience levels are welcome. Attendance is free, but pre-registration is required. Lunch and materials will be provided.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi State University’s Extension Service is seeking donations of adult-sized saddles and two additional safe, gentle horses for therapeutic riding sessions.

The MSU Extension Service’s 4-H Therapeutic Riding and Activity Center, or TRAC, promotes therapeutic riding through educational and research-based activities. Therapy horses must be in good health, have a current negative Coggins test, and be people friendly and extremely calm. English and western saddles are also needed for the program.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Even though she did not grow up on a farm, Dr. Cyprianna “Chipper” Swiderski grew up in the Baltimore area with a love for horses.

That love carried her through two graduate degrees, an internship, a residency and nearly 25 years as an equine practitioner. Now, she is a faculty member in the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi 4-H is looking for four outstanding young people to work in state government for one week in March during the 2013 legislative session.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service 4-H program and the Extension Center for Government and Community Development are looking for qualified 4-H’ers to serve in the 2013 Legislative Page Internship Program. They will work with the Mississippi Senate during the week of March 11-15.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A gift of butterflies has expanded the collection at the Mississippi Entomological Museum, the result of a life passionately dedicated to collecting the beautiful and fragile specimens.

Ruth Williams of Hattiesburg, widow of James J. Williams, donated Jim’s collection of tropical South American butterflies to Mississippi State University in November. There are about 1,300 labeled and identified specimens displayed in 46 cases.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Did you pick your career or did it pick you?

Long, hot days driving a tractor in a hay field and crack-of-dawn cattle roundups helped me decide that farming was not the life for me. Instead, I opted for an education that allowed me to get an 8-to-5 job in an air-conditioned office and earn a regular paycheck.

In college, I majored in communication with an emphasis in public relations, never intending to stay in my hometown of Starkville. I was going to a big city with all the excitement and money that I thought it would offer.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A team of Mississippi State University agricultural economists recently received funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study policies impacting biofuel supply chains.

By Kaitlyn Byrne
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – This New Year’s eve, millions of Americans will resolve to improve their health is by eliminating tobacco products, such as cigarettes and chewing tobacco, from their lives.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Clarissa Balbalian’s job presents a new mystery every day.

“If you are analytical and like solving mysteries, this is the perfect job,” said Balbalian, the manager of Mississippi State University’s plant diagnostic lab. “I like working with people and helping them find solutions to their problems, too.”

Balbalian studied biology at Longwood University in Virginia, and then earned her master’s degree in forest pathology at West Virginia University.

CARSON -- A grant in Jefferson Davis County is opening new doors to teenagers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.

Eighteen sophomores, juniors and seniors who attend the Dennis Fortenberry Career Center are the first group of students who will benefit from the $150,000 Mississippi Department of Education grant. The award provided funds to purchase equipment that will help students design and build robots and design and draft two- and three-dimensional objects with the aid of computer technology.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Many Americans resolve to improve their physical health each new year, and experts at Mississippi State University suggest it is also a great time to focus on healthier relationships.

MSU Extension Service family life specialist Cassandra Kirkland said the new calendar year brings opportunities for fresh starts in many areas of life, including marriage.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Another year will soon begin, and with it, people will make resolutions for financial fitness and better spending and saving habits.

Bobbie Shaffett, family resource management specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said being smart about money means being realistic.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – An upcoming two-state dairy conference has a long history of helping those in the business stay on top of important industry issues and improve the profitability of their farms.

The 23rd annual Mississippi-Louisiana Dairy Management Conference will be held Jan. 10 in Tylertown at the Southwest Events Center. The Mississippi State University Extension Service and the Louisiana State University AgCenter are sponsoring the event.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- As news shows bombard the public with reports of senseless violence, young eyes are also watching as adults struggle to handle the information.

News of the mass shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut will receive tremendous coverage throughout the holiday season. Families may need help as the entire country recovers from the tragedy.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Significant production levels and high market prices combined to give Mississippi’s agricultural commodities over $7 billion in total value.

Mississippi State University agricultural economists gathered preliminary data from crop production reports, world agricultural supply and demand estimates, industry resources and U.S. Department of Agriculture outlook reports. They predict a $7.3 billion annual value of the state’s top crops, excluding government payments. Final figures will be available in the spring of 2013.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Poultry again took the top spot among Mississippi’s agricultural commodities for 2012, with a preliminary estimated value of $2.5 billion.

The total estimated value of poultry increased from 2011 by 6.2 percent. Broilers gained 7 percent in value, while eggs and chickens stayed level with 2011’s values.

John Michael Riley, agricultural economist with Mississippi State University’s Extension Service, said poultry values for 2012 are higher than 2011 values and have increased every year for the past five years.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A new record average yield of 42 bushels per acre pushed soybeans to a record value of more than $1 billion, boosting the crop to No. 2 among Mississippi’s agricultural commodities.

Soybeans have an estimated 2012 value of $1.16 billion, up 37 percent from $842 million in 2011. Soybeans came in behind poultry but for the first time were ahead of forestry in the ranking of the state’s top three crops.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – An 8 percent increase in a billion-dollar industry is significant, but timber still fell from its long-held second place spot on Mississippi’s agricultural commodity list.

James Henderson, assistant forestry professor with Mississippi State University’s Extension Service, is estimating the 2012 value of Mississippi forest products to be $1.03 billion, compared with $957 million the previous year. Final numbers using more complete data will replace the estimate in February.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi growers harvested record corn yields in the state, and good prices pushed corn to a record production value, making it the state’s fourth biggest agricultural commodity.

Corn has a 2012 record value estimated at $891 million, which was 52 percent higher than the 2011 value of $587 million. Growers harvested an estimated 156 bushels per acre on average, beating the previous record of 148 bushels per acre set in 2007. Poultry, soybeans and forestry round out the state’s top crops.

A new assistant professor at Mississippi State University understands the needs of the poultry industry as she works to create cost-effective, nutritionally sound, high quality feed formulations.

Kelley Wamsley recently joined MSU’s Department of Poultry Science and is building a research program focused on developing new cost-effective diets for poultry, Mississippi’s top agricultural commodity. Feed and feed-related manufacturing costs account for 60 to 70 percent of total production costs for poultry producers.