Feature Story

MISSISSIPPI STATE – With Mississippi’s bumper corn crop on target to break records, proper post-harvest handling is essential, especially efforts to prevent deaths by grain entrapment.

As farmers plant more grain crops, on-site storage bins are popping up all over the state.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Many Mississippians own a fireplace for the pleasure and comfort it provides on cold winter nights, but if they’re not careful, the firewood can harbor unwanted guests.

In the winter, the desire to have a handy woodpile can open the door for termite problems. Blake Layton, entomologist with the MSU Extension Service, urged those with fireplaces not to stack wood against the outside wall of the house.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Three intensive days of courses in early December will give Mississippi farmers significant information they need as they prepare for the 2013 production season.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service is offering the annual Row Crops Short Course Dec. 3-5 on campus at the Bost Extension Center. Producers can attend free of charge if they complete registration by Nov. 30. Registration is $40 after Nov. 30 and at the door.

JACKSON -- Christmas gifts have begun to fill the secret hiding places of shoppers everywhere, and unfortunately, thieves know it.

Ted Gordon, safety and risk management director for Mississippi State University’s Extension Service, said shoppers should take precautions to avoid becoming victims of crime this holiday season.

“It is a fact that crime increases during the holiday season,” Gordon said. “So everyone should be even more mindful of personal safety.”

Gordon said shoppers should go with a companion and avoid shopping after dark.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has awarded the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine a grant to support the college’s Mobile Veterinary Clinic.

The $65,000 grant will cover some of the expenses incurred as the Mobile Veterinary Clinic travels to 15 North Mississippi animal shelters, where students spay and neuter homeless animals. The program is funded solely by grants and donations.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Many children dream of finding a sweet pony or their first horse on Christmas morning, but parents need to be aware of the ownership commitment and cost before granting that wish.

“Most first-time owners do not know how to take care of a horse or what will be required in the years to come,” said Dr. David Christiansen, assistant clinical professor with Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “Many people don’t realize that horses can live 30 years or more, so the purchase could become a very long-term investment.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Warm-hearted Mississippians often turn their attention to their furry and feathered neighbors when temperatures get cold, putting out feeders to care for them over the winter.

Birds are the most commonly fed wildlife, and stores stock a variety of feeders, seed mixes and houses for them.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – For many Mississippi families, the holidays are about hunting and eating home-cooked meals, and safety should be as high a priority as sweet potato pie.

“No one wants to spend their holidays in the hospital or at home recovering from an injury, so hunters need to practice common-sense safety precautions,” said Bronson Strickland, a wildlife management specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service and associate professor in MSU’s Forest and Wildlife Research Center.

By Kaitlyn Byrne
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Each year, cold and flu season threatens to steal holiday happiness, but a healthy immune system can prevent sickness from ruining the most wonderful time of the year.

Brent Fountain, registered dietician and associate Extension professor in Mississippi State University’s Department of Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion, said a healthy diet can strengthen the immune system.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Holiday snacks can tempt anyone to let good intentions go, but for those with food allergies or special dietary needs, these treats can cause serious problems.

Brent Fountain, a registered dietitian and nutrition specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said planning ahead is the best way to handle the challenge of holiday cooking and eating for those with dietary limits.

For diabetics, Fountain said the best course of action is to not stray far from the recommended eating pattern, even in holiday and party situations.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – The Mississippi State University Extension Service recently gained national recognition for a program designed to protect the state’s timberlands from an insect pest.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Ten years of research indicates that a water management strategy can save rice producers money on fuel and conserve water without hurting yields.

Joe Massey, a scientist with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and professor in Mississippi State University’s Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, has focused his career on water conservation in agriculture.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Experts from across the United States gathered recently to share their insights with Mississippi’s growing group of commercial and hobby beekeepers at a conference held at Mississippi State University.

Beekeeping in Mississippi is a booming trend. In 2011, revenues from honey production in the state had increased to almost $3.2 million -- an increase of 152.15 percent since 2007. A survey of the state’s beekeepers showed the average respondent had less than three years of experience keeping bees.

By Kaitlyn Byrne
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – National Guard troops stationed in Afghanistan enjoyed a taste of home when the Mississippi Beef Council sent them a special care package.

The council supported the production of beef jerky by the Mississippi State University Meat Laboratory to send to National Guard units engaged in helping native farmers improve agricultural practices.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – The highest bidders will take away top-quality horses and beef cattle from the Mississippi State University research herds after a public auction on Nov. 15.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi State University named John Blanton Jr., a researcher with 20 years of experience in animal and food science, head of the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences.

He has been as a research program manager at the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation in Ardmore, Okla., since 2008. He gained faculty and administrative experience at Texas Tech University and the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, along with industry experience from KVS Service in Georgetown, Del., and Intervet Inc., now Schering-Plough, in Millsboro, Del.

JACKSON – Mississippi’s fruit and vegetable growers can learn from experts and experienced producers at the annual Mississippi Fruit and Vegetable Growers Conference and Trade Show in Jackson Nov. 28 and 29.

This year’s conference is cohosted by the Mississippi Agritourism Association.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A Mississippi State University agricultural economist will be a featured speaker at a special workshop on laws and regulations affecting row crop producers.

John Michael Riley, agricultural economist with the MSU Extension Service, will speak at “What You Should Know: Laws and Regulations Affecting Row Crow Producers,” an event focused on crop insurance, the Farm Bill reauthorization and environmental regulations. The workshop, hosted by the National Agricultural Law Center, will be from 10 a.m. to noon Nov. 1 at the Clarksdale Train Station in Clarksdale.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – For children with food allergies and sensitivities, Halloween dangers can be lurking in their candy sacks, not just in their imaginations.

Brent Fountain, nutrition specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said people with diabetes or allergies and sensitivities to such things as peanuts and gluten must be extra careful about snacks.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – With persistence, hard work and a little help from technology, one Mississippi sweet potato farmer has created an unusual maze.

“My farm is not that big, and after the disaster in 2009 when we lost about 90 percent of our sweet potato crop, we were looking for something else to do to make a little bit of extra money,” said Andy Clark of Clark Farms near Vardaman.

Clark and his wife Laura planted their first corn maze in 2010. Hot, dry weather prevented the corn from growing well in 2011.