Feature Story

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi veterinarians and livestock officials will address new swine flu concerns with increased educational messages and surveillance during the upcoming State Fair in Jackson.

Mark Crenshaw, swine specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said like humans, pigs occasionally get the influenza virus. Typical pig influenza viruses do not cross over to humans, but a new strain is proving to be an exception. As with all flu strains, frequent hand washing and other good hygiene practices are the best defense.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – When someone asks the Mississippi State University Extension Service for information, the answer soon might be, “There’s an app for that.”

Kelli McCarter joined the Extension Center for Technology Outreach in March as an applications developer. Her primary job is to write apps, which are computer programs that run inside another service. These apps will run on Apple Operating System, or iOS, devices such as the iPhone and iPad. Later, she hopes to develop apps for the Android platform.

POPLARVILLE – The hot, humid climate of South Mississippi can make it challenging for home gardeners and landscape professionals to choose plants that will perform well under additional pressures from diseases and pests.

All gardeners are invited to the annual Ornamental Horticulture Field Day on Oct. 4 at Mississippi State University’s South Mississippi Branch Experiment Station in Poplarville to hear about the latest research on plants in South Mississippi.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A new app is being written to help farmers properly calibrate sprayers, an involved process with the potential for making mistakes.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi State University students recently discovered making paper is a noisy, messy and creative activity.

Internationally known fiber artist Mary Hark, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, came to MSU’s campus to teach art and fashion students about the beauty and versatility of handmade paper.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Long before scientists created commercial fertilizers, farmers used cover crops to increase soil health and productivity and many of today’s producers are returning to those roots.

Mississippi State University professor Jac Varco, a researcher with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, said a cover crop is one planted during the off-season to benefit the soil. Common cover crops include clover and vetch.

MISSISSIPPI STATE — Lights, camera, action! The Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine is inviting children to submit artwork that showcases animals on the “silver screen.”

PICAYUNE – School groups, 4-H groups and families are invited to Bugfest, a two-day event at Mississippi State University’s Crosby Arboretum in Picayune.

The hands-on learning event will be held from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sept. 21 and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sept. 22. Participants can collect and identify insects, make crafts and play games.

MSU professor John Guyton and entomology student Breanna Lyle will bring a traveling classroom and a portable scanning electron microscope for an up-close look at Mississippi’s insects.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – The annual field day for Mississippi’s blueberry growers will showcase innovation and good management techniques at a Wayne County farm on Oct. 11.

Tom Giles and John Giles of Giles Farm in Waynesboro will host producers, specialists from the Mississippi State University Extension Service and employees from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Research Service and exhibitors from across the United States.

STONEVILLE – Mississippi State University recently named a building in honor of a retired agricultural researcher and administrator.

More than 200 attended the Aug. 30 dedication of the new Verner G. Hurt Research and Extension Building at MSU’s Delta Research and Extension Center, despite Hurricane Isaac’s inclement weather.

POPLARVILLE – Dairy producers in Mississippi and Louisiana can learn more efficient ways to produce, store and use forage crops at the Dairy Forage Production and Utilization Pasture Walk on Sept. 12.

JACKSON – The surge in heartworm-positive animals, some of them on preventatives, has stirred debate about the cause and worries pet owners.

“The high incidence of positive cases in the Delta has made some of our clients very nervous,” said Dr. Edwin Nordan, a veterinarian at Greenville Animal Clinic and Hospital. “Some have installed pesticide misting systems around the exterior of their homes to help reduce the number of mosquitoes their pets are exposed to. I understand their anxiety. We deal with positive cases every day, and it is a serious disease.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A poultry specialist with industry and Extension Service experience recently joined the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

Thomas Tabler began work as an Extension professor Aug. 1 in MSU’s Department of Poultry Science after teaching a year in Shungnak, Alaska, 20 miles north of the Arctic Circle.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Even as the remnants of Hurricane Isaac were leaving Mississippi on Friday, Mississippi State University Extension agents were assessing its impact on crops that were so close to harvest.

Lodging, or laying down, can be a significant harvest challenge in wind-blown fields, especially corn.

Extension corn specialist Erick Larson is cautiously optimistic that most of the corn crop escaped with minimal damage.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Individuals receiving paper benefits checks from the U.S. government have only a few months to sign up to receive payments electronically under the new paper-free system.

By Laci Kyles
MSU Forest and Wildlife Research Center

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi has some of the best fisheries in the nation, and Mississippi State University researchers are working to keep the threatened species in them from disappearing.

Peter Allen, assistant professor of aquatic sciences, conducts research on the fisheries that provide food and fun for Mississippians. He works at MSU’s South Farm Aquaculture Facility, a joint venture of the Forest and Wildlife Research Center and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – The Mississippi State University Extension Service is preparing for Tropical Storm Isaac’s landfall, shutting down county and district offices and making information available online to Mississippians.

Counties in western Mississippi remain in the projected path of the storm that by midmorning Monday continued to move farther west than originally expected. South Mississippi is under a hurricane warning. Tropical storm-force winds are expected as far north as Highway 84 across the state.

By Karen Templeton
MSU College of Veterinary Medicine

MISSISSIPPI STATE – As Tropical Storm Isaac heads toward Mississippi, residents in flood-prone areas may have to consider evacuation, and those with pets should have a plan of departure that includes their furry and feathered family members.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Gardeners may be getting ready to put away their gloves for the year, but now is the perfect time to get a head start on environmentally friendly landscaping projects.

Planning ahead can make yard maintenance easier, save money and conserve natural resources.

By Kaitlyn Byrne
MSU Ag Communications

STARKVILLE – A growing number of Mississippians are interested in how their food gets from the farm to the table and are looking for local fruits, vegetables and meat.

Ali Fratesi, a graduate student in Mississippi State University’s Department of Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion, said more people are choosing locally grown food. When they do, they can ask farmers how it was grown or raised.