Feature Story

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The 2008 Christmas tree crop in Mississippi is shaping up to be a good one as growers finish their spraying, shaking and shearing in time for holiday shoppers.

“Christmas tree farming is labor intensive,” said Steve Dicke, forestry specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. “Because the trees are a high-value crop, the standard in producing them also is high.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Fall finds owners of new and renovated ponds filling them with water and preparing to stock sport fish to produce quality fishing opportunities.

Wes Neal, fisheries specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said the best time to stock fish is in the fall and spring. Many owners build ponds in the summer, allow rains or streams to fill them in the fall and then stock them.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A Christmas tree adds joy and life to a home during the holidays, but thoughts of tree cleanup and disposal can dampen enthusiasm for a real one.

Consumers who do a little investigative work into recycling options can avoid these problems. Although Mississippi does not have a statewide recycling program for leftover trees, some communities do.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – While Elvis Presley had a “Blue Christmas” in mind when he recorded his 1957 seasonal hit, today's environmentally conscious consumers think of “going green” for the holidays.

Eco-friendly and affordable decorations, gifts, wrapping paper, ribbons and greeting cards are available in stores. Brainstorming, budgeting and goal-setting can produce good ideas and make the process less stressful, said Bobbie Shaffett, family resource management specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Food bills are an often hidden but substantial holiday expense, and families should shop carefully and stick to budgets to keep spending from getting out of hand.

Bobbie Shaffett, family resource management specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said food costs rose 7 percent in 2008. Families typically spend an average of 12 percent to 15 percent of their budget on food.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi is a national leader in the production of the sweet potato, a holiday favorite and also one of the most nutritious vegetables available year-round.

Benny Graves, executive secretary of the Mississippi Sweet Potato Council, said the state's sweet potatoes have a reputation for their taste and quality.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- In a holiday season that can seem only about getting, many parents are looking for ways to teach their children about giving instead.

Carla Stanford, Mississippi State University Extension Service child and family development area agent in Pontotoc County, said the best way to encourage a giving spirit at Christmas and all year is through role modeling.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The holiday season is supposed to lift people's spirits with joy and wonder, but it sometimes triggers feelings of stress and depression.

And just like hope, there is always help.

People need to put themselves on the right path to alleviate the stress they feel, said Josephine Tate, area health agent with the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A landscape short course Dec. 10-12 at Mississippi State University will give professionals and enthusiasts a chance to learn more about plants and their maintenance.

Sponsored by the MSU Extension Service, the event will be in Dorman Hall. Early registration is $160 per person if paid by Dec. 1. Onsite registration is $200. The fee covers the cost of educational materials, supplies and some meals.

The short course will cover basic principles of landscape establishment and management.

Bird watching…

By Andrea Cooper and Karen Brasher
College of Forest Resources

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- More than 71 million Americans actively participate in bird watching, and they spend some $45 million each year on the hobby.

Mississippi, however, has so far flown under the bird-watching radar, ranking 45th in income from birding. Researchers at Mississippi State University's Forest and Wildlife Research Center are studying ways to improve the state's revenue from birding activities, especially in areas along the Mississippi River.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi soybean growers wrapped up another year's battle with soybean rust without yield losses to the disease, even though it was found in 79 of the state's 82 counties.

Tom Allen, an Extension plant pathologist at Mississippi State University's Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville, has been part of the team monitoring the disease since 2007. He announced Nov. 1 that soybean rust had been found in all counties except Hancock, Harrison and Stone counties in south Mississippi.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Sir Richard Roberts, a co-recipient of the 1993 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine, will take part in a lecture series Nov. 4 at Mississippi State University.

Roberts, a native of England, will discuss business ventures in the biosciences industry as part of the Jack Hatcher Entrepreneurship Program. The free lecture will take place at 2 p.m. in the auditorium of the Swalm Chemical Engineering Building. Roberts and American Phillip A. Sharp shared the Nobel Prize in 1993 “for their discoveries of split genes,” according to the organization’s Web site.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi State University will auction about 40 horses, including some of the last foals of Triple-Crown descendant Minister Slew, on Nov. 15 to raise money to support MSU’s equine research.

The sale at the Mississippi Horse Park, which is located on Poorhouse Road south of Starkville, will begin at 1 p.m. after a sponsored lunch for sale participants. Buyers can begin viewing stock at 10 a.m., and horses under saddle will be displayed between 10:30 and 11 a.m.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Once this year’s crop is out of the fields, cotton producers can turn their attention to 2009 with a two-day short course in December.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service is offering a cotton short course Dec. 1-2 on campus in the Bost Extension Building. The annual short course will provide information about cotton production with the goal of making growers more productive and profitable.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A small insect pest that drove many cotton farmers nearly to desperation in its heyday is now in desperate straits of its own.

For most of the summer, the state's extensive trap network found only one boll weevil, which was in a Tunica County trap on June 11. Scouts added two more weevils to the 2008 collection in mid-October from traps in Chickasaw County.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Allergy season can be year-round for many pets, and solutions can be harder to find for small animals than for their human friends.

“With the exception of allergies to fleas and certain foods, people cannot protect their pets from many of the environmental causes of allergic reactions, such as pollens and house dust mites,” said Dr. Juli Gunter, veterinary dermatologist with Mississippi State University's College of Veterinary Medicine. “We often find ways to manage, not cure, their allergic reactions.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippians know to call the Extension Service with questions about insect pests, row crops or family finances, and thousands turn to the same source for training on a variety of other topics.

One topic that has become popular is all-terrain vehicle safety. Many Mississippians are injured and some killed each year in accidents involving ATVs. In late October, two 11-year-old girls died in an ATV accident in DeSoto County, highlighting the need for training in how to safely operate these vehicles.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The Piney Woods Heritage Festival will return Nov. 14 and 15 to the Mississippi State University Crosby Arboretum in Picayune for the first time since Hurricane Katrina.

Relive the Piney Woods region’s early days along the arboretum’s trails with exhibits and demonstrations of traditional blacksmithing, storytelling, woodcarving, spinning, quilting, doll making, Native American artistry, basketry and a host of other skills.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Individuals involved with tourism development in their communities or those just getting started can learn how to bolster their efforts by attending the Alabama-Mississippi Rural Tourism Conference Oct. 28-29 at the Holiday Inn in Columbus.

The conference is part of a continuing partnership among the Mississippi State University Extension Service, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System and the Tennessee Tombigbee Tourism Association to promote tourism development in Alabama and Mississippi.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A Mississippi scientist and author widely recognized for advancing the study of how insects, spiders, ticks and mites impact human health has joined the faculty of Mississippi State University as associate Extension professor.