Feature Story

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- North Delta cotton growers are hoping that the third time is the charm as they prepare another referendum this season to continue their participation in the regionwide boll weevil eradication program.

The grower-requested third referendum will take place from Sept. 29 through Oct. 10. The local Farm Service Agency offices will count the results on Oct. 17.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Generous summer rains and moderate temperatures helped many Mississippi dryland corn fields produce Midwest-size yields, but other fields could not turn off the faucet and suffered for it.

Erick Larson, grain crops agronomist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service, said the state's corn fields should produce a new record average, which is becoming an every-other-year tradition. Records were set in 1997, 1999 and 2001, and were 107, 117 and 130 bushels per acre, respectively.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Poultry and egg prices have rebounded from the challenges of 2002 and are soaring into the fall in much better shape than they were last year.

Tim Chamblee, poultry management researcher with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, said increased consumer demand and reduced numbers of chickens have combined to boost prices for broilers and eggs.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- An invasive weed with no known value has made its way across half the state and shows no signs of letting up.

Cogongrass competes with desirable grasses and wins the battle for nutrients, but it is a very poor forage. Mississippians are learning the hard way that it is very difficult to keep this grass at bay.

John Byrd, Extension weed scientist with Mississippi State University, said the weed invades low-maintenance areas or those not in cultivation. It out-competes other grasses, yet provides nothing of value.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A non-native weed is threatening state roadsides, pastures and forests, and while it may not spread as fast as kudzu, it is dangerously invasive.

Cogongrass is an aggressive warm-season, perennial grass that is difficult to control. It is native to southeast Asia and was accidentally introduced to the United States in 1911 at Grand Bay, Ala. It spread to other states in the 1920s as Experiment Stations evaluated it as a potential forage crop in Mississippi, Florida and Alabama.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Structural construction on Mississippi's long-awaited 4-H museum is officially under way.

The July 20, 2002, groundbreaking for the Pete Frierson Mississippi 4-H Museum in Jackson began phase one of the project. During this time, organizers raised funds and prepared for the initial construction of the museum.

MISSISSIPPI STATE --When Marsha Rosanelli heard she had been accepted into veterinary school at Mississippi State University, she had more to think about than classes and homework -- she was about to have a baby.

As a testament to the class's commitment to helping every student succeed, Rosanelli's fellow classmates are making sure she gets her class notes, and they also threw her a surprise baby shower. Rosanelli's daughter was born Aug. 15. Veterinary classes started July 31.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Just about anyone with a yard knows the frustration of trying to eliminate fire ant colonies, and now is the time of year to fight the battle again.

Making a broadcast application of an effective fire ant bait between Labor Day and first frost is the best way to get rid of existing colonies and prevent many of next spring's mounds.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The catfish industry's cash-strapped producers are set to receive their first-ever federal disaster assistance, and it couldn't come soon enough.

Feed accounts for half the cost of raising catfish and was $220 per ton in Mississippi in 2002. Catfish prices are at the lowest levels in 20 years and producers are finding themselves in financial stress.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Rick Parsons of Vance is Mississippi's Farmer of the Year and the state's nominee for the 2003 southeastern award during the 26th annual Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition in Moultrie, Ga.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service chose Parsons for the honor because of his exemplary management skills with Fewell Planting Co. The farming operation covers 9,421 acres in Quitman and Tallahatchie counties, including 3,892 acres of irrigated corn that produces 176.5 bushels per acre.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Third-graders in schools across the state will receive fun flying discs, along with a valuable nutrition lesson, in observance of National Eat-5-a-Day Month in September.

Representatives from the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education and Family Nutrition programs with Mississippi State University's Extension Service will hand out almost 32,000 of the popular plastic throwing disc toys on Sept. 30. On the discs is the 5-a-Day Program logo.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The only numbers looking good to Mississippi catfish producers this year are the disaster payment credits they have at the feed mill.

The supply of catfish is large, current prices are at break-even levels or lower than the cost of production, feed prices are inching up, and current acreage and production are down in Mississippi. But state catfish farmers are starting to receive their portion of the $20 million earmarked for disaster relief in Mississippi.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- All veterinary students learn about swine, but one dual-degree major at Mississippi State University is gaining insight from a wildlife perspective.

Learning opportunity...

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Wildlife specialists are encouraging aggressive hunting of a nontraditional large animal in Mississippi: wild hogs.

Mississippi State University researchers are gathering data on wild hog populations around the state and country. Two things they knew before they started their research were that hogs multiply rapidly, and they can cause extensive crop and property damage.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Children in 65 Mississippi Delta area elementary schools will learn about nutrition through an innovative curriculum funded by a grant aimed at preventing childhood obesity.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation is providing $1.57 million for the five-year grant to support nutrition programs in Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas. Childhood obesity is one of four key issues being addressed by a tri-state Extension Service "memorandum of understanding" signed May 15.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Sweetpotato growers have high hopes for this year's crop despite planting 1,500 fewer acres than in 2002.

Bad weather conditions damaged last fall's supply of the crop, which in turn increased the demand -- and price -- of sweetpotatoes this season.

"Supplies nationwide are low, so prices are pretty high at around $16.50 per 40-pound carton now," said Benny Graves, sweetpotato specialist with the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce's Bureau of Plant Industry. "Now what we need to do is harvest a crop and make a profit."

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Sweat and back-breaking work are still part of Mississippi agriculture, but many of today's farmers do a portion of their work in front of computers in air-conditioned comfort.

On Mississippi's high-tech, large farms, computers are as important a tool as tractors. Will McCarty, row crops specialist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service, said most of the state's largest farmers in any commodity run their businesses using computers. Common uses include record keeping, information gathering and operating equipment.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A series of four workshops sponsored by the Mississippi State University Extension Service will highlight the benefits of electronic retailing and provide tips to small business owners.

"Electronic Retailing: Selling on the Internet" will be offered in four different locations in the state on four dates in October and November: Oct. 21 in Cleveland, Oct. 28 in Raymond, Oct. 29 in D'Iberville and Nov. 6 in Verona.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Dairy and beef cattle producers can learn the latest recommendations from researchers and Extension specialists during the North Mississippi Beef and Dairy Field Day on Sept. 18 in Marshall County.

Registration begins at 9 a.m. with the program starting at 9:30 a.m. at Mississippi State University's North Mississippi Branch Experiment Station, located about three miles north of Holly Springs off of Highway 7. Lunch will be provided.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- August and September are usually Mississippi's hottest, driest months, and when the cattle markets and pasture conditions are at their worst. But that is not the case this year.

An unusually wet summer for pastures and strong market prices are leaving cattle producers with fewer worries as winter approaches.