Feature Story

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- While the Rotary Classic Rodeo is a competitive tournament featuring bull riding, barrel racing, steer wrestling and other contests, the event offers something for the whole family.

Hosted by the Starkville Rotary Club, the annual rodeo sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association is returning to the Mississippi Horse Park Feb. 7-8.

General admission is $15 at the door and $12 in advance.

Blueberry growers and others interested in growing blueberries commercially can learn more about the crop during an upcoming workshop.

Mississippi farmers and gardeners who want to learn about plant propagation and seed starting are invited to attend the next Alliance of Sustainable Farms field day.

Renee Collini began her role with the Mississippi State University Extension Service as a climate science educator Jan. 1.

In 2019, Mississippi’s agricultural industry faced the prospect of dipping below $7 billion for the first time in eight years, but federal payments pushed its value up enough to post a slight gain over 2018.

The estimated value of Mississippi agriculture in 2019 is $7.39 billion, a 0.2% gain from last year’s $7.37 billion. Included in the total is an estimated $628 million in government payments, the largest amount of federal assistance Mississippi producers have seen since 2006

Overcoming every challenge that comes its way, Mississippi’s poultry industry maintained its 25-year streak in 2019 as the state’s No. 1 agricultural commodity.

Mississippi’s timber industry remained its second highest producing agricultural commodity again in 2019.

Coming in with an estimated production value of $1.15 billion, timber followed the state’s poultry industry, which generated an estimated value of $2.78 billion in 2019. Timber’s value of production is estimated by monthly severance taxes collected by the Mississippi Department of Revenue.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service invites growers and  financial professionals in the agricultural industry to the 2020 Agricultural and Rural Outlook Conference.

The conference will be held Jan. 7 at the Bost Extension Center auditorium on the main MSU campus in Starkville. It begins at 8:30 a.m. and concludes by 3:30 p.m.

Financial management, farm policy, trade and agricultural commodity outlooks will be among the topics covered.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service has hired two new community wellness planners.

Mynelle Gardens will be the host site for an Alliance of Sustainable Farms produce safety training Dec. 13.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Experts from the Mississippi State University Extension Service will offer a workshop designed to help food-related business owners prepare for disasters.

“Food as a Business: Disaster Preparedness for Food Businesses” is for anyone who currently operates or is interested in operating an agriculture-based food business, including retail, cottage food or food processing operations.

Topics include financial preparedness, risk management, record keeping, crisis communication planning, emergency-action planning and food recall and traceability planning.

A few, simple preparations can mean the difference between achieving a healthy success or suffering a major disaster during the traditional biggest meal of the year.

Mississippi State University welcomed a new forestry specialist Nov. 1.

Shaun Tanger joined the MSU Extension Service in the southeast region as a forestry specialist with area and statewide duties. 

The Mississippi State University Extension Service is doing what it can to make sure everyone in the state’s agricultural community knows there is help available when the stress of life seems unrelenting.

Mississippi fruit and vegetable producers, specialty foods producers and interested farmers can learn how to get their products on local store shelves and into new markets during an upcoming meeting.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service was part of a team that won a second place 2019 Gulf Guardian Award presented in October.

RAYMOND, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service hired two regional registered dietitians to help in the fight against obesity and chronic disease in Mississippi.

Madison Payne and Dottie Kenda have joined the Extension Office of Nutrition Education. In their regions, they oversee curriculums and delivery for the Extension Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education, or SNAP-Ed, and the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program, or EFNEP.

PICAYUNE, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Crosby Arboretum in Picayune will host the Piney Woods Heritage Festival Nov. 16.

The 17th annual event celebrates the region’s heritage with musical performances and displays and demonstrations of traditional skills and arts, including blacksmithing, spinning, quilting, butter churning, basket making, Native American dancing and more.

GREENWOOD, Miss. – Mississippi farmers and residents who live in the Greenwood area can drop off their unused agricultural pesticides and electronic waste during the Agricultural Pesticide Disposal Day event.

The collection event is Nov. 19 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the parking lot of the Leflore County Civic Center located at 200 Highway 7 North in Greenwood.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Cotton leafroll dwarf virus is capable of causing significant yield loss and was reported for the first time in Mississippi earlier this year.

The implications of this disease will be a major focus of the 2019 Mississippi State University Row Crop Short Course Dec. 2-4 at the Cotton Mill Conference Center in Starkville. This course is hosted by the MSU Extension Service and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station.