BILOXI, Miss. -- Mississippi State University has hired a new marine fisheries specialist for its Coastal Research and Extension Center in Biloxi.
Marcus Drymon began his MSU Extension Service appointment Aug. 1. Before coming to MSU, he received his doctorate from the University of South Alabama Department of Marine Sciences, where he also served on the faculty.
PICAYUNE, Miss. -- What was once a Grade A dairy farm for more than 20 years now serves as the flower farm owned by Terri Doyle and her husband, Dave.
Located on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Coastal Ridge Farm offers fresh bouquets that can be found at Rouse's Markets in the New Orleans area and on the coast from May to November.
"The dairy industry had been getting tougher every year for small dairies," Terri Doyle explained. "When Hurricane Katrina hit and destroyed a lot of our property, Dave and I decided it was time to close the dairy."
RAYMOND, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service hired three regional registered dietitians to help in the fight against obesity and chronic disease in Mississippi.
Samantha Willcutt, Kaitlin DeWitt and Juaqula Madkin have joined the Extension Office of Nutrition Education. They oversee the Extension Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education, or SNAP-Ed, curriculum and delivery in their regions.
LUCEDALE, Miss. -- Farmers can learn about free-range livestock rearing and pecan orchard practices during the Aug. 18 Alliance of Sustainable Farms field day.
Sweet Grass Pastures in Lucedale will host the event. Topics include raising pastured poultry, beef and pork using rotational grazing. Attendees will tour the farm’s pecan orchard, and farm owners will demonstrate how to set up a mobile chicken coop and mobile hog fencing.
STONEVILLE, Miss. -- This year marks Mississippi’s 200th anniversary as a state, but one of its most successful industries -- catfish farming -- is only about 60 years old.
The Mississippi State University Extension Service has played a significant role in the state’s status as the top producer of catfish in the U.S. Most of the technological advances related to the industry have taken place at MSU facilities under the direction of university and U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers.
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- A group interested in learning more about the ancient and popular art of winemaking will attend an upcoming workshop on the topic Sept. 15 at Mississippi State University.
The Growing, Making and Improving Wines Workshop will be at the A.B. McKay Food Research and Enology Laboratory on the MSU campus. The MSU Extension Service and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station are offering the daylong workshop.
MCNEILL, Miss. -- Mississippi State University invites muscadine grape growers and those interested in growing these vines to an Aug. 26 field day in Pearl River County.
Topics for the annual Muscadine Field Day include pests, new varieties and vine management. MSU Extension Service, Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, and U.S. Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service personnel will speak.
CLEVELAND, Miss. -- Delta area residents and chefs will show off the versatility of rice -- one of Mississippi's four major row crops -- during the 27th annual Rice Tasting Luncheon.
The event, which celebrates National Rice Month, draws more than 1,000 people from the state, the region and other countries. As the top rice-producing county in Mississippi, Bolivar County has the honor of hosting the luncheon every year.
It begins at 11 a.m. and concludes at 1 p.m. on Sept. 15 at the Delta State University Walter Sillers Coliseum in Cleveland.
COLUMBUS, Miss. -- Goat and sheep producers in Mississippi are invited to attend a Small Ruminant Management and FAMACHA Training workshop later this month.
FAMACHA is an acronym for the Faffa Malan Chart, a system goat and sheep producers use to treat stock against barber pole worm. The workshop, hosted by the Mississippi State University Extension Service, begins at 6 p.m. Aug. 15 at the Lowndes County Extension office on 485 Tom Rose Road in Columbus.
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- A climate-smart agriculture program at Mississippi State University helped train international agricultural leaders to achieve the global priority of maintaining safe, reliable food supplies.
VICKSBURG, Miss. -- Those managing historic homes must make a profit while creating a welcoming place for paying guests, a challenge addressed at a recent Mississippi State University short course.
Sandy Havard, MSU Extension Service agent in Warren County, said the summer workshop was a unique training opportunity set up to help improve communities and local businesses.
NEWTON, Miss. -- Travelers on Mississippi highways and interstates may have noticed colorful stands of native wildflowers planted in various sites for the last two years.
Part of the Wildflower Trails of Mississippi project, these patches of flowers and grasses serve as testing areas for roadside plantings that project coordinators hope will attract tourists and provide colorful habitat for pollinators for years to come. Initiated in 2015, the project is coordinated by Keep Mississippi Beautiful and supported by Mississippi State University and several state agencies.
RAYMOND, Miss. -- Wild pigs have roamed parts of the Southeast since Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto introduced them as food for early settlers in the 16th century. But during the last two decades, Mississippi has experienced a rapid uptick in the spread of the nuisance animal.
DEKALB, Miss. -- For 33 years, Ruby D. Rankin was the face of the Mississippi State University Extension Service in Kemper County, and her sudden death in early May surprised and saddened the local community.
More than 100 people gathered at a building dedication ceremony Monday in the Extension office in Kemper County to honor Rankin's life, service and impact on local individuals, various organizations and the entire community. The Kemper County Board of Supervisors honored Rankin's many accomplishments by naming the local farmers market in her honor.
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Expansion of high-speed internet to rural Mississippi areas is the focus of a new publication from the Mississippi State University Extension Service.
Mississippi has the lowest broadband access in the nation, with 36 percent of the state's residents lacking the infrastructure. Roberto Gallardo, an associate Extension professor in the Center for Technology Outreach, said this problem leaves residents of those areas at a disadvantage.
BILOXI, Miss. -- Individuals interested in learning more about conservation of Mississippi's natural resources can attend the Coastal Mississippi Master Naturalist class.
The seven-week course begins at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 7 at the Mississippi State University Coastal Research and Extension Center, located at 1815 Popp's Ferry Road in Biloxi. Classes meet once a week at various locations through Oct. 17. Weekday classes meet from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Weekend classes begin at 9 a.m. and end at 4 p.m.
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Urban Forestry Summer School on July 28 will use Catalpa Creek on the Mississippi State University campus as a living laboratory for training and demonstration.
MSU faculty will teach at the school, hosted by the MSU Extension Service and the Professional Arborists Association of Mississippi. The event will be 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. near the College of Veterinary Medicine on the MSU Henry H. Leveck Animal Research Farm, commonly called South Farm. Signs will direct visitors to the actual location.
STONEVILLE, Miss. -- Rice producers can learn about the latest research on production and disease management during the Mississippi State University Extension Service Rice Producer Field Day Aug. 2.
The program will begin at 3 p.m. at the Charles W. Capps Jr. Entrepreneurial Center at the Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville. The three-hour event includes field tours of research plots with MSU rice researchers.
VICKSBURG, Miss. -- Foods grown on Southern farms should end up on Southern tables, especially when those tables are in the state’s many historic bed-and-breakfasts.
That was the message Mississippi State University Extension Service personnel sent home with participants in a recent workshop.
“Nobody wants to go to a Southern B&B and not experience the food, so think about serving local foods,” said Brent Fountain, Extension nutrition specialist.
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Two state agencies are collaborating on a Mississippi program designed to keep child care centers healthy and safe.
Creating Healthy Indoor Child Care Environments is a workshop series that offers training to child care providers and continuing education credit required for licensure. The Mississippi State University Extension Service and the Mississippi State Department of Health Office of Child Care Licensure sponsor the series.
