News Filed Under Forestry

Fall is the perfect time to enjoy fire pits and camping trips! Firewood is a necessity for both activities, so it’s important to know how to properly collect and manage it. Be sure to get your firewood within 50 miles of where you will burn it whether that’s in your backyard or at a campground several miles from home.

A few sassafras trees across Mississippi have started to show signs of dieback, and Mississippi State University is asking for help in identifying affected trees. The trees are suspected of having laurel wilt, a disease caused by a fungus that has already proven deadly to the state’s redbay trees. The fungus is carried by the redbay ambrosia beetle, an invasive species native to Asia.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Seed industry representatives, agricultural professionals, producers, crop consultants and research scientists are encouraged to attend the Seed and Agricultural Technology Short Course at Mississippi State University Aug. 15-16.

Hosted by the MSU Extension Service and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, the short course will be held at the Bost Extension Conference Center at MSU.

RAYMOND, Miss. -- Mississippi has gained new timber mills over the last 18months, and producers have seen timber prices rise since last year.

RAYMOND, Miss. -- Agricultural producers and industry professionals met with Mississippi State University personnel in the coastal region to discuss research and education priorities at the 2022 Producer Advisory Council meeting. The annual event aims to help clients improve their productivity. Attendees gathered in small commodity groups at each event to share their ideas with agents, researchers and specialists with the MSU Extension Service and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station.

Do you want to learn to identify trees? Do you want to be one of those people who can spot a tree, point at it, and name it with certainty? Always start with the leaves. Leaves are one of the most important aspects of tree identification.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Business leaders looking to upgrade their social media marketing strategies can now get started by tuning in to a new podcast series.

Bricks-To-Clicks Marketing, a Mississippi State University Extension program, helps business leaders develop a digital marketing plan to bring in more customers and revenue. The program has launched an eight-episode marketing podcast centered around use of social media platforms to grow personal brands and businesses.

Central Mississippi agricultural producers and industry professionals met with Mississippi State University personnel to discuss research and education priorities at the 2022 Producer Advisory Council meeting on Feb. 23 in Raymond. The annual event is aimed at helping clients improve their productivity. Attendees gathered in small commodity groups to share their ideas with agents, researchers and specialists with the MSU Extension Service and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station.

VERONA, Miss. -- Each February, agricultural producers in Mississippi speak, and personnel with the Mississippi State University Extension Service and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station listen.

Producer Advisory Council meetings present opportunities for growers to meet with MSU commodity experts and share ideas for research and educational projects.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Forestry is the third largest agricultural commodity in Mississippi for the second straight year with a production value of nearly $1.29 billion in 2021, up 5.7% over last year.

Choosing, cutting, and bringing home a real Christmas tree is a fun tradition for many families during the holiday season. Around 32,000 Christmas trees are sold in Mississippi each year! Whether you go to a Christmas tree farm or to a local retail store, you’ll likely be presented with a few options to choose from.

With rising prices everywhere, families may expect to pay more for their choose-and-cut Christmas trees this year. But that may not be the case. Mississippi Christmas tree growers faced some challenges in 2021 with weather conditions and price hikes for many of their inputs. However, many growers may decide not to pass those costs on to consumers of their choose-and-cut Christmas trees.

Mississippians are exploring the relatively new and growing carbon offset market, although many issues related to this market remain under discussion. Larry Oldham, soil specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said daily, normal activities such as driving vehicles, manufacturing, industrial production and agricultural practices release carbon into the atmosphere.

Curtis VanderSchaaf joined the Mississippi State University Extension Service in the southwest region as a forestry specialist with regional and statewide duties. He also is a faculty member in the MSU Department of Forestry.

Although construction costs are through the roof timber prices have not kept pace, and Mississippi forest landowners are waiting for improved markets. Shaun Tanger, a forestry economics specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said the recent increase in construction costs is a demand-side phenomena.