News

YAZOO CITY -- Mississippi Women for Agriculture will kick off a new lunch-and-learn program May 2.

The first meeting of the “Farm Women Friday” series will be hosted by the Mississippi State University Extension Service at the Yazoo County Extension office and broadcast to county Extension offices across the state.

By Brittnie Burton
MSU Ag Communications

CLEVELAND -- Horse lovers may think of horses as family, but they should always handle the large animals with caution.

Laura Giaccaglia, Bolivar County coordinator with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said safety comes first in horse handling.

“Horses are massive animals, and when you are around them, you have to keep your guard up at all times,” Giaccaglia said. “We teach our 4-H members that respect is the foundation for safety for the animal and the people around it.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Most centenarians are slowing down and avoiding modern technology, but the Mississippi State University Extension Service is doing neither as it approaches its 100th birthday.

With the chance of any more spring freezes getting lower by the day, the typical home gardener is out looking for plants for when the summer temperatures start to rise. Annual flowering vinca is one that really brightens up our Mississippi summer landscapes.

Annual flowering vinca has attractive foliage and gorgeous flowers. The foliage is a glossy, dark green and has a prominent rib in the middle of the leaf. This coloration makes for a fantastic background to show off its purple, red, pink and white flowers.

JACKSON – Hay producers need warmer temperatures and drier ground to catch up with production this spring.

“Everything is shaping up to be late with all the wet, cool weather we’ve had,” said Charlie Bush, Mississippi State University Extension Service agent in Simpson County. Simpson was one of the counties where some fields flooded after most areas in central Mississippi received between three and 10 inches of rain between April 5 and 7.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Soybeans have been an important commodity in Mississippi for more than 50 years, but recent advances have pushed the crop’s value above $1 billion.

Mississippi soybeans had a value of $267 million in 2006, $1.27 billion in 2012 and $1.17 billion in 2013. Prices have been high for the past several years, but state producers put more effort into management and increased yields to a record average of 45 bushels an acre in 2012 and 2013.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service is offering white-tailed deer management workshops to give landowners and managers hands-on education on improving deer herds and hunting opportunities.

By Beth Poganski
MSU Extension Service

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi might not have been ranked the healthiest or the wealthiest state in 2013, but if there were a ranking for water resources, Mississippi would be near the top of the list.

Several factors place Mississippi in the very fortunate situation of having what much of the world does not: water.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service is tuning up its sewing machines as the requests for sewing classes stack up.

“Everything old is new again,” said Sylvia Clark, family and consumer sciences Extension associate. “There is a renewed interest in sewing, in making clothes and items for the home that reflect a personal sense of style and save money.”

Most schools in Mississippi, like those in many other states, no longer offer sewing classes.

JACKSON – Commercial fruit and vegetable growers can learn to produce strawberries for local markets during a one-time short course offered May 13 and 14 in Choctaw.

Experts from the Mississippi State University Extension Service, the Research and Extension Division of the University of Arkansas, and the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce will present information about crop production and marketing.

Strawberry expert Barclay Poling of North Carolina State University and strawberry grower Mel Ellis of Mayhew Tomato Farm in Columbus are featured speakers.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station recently honored several members of the Mississippi State University faculty, staff and student body for outstanding research, service and facility maintenance.

Fei Yu, a MAFES scientists and assistant professor in the MSU Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, received the 2014 Excellence in Research Award sponsored by Mississippi Land Bank. Yu also received the MAFES Grantsmanship Award for amassing more than $4.5 million in grants.

I’m ready for warm weather. I’ve had it with the cold winter that seemed much longer than it actually was. Bring on the summer garden.

In my opinion, there are a couple of plants that seem to just scream “SUMMER.” Zinnia is one of them.

One zinnia that is forgotten in some gardens is the family of Zinnia elegans, the cutting zinnia. Benary’s Giant zinnia is a must-have for any home gardener who wants long-lasting cut flowers all summer.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Eliminating ramshorn snails is a proven method of controlling a major catfish parasite, but producers must be constantly vigilant to keep a small problem from exploding into big trouble.

Digenetic trematodes, which are spread by ramshorn snails, can cause costly problems in Mississippi catfish ponds, including slow fish growth, susceptibility to diseases and fingerling death. This parasite is showing signs of reemerging as a significant problem, and it has spread from the Delta to east Mississippi ponds.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Markets for Mississippi’s sawtimber and pulpwood are bouncing back from the economic recession, but the industry is not improving across the board.

“Slowly but surely, markets for sawtimber are beginning to grow again after the sharp declines seen after the collapse of the U.S. housing market and the ensuing recession,” said James Henderson, associate Extension professor of forestry at Mississippi State University. “But the closing of the International Paper mill in Courtland, Ala. will have an impact on north Mississippi’s pulpwood markets.”

MEADVILLE – Genette Hunt and Sarah Harvill live their dream every day.

The two own and operate Sage Farms in Franklin County, a 140-acre cutting-edge beef cattle operation.

“Owning farmland is something we both always wanted to do,” said Hunt, who has owned cattle with longtime friend Harvill since 1987. “When I was a child, 6 or 7 years old at the most, I’d go with my mother around our farm, and I’d ask her how many cows we had and how much land we had. I’ve always been interested in it.”

WEST POINT -- Representatives of the 4-H Foundation of Mississippi touted a 63-acre multipurpose youth complex as a great example of community partnerships during a ribbon-cutting ceremony in West Point Thursday (April 10).

MACON -- East Mississippi catfish producers are invited to an April 30 workshop that will help them address a new challenge to their profit margins.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service is offering a short meeting on trematode infection in catfish. All industry professionals are encouraged to attend the Wednesday session from 1:30-2:30 p.m. at the Noxubee County Civic Center in Macon. Registration begins at 1 p.m.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – September and the opening of dove season are several months away, but planting food plots in spring allows plants to reach maturity before the dove hunting season begins.

Whether you’re planting dove plots for personal or business use, they need proper preparation.

“Doves really depend on a lot of foods that are in agricultural fields and in open meadow fields,” said Jeanne Jones, wildlife ecologist at Mississippi State University. “They are weak scratchers, so they need a certain amount of bare ground.”

BROOKLYN – Students at Forrest County Agricultural High School now have the resources of Mississippi State University at their fingertips.

The school entered a partnership with the MSU Extension Service this year that allows students, faculty and staff to attend Extension educational trainings through an interactive video system. Extension and school representatives and local and state officials marked the occasion with a ribbon cutting on April 8 at the high school.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi State University scientists have created a new software program to help foresters and landowners manage hardwood timber.

Emily Schultz and Tom Matney, forestry professors in the MSU Forest and Wildlife Research Center, developed the software and user’s guide based on 33 years of research.

The free software provides expected yields and future growth values for the red oak-sweetgum forest mixture that is widely distributed across Mississippi river bottoms.