News

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Farmers have to grow two crops just to make one sweet potato harvest, making this delectable vegetable a labor-intensive, high-cost crop to produce.

As of late March, Mississippi sweet potato producers had finished bedding the crop, which means they had planted the seed stock that will produce transplants, or slips. These slips will be planted in May and June to produce the sweet potatoes that end up on tables.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – The horticulture club at Mississippi State University will offer garden enthusiasts a wide variety of plants and educational seminars at their annual spring plant sale.

This year’s sale will take place Friday, April 15 from 9 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, April 16 from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. in the campus greenhouses behind Dorman Hall on MSU’s main campus. The event is free and open to the public.

A wide variety of plants will be available such as summer annuals, perennials, herbs, vegetables and ferns.

If you’ve been reading this column and thinking I have a lot of favorite plants, you’re right. If you ask me for my favorites, my answer will depend on the season; some plants are more suitable than others at certain times of the year.

The new selections coming out each year make it even more difficult to have an absolute favorite flowering garden plant. But if there is one plant I have been the most impressed with over the last couple of years, it has to be Million Bells.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- With the excitement of drivers at a NASCAR start, farmers are ready to begin the 2011 growing season.

The first fields out of the starting gate are corn fields.

Erick Larson, small grains specialist with Mississippi State University’s Extension Service, said growers were approaching the halfway point in planting this year’s corn crop by the end of March. They should complete planting by the end of April.

By Kaitlyn Byrne
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – This year’s Bulldog Classic American Quarter Horse Association Show brought in a larger crowd than in previous years while continuing a tradition that has lasted more than 50 years.

The Bulldog Classic AQHA show is sponsored by Mississippi State University and held at the Mississippi Horse Park in Starkville. It is the oldest quarter horse show in Mississippi. Mary Hopkins, a rancher and horseback riding instructor in Vicksburg, played an instrumental role in starting the show in the early 1960s.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Everyone agrees on the importance of reading skills, but many people neglect their own financial literacy.

Susan Cosgrove is a family resource management agent with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. She is also president of Mississippi’s Jump$tart Coalition, a national nonprofit organization that promotes financial literacy.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – When JoVonn Hill stepped out of his vehicle in a cedar glade near Nashville, the first insect that crossed his path was a grasshopper never before identified.

Hill, a Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station research associate, was participating in a July 2009 expedition to catalog the insect life in the unique glades of the Cedars of Lebanon State Park in Tennessee.

Early spring is a wonderful time, as the garden and landscape start to wake from the winter season. One of the many wonderful spring flowering plants is the Lenten rose, an old favorite that you may not often see.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A drier-than-normal winter has put this year’s winter wheat crop in good shape as it heads into the heavy growth stages of spring.

Erick Larson, grain agronomist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said the state has about 300,000 acres of wheat. This figure is up from the meager 125,000 acres harvested in 2010, but down from the recent high of 520,000 acres planted in 2008.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A new Mississippi State University Extension Service program will connect Mississippi families to important educational resources.

MSU Extension Service was recently awarded funding from the Appalachian Regional Commission to launch Project Navigator. The project is designed to provide better access to family resources and decrease the rates of child abuse and infant mortality through parent education programming and community service.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Students interested in the diverse world of natural resources, science and conservation can take advantage of four camps offered this summer by Mississippi State University.

The Natural Resources Summer Camp will be held June 5-9 at MSU. The $190 fee covers lodging, meals and all activities. Campers will spend time on campus, at Dorman and Choctaw lakes and the Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge. This camp is open to those entering ninth grade or older or who have recently graduated from high school.

Don’t forget flowering annual vines this spring when you look for bedding plants at your favorite local garden center. These plants add interest and color as they spread across fences and arbors.

Annual vines are fascinating, as they complete their entire life cycle right before your eyes. In just one season, the seeds germinate, the plants grow and flower, and they set seed for the next generation before they die. This is a lot of living packed into one short season.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi women involved in agriculture are invited to share ideas and develop new ways to make their businesses more profitable at an upcoming conference at Mississippi State University.

The 2011 Mississippi Women for Agriculture conference will be held April 12-14 at the Bost Extension Center on the MSU campus. The conference registration fee is $50, and attendees will have the option to choose either an annual or lifetime membership.

HOUSTON – A comprehensive April 23 seminar will give horse owners the opportunity to learn about issues related to their animals’ health.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service and the Chickasaw County Agricenter are sponsoring “Hooves, Manes and Tails: Equine Seminars and Exhibits” at the county agricenter near Houston. The event will begin at 8:30 a.m. and conclude around 3 p.m.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Educators and community volunteers interested in helping young adults learn to manage their finances are invited to attend a free financial training workshop offered by the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

The first Financial Education for High School Classrooms workshop will be held April 8 from 8:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. in Extension offices in Cleveland, Corinth, Grenada, Hattiesburg, Magnolia, Raymond and Starkville. Additional workshops will be held June 16, July 14 and Oct. 7 at various Extension offices throughout the state.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Hard work and a commitment to quality resulted in a Crawford child-care center becoming one of the most highly-rated programs in the area.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Livestock producers with an interest in cool-season forages can learn about ongoing Mississippi State University research on this topic at an evening tour April 5.

The Cool-Season Forage Tour will begin at 5 p.m. at the Henry H. Leveck Animal Research Farm, the forage unit at MSU’s South Farm in Starkville. The event is free, but early registration is encouraged as a meal will be served.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – The climate of Mississippi and the Gulf South region presents challenges for wood preservation, making water repellents and the environment top considerations.

David Jones, assistant Extension professor in Mississippi State University’s forest products department, said wood treatments can lengthen the performance of timber by decades.

By Kaitlyn Byrne
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A Hinds County 4-H program was recently recognized for its commitment to helping youth get involved in agriculture and healthy living initiatives.

The Barnyard Crew 4-H club was selected to be one of the 2011 Mississippi KIDS COUNT Showcase of Success exhibitors at this year’s KIDS COUNT Summit. They were chosen because of their sustainable agriculture program, which teaches youth about agriculture and health.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – As local gas prices keep rising, many Mississippians are struggling to find the money to keep both the car and the family budget running smoothly.

According to the tracking service Mississippigasprices.com, fuel cost between $3.32 and $3.55 a gallon as of March 16, with a state average of $3.45 a gallon. Gas prices just three months ago were about $2.81 a gallon.