News

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Those interested in learning to help people in their community cope with tough financial situations and become wise consumers should plan on attending a Mississippi State University videoconference on April 15.

The MSU Extension Service is offering Money Mentor Volunteers training from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. at Extension offices in Cleveland, Grenada, Magnolia, Raymond, Starkville and Verona. The training is free, and no prior experience is needed to participate.

St. Patrick’s Day triggers increased interest in bringing home from the garden center a three-leafed shamrock. In addition to the traditional green, more and more varieties are showing up with gorgeous purple to almost black foliage.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi’s 3.7 million acres of cropland were in good shape by late winter despite high snow geese numbers in the Delta and heavy March rains.

Darrin Dodds, cotton specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said cotton fields were generally in good condition.

“A favorable harvest season in 2010 allowed many growers to complete fall operations in a timely manner and prepare the land for the 2011 growing season,” Dodds said. “Although some weed species are proving tough to control, fields are generally in good shape.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi’s 4-H program has seen many changes in more than a century of activities, but youth maintain their interest in a tried-and-true project: horses.

“Enrollment in horse projects comes in cycles, especially in the last 20 years or so with the explosion of activities available for youth, including other 4-H programs,” said Gina Wills, Union County 4-H youth agent. “We have a lot of former 4-H members returning with their children now. Horse and livestock projects always have been popular family activities.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Youth with an interest in animals and veterinary medicine can take advantage of a camp offered by Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

MSU Veterinary Camp will provide a hands-on experience to youth ages 13 to 15. Campers will participate in interactive labs and learn about veterinary medicine from CVM instructors.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – This year’s Mississippi Homemaker Volunteers State Council conference will provide attendees with four days of hands-on workshops and educational events.

The May 15-19 “MHV Celebrates MSU” conference will be held at Mississippi State University’s main campus. Registration is $20 for the four-day event. Housing in Griffis Residence Hall is available for an additional fee. The conference is not only open to MHV volunteers but also to the general public.

PICAYUNE – Music lovers are invited to welcome spring with bluegrass, country, blues, and gospel performances in the Crosby Arboretum’s scenic outdoor setting.

Mississippi State University’s Crosby Arboretum in Picayune will host a three-part spring 2011 music series. The lineup is as follows:

Some of the prettiest flowers you can grow in the garden or in containers are African daisies, and these beauties are starting to arrive at garden centers.

Known botanically as Osteospermum, African daisies are outstanding flowering plants. These plants are from South Africa and are relatively new to many home gardeners. African daisies have the familiar center disk of the daisy family, but theirs are dark metallic. The brightly colored petals come in various shades of white, pink, yellow, blue and purple.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – When Mississippians spot a bug they can’t identify, a laboratory at Mississippi State University can help, as long as the insect is in reasonably good condition.

Blake Layton, MSU Extension Service entomologist, said insect identification is a free service offered at MSU’s Extension Insect Identification Laboratory since 2004. Samples can be mailed in, hand-delivered or in some cases, photographed and e-mailed in for identification. Along with the identification, the lab provides information on how to control the insect.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – When Mississippi State University’s Pre-Veterinary Club hosts the 2011 American Pre-Veterinary Medical Association’s Symposium, they will be showcasing the college and Southern hospitality to students from around the world.

The theme for the March 11-13 event at MSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine is “Open Minds, Open Hearts, Open Hands.” More than 500 students and advisors are expected to attend from across the United States and as far away as Canada, Australia, England and the Caribbean islands.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Pet owners in Mississippi and surrounding states can turn to Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine when their four-legged loved ones develop neurological problems.

Medical and surgical conditions that involve the brain or nervous system can be a challenge to diagnose and treat, especially when they affect patients who cannot talk. Veterinarians needing consultations on particularly difficult cases frequently turn to MSU’s veterinary college, which now has access to the best diagnostic equipment available in human medicine.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Many Mississippians love exploring their family’s past, and an upcoming statewide interactive video conference will bring experts on genealogical topics to county Extension offices.

Participants will be able to come and go throughout the three-hour Genealogy Fair that begins at noon on March 25. Three topics will be addressed during the conference.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Those interested in learning about new technology that can improve farm management and operations should plan on attending Mississippi State University Extension Service’s Precision Agriculture Workshop.

The free workshop will be held on March 11 at the Forrest County Extension Conference Center in Hattiesburg. The workshop starts at 8:30 a.m. and wraps up with a free lunch at 12:30 p.m.

HATTIESBURG -- Mississippi State University will auction about 20 horses and one pony to raise money to support MSU’s equine research program.

This is the first year for the sale to be held off campus. The March 12 sale will begin at 1 p.m. at the T. Smith Livestock Co. at 122 T. Smith Road in Hattiesburg. Buyers can begin viewing the horses at 11 a.m.

Several years ago, a group of hybrid impatiens was developed, offering bright flowers and interesting foliage in the hot summer sun. Sunpatiens’ superior performance in the landscape earned them the status of Mississippi Medallion winner for 2011.

(top) Compact lilac Sunpatiens are great in flowering combination containers. These outstanding, tight-branching plants require little pruning.

(bottom) Sunpatiens are hybrid impatiens that thrive through the hottest parts of summer. They flower from spring until fall’s first frosts. (Photos by Gary Bachman)

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture at Mississippi State University is holding the first-ever all-girls Discovery Day on campus to introduce female high school students to careers in wildlife and fisheries.

Discovery Day will take place on April 8 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is free for 24 students in the ninth through 11th grades. Participants will learn skills including GPS orienteering, water sampling and wildlife identification.

VERONA – Almost 300 producers of row crops, livestock and other agricultural products met at the North Mississippi Research and Extension Center in Verona to discuss services they need from Mississippi State University.

The Feb. 17 event helps give programming and research direction to the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and the Extension Service.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Two Mississippi State University patents on kenaf have been licensed to Texas-based Corn Board Manufacturing, Inc. for use in engineered pressed board.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – When Paula Threadgill became leader of Family and Consumer Sciences for the Mississippi State University Extension Service, she decided to tackle the state’s obesity problem.

Threadgill was named state leader of the Extension Service arm of Family and Consumer Sciences, or FCS, on Jan. 1. She had been filling the role on an interim basis since April 2010. She is also an Extension professor.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A March 8-9 summit will provide those in the furniture manufacturing business with the tools needed to succeed.

Furniture and bedding sales rose nearly three percent from 2009 to 2010, and manufacturing has expanded for the past 18 consecutive months. It is becoming increasingly important for industry members to learn how to keep up with the rapid growth and demand.

The summit begins with a reception at 6 p.m. March 8 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Starkville. Registration will be at 8:30 a.m. on March 9 Mississippi State University’s Franklin Center.