News

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A bride who wants her wedding flowers to symbolize her personality and taste may want to work with a graduate of Mississippi State University’s floral management program.

Trendiness does not cut it with these professors, and weddings may never look the same again as more MSU graduates enter the workforce.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Different priorities, philosophies and background experiences are among the reasons many couples cross swords over family finances, but several options exist to help reduce some of this conflict.

Bobbie Shaffett, family resource management specialist with Mississippi State University’s Extension Service, said programs, newsletters and publications are available to help couples address finances in a healthy manner.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Marriage is all about new beginnings, and this beginning is the ideal time to take care of business related to the end.

A will is the legal document that specifies how a person’s assets and property are to be disbursed after death. A prenuptial agreement is a legal document that specifies the division of property and assets if a marriage is dissolved.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Setting up housekeeping is a huge task for newly married couples, and young people with limited experience on their own can benefit from gift items for the kitchen.

Pamela Redwine, nutrition and food safety area agent with the Mississippi State University Extension Service in Yalobusha County, said every kitchen needs tools, but keep the personality of the user in mind when buying gifts for the kitchen.

Numerous landscape plants have attractive foliage mixed with colorful berries, but few can match the brilliant luster of a holly.

The striking, dark green leaves of hollies provide a beautiful backdrop for their deep red and orange berries. Another reason these plants are so popular in the landscape is their ability to adapt to environmental conditions.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE –Although many pets and livestock grow heavy winter coats and have thick foot padding, they still need human protection when temperatures drop.

Animal specialists at Mississippi State University have tips that pet owners and livestock producers can follow to keep their animals healthy and comfortable in extremely cold weather.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippians have experience coping with extreme heat, but the opposite end of the thermometer is unfamiliar and equally dangerous territory for them.

Jane Clary, health specialist with Mississippi State University’s Extension Service, said health and safety concerns increase when weather conditions go to extremes. The first step in coping with the conditions is to prepare for them.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Neshoba and Lauderdale counties are participating in a pilot program aimed at turning the tide on poverty by recruiting community members to work together on unique solutions.

“Turning the Tide on Poverty” is an initiative of the Southern Rural Development Center that works in 13 Southern states and is headquartered at Mississippi State University. The initiative has identified sites in five of the region’s states for the pilot programs.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Four qualified 4-H'ers who want to learn more about Mississippi government will have the chance to be legislative pages for one week in March for the Mississippi Senate or House of Representatives.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service 4-H program and the Center for Governmental Training and Technology are sponsoring the opportunity for 4-H youth to serve in the Legislative Page Internship Program March 15-19. Program coordinators hope to select two male and two female 4-H’ers for the positions.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Mississippi, you are the best, and that makes it extra hard to tell you I have accepted an offer to become vice president for college advancement at Brewton-Parker College in Mount Vernon, Ga. 

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

As we ease into 2010 firmly in the grip of winter, it is fun to look at new plants heading our way, and new petunia colors and patterns will stretch our comfort zones.

A new Supertunia by the name of Pretty Much Picasso tops the list of unusual petunias coming this spring. I wasn’t quite sure how to describe its unique color, so I went to the Proven Winners Web site and saw they list the color as “various.” I suppose that’s correct.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Lately I’ve been writing a lot about indoor plants and thought it was time to switch to the outdoors. Then I got a better idea and decided to tell you about the fatsia japonica, a great plant that performs in both places.

The fatsia, also known as Japanese aralia, is one of the most-loved shade garden plants in the South. Large palmate leaves similar to a philodendron make the fatsia at home in the tropical garden.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Charitable gifts to Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine offer comfort and hope to those who cherish all kinds of animals.

Susan Kuykendall, an administrative assistant in the CVM’s clinical sciences department, oversees the Fund for CARE, which stands for Companion Animals Require Excellence. The fund was created several years ago to help fill in the gaps between state appropriations and needs at the veterinary college.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi agriculture has changed a great deal in the last 25 years, and the challenges of 2009 reminded many farmers that there is still much to learn.

To address the growing needs of the state’s farmers, the Mississippi State University Extension Service redesigned its 25-year-old annual cotton short course and offered a two-and-a-half day meeting dedicated to all state row crops instead. The expansion to other crops and the recent historic losses helped triple attendance numbers over recent years.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Hundreds of growers, crop consultants and scientists meet in Stoneville on Jan. 8 at the 53rd annual Tri-State Soybean Forum.

The event is sponsored by the Mississippi State University Extension Service, the Louisiana State University Ag Center, the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service and the United Soybean Board, among other supporters of the soybean industry.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A $400,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation is allowing the Mississippi State University Extension Service to expand the fitness and nutrition initiatives of an outreach program launched nearly three years ago.

The grant will be applied to activities within the Mississippi in Motion public campaign that promote nutrition and physical fitness. It also will provide a Web site link to Families, Food and Fitness eXtention, a healthy lifestyles program administered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Dairy producers in Mississippi and Louisiana can take advantage of a management conference designed to help them be more profitable in the industry.

The Mississippi-Louisiana Dairy Management Conference will be Jan. 14 at the Southwest Events Center in Tylertown. The 9 a.m. through 1 p.m. event is open to all dairy producers, dairy managers and dairy farm employees.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Poinsettias are terrific and cyclamen are beautiful seasonal plants, but if you want sizzling holiday color and a plant you can enjoy for years, then get yourself a kalanchoe.

This succulent plant has colors so vivid and foliage so tough it can grow in almost desert-like conditions -- yet be one of the best buys for your holiday decorating dollar.

MISSISSIPPI STATE –Agricultural economists are forecasting increases in government payments and in the value of only one of Mississippi’s 2009 crops -- hay.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE –The overall value of Mississippi’s 2009 timber harvest failed to reach $1 billion for the first time in 16 years, but unlike other crops, extreme weather was not the reason.

The estimated 2009 harvest value for timber is $817 million, down a steep 24 percent from 2008’s value of $1.08 billion. Blame one of the worst years ever for forestry and forest products on the dismal housing market.