News

By Rebekah Ray
Delta Research and Extension Center

STONEVILLE – A serious disease is threatening some species of freshwater fish, and although it has not been found in Mississippi, it is a concern for catfish producers when they want to move live catfish across state lines.

WIGGINS – Two brothers in the logging business for more than 11 years have proven that high production and multiple crews in the woods are not a prerequisite for standing out among one’s peers.

The Mississippi Forestry Association recently named Terry and Jim Ed Owen of Wiggins as the group’s “Outstanding Logger of the Year” for 2009. The brothers grew up learning the logging business from their father, who ran a successful operation. They decided to branch out on their own in 1998.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Quality horses and beef cattle will move through the auction ring in two separate November sales as Mississippi State University plans to market 92 lots of cattle and about 40 horses from research herds.

The Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and MSU’s Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences will host the 27th annual Livestock Production Sale of bulls, bred heifers and cows on Nov. 19. The university’s horse sale will follow on Nov. 21.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A three-day short course in December will provide information to Mississippi cotton, soybean and corn producers working to be successful in challenging years.

Registration for the Dec. 7-9 Row Crop Short Course is free until Nov. 20, and $40 a person after that. The event is hosted by Mississippi State University’s Extension Service and will be held on campus in the Bost Extension Center.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Most local garden centers are loaded with fresh bedding plants to give you months of cool-season color and splendor. Pansies, violas, snapdragons, dianthus, flowering kale, cabbage and a host of others are waiting for you to give them a home in your gardens.

Pansies, of course, are the favorites, and rightfully so. You’ll likely be buying 4- to 6-inch transplants that will offer bloom and performance until the high heat of late spring or early summer takes them out.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Near-constant rains during harvest-time cost Mississippi farmers an estimated $371 million in losses, and producers with crop insurance may be the only ones able to salvage much more from the fields this year.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Temple Grandin, an animal scientist from Colorado State University, thinks in pictures, a characteristic that gives her valuable insight in how to handle animals.

Grandin is a best-selling author and a world-renowned speaker. She also has autism. Grandin was the keynote speaker at CVM’s Human-Animal Bond lecture series in late October. She has been instrumental in developing welfare guidelines for handling and transporting livestock and is a past member of the board of directors of the Autism Society of America.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

In my region, the southern wax myrtle reigns supreme. When I say “my region,” you might think I mean the Deep South, but actually it stretches from Texas to the East Coast and as far north as New Jersey. You could not ask for a better small tree to act as a privacy screen around a porch, patio, deck, or garden bath or to soften harsh walls. Coastal residents are always looking for plants tolerant of salt spray, and wax myrtles are among the best.

By Karen Templeton
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – As Mississippi’s sweet potato industry continues to grow, researchers at Mississippi State University are developing even more innovative and effective strategies for growers.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A very wet September and October left most of the state’s soil saturated, as many places have had gotten rain in almost statistically impossible quantities.

Charles Wax, state climatologist and professor of geosciences at Mississippi State University, said February and May were unusually wet across much of the state, and the summer had few periods of dry weather. This caused many areas to have above-normal yearly rainfall totals when fall arrived. Then starting in September, rainfall began accumulating rapidly.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – The arts, history and music of the past will be celebrated at the seventh annual Piney Woods Festival at Mississippi State University’s Crosby Arboretum in Picayune.

The festival will provide an opportunity for attendees to have fun while learning about the early days of the Piney Woods region.

“The arboretum provides the perfect setting for learning about arts and heritage crafts,” said Patricia Drackett, the arboretum’s senior curator. “We want to preserve those arts by providing a fun and interactive event.”

MISSISIPPI STATE – People wanting to learn how to develop forest habitats, wildlife areas, streams, lakes and other natural settings into income generators can attend an outdoor recreational business workshop Nov. 10 at Legion State Park in Louisville.

The one-day workshop will give attendees information to start and manage a natural resource enterprise. The morning session will begin at 8:30 with topics on revenue potential from different types of enterprises, landowner cost-share programs, liability and legal considerations.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Remodelers should follow lead-safe practices that will be taught at sessions around the state in November and December.

Mississippi State University’s Extension Service will offer several Renovation, Repair and Painting Certification Training sessions in full-day courses and half-day refresher courses. The full-day courses are $150, and half-day courses are $85. The sessions are being presented by the Alliance for Healthy Homes and funded in part by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi cut flower growers who want to reach new markets by improving their business savvy can attend a regional short course Nov. 17-18 in Memphis.

The event will be at the Hilton Memphis at 939 Ridge Lake Blvd. The $85 preregistration for two days is due Nov. 10, and onsite registration is $125. The cost for a single day is $70, either by preregistration or onsite enrollment.  

By Karen Templeton
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Heavy rains in Mississippi and nationwide have decreased the number of pumpkins available for harvest, but not the quality of the pumpkins already pulled from the fields.

Pumpkins are popular in the fall for decorating and baking, but they are not a major crop for Mississippi, which only has a few commercial growers.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A 350-acre area of deep ravines and bluff ridges in Webster County is being preserved to protect its plant and animal diversity that resembles that of the Appalachian Mountains.

The Appalachian Mountains stretch from Alabama to Canada with foothills in northeastern Mississippi. Some 100 miles from these foothills is an area in central Mississippi known as Old Cove. The land is owned by Weyerhaeuser Co. and is home to mature hardwoods, rock outcroppings, reptiles, amphibians and many plant species.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Two years of hard work and commitment to reactivate Mississippi State University’s 4-H chapter paid off when the Southern Region Collegiate 4-H selected the club to host its 2009 annual conference.

Representatives of collegiate 4-H clubs from 13 states will take part in workshops and participate in several service projects.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine is preparing to host a nationally known animal scientist who frequently addresses parents and teachers about her life with autism.

Temple Grandin, a professor of animal science at Colorado State University, will speak Tuesday as part of the second annual Human-Animal Bond Lecture Series Oct. 19-23. It will celebrate the unique interdependence between people and animals -- companion, production, lab animal and wildlife. The series is sponsored by Nestle Purina PetCare Co.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Inconsistencies in soybean grading last year led the state’s soybean industry to take steps to educate producers and grain elevator staff on how to determine the kind and amount of damage soybeans have.

Industry supporters developed the Mississippi Soybean Producer’s Field Guide to Soybean Damage as a handy, pocket reference for producers. They also held four grading clinics where they gave grain elevator operators a half-day refresher course in soybean grading.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

As I was touring the landscape of an Southeastern college, I noticed that everywhere I looked was a native dogwood. I couldn’t help but think to myself, “This dogwood is for the birds.”

My thought was not too far off because this small tree feeds 28 species of birds, including quails and turkeys. Deer and squirrels also love the fruit, making this tree an all-star for those wanting a backyard wildlife habitat.