News

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Staff members in Mississippi State’s Office of Agricultural Communications and Office of Public Affairs are bringing prestige to the university with two Grand Awards and other honors from the College Public Relations Association of Mississippi’s annual competition.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service will start rolling out tips Monday to help agritourism farms adapt when they face market losses as COVID-19 changed the way schools are operating and how group events are being held this year.

The traditional allergy season will soon start while the COVID-19 pandemic is still underway, likely leading some people to wonder if they are experiencing normal allergic reactions or symptoms of the novel virus.

Mississippi State University Extension professionals offer training and expertise annually at a research field day, and the event will happen in 2020, just differently.

In the late summer and into the fall, some of my favorite garden plants are the annual herbs.

On top of my list of annual herbs are basil and dill. These herbs are aromatic and really easy to grow. And have I said they’re delicious?

Qula Madkin recently joined the Mississippi State University Extension Service as a nutrition instructor.

Last week, I told you about culinary peppers that I like to grow and ultimately consume. This week, I want to share another way to use peppers in our second summer garden and landscape.

Mississippians are urged not to open or plant packets of unknown seeds that are appearing unsolicited in mailboxes, seemingly shipped from China. Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson urged state residents who receive the seeds to report them immediately. The Bureau of Plant Industry’s phone number is 662-325-3390.

The laid-back way of life in Mississippi has a downside when it leads to very low U.S. Census participation: Inaccurate population counts can cause the state to lose money, political representation and participation in beneficial programs.

Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson instructs anyone receiving packages of unsolicited seeds from China, or any foreign country, in recent days to immediately contact the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce’s Bureau of Plant Industry by phoning (662) 325-3390. Those receiving the seeds are instructed to hold onto the seeds and packaging, including the mailing label, until someone from MDAC’s Bureau of Plant Industry contacts you with further instructions. Do not plant seeds from unknown origins.

Parents can help children understand how to stay healthy at school amid the COVID-19 pandemic as they prepare for the start of the academic year.

It’s the end of July, and much of my vegetable garden is a distant memory due to the summer heat and humidity. But I’m always encouraged by the production I enjoy from my pepper plants.

I’m staying with the theme of second summer this week because I was out in my landscape early this morning taking care of a task that was hard to do but inevitable.

Cash flow challenges are the latest struggle for Mississippi catfish producers, as product sales to their biggest consumers -- restaurants -- are way down due to COVID-19.