News

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- When planting wildlife food plots, which is better: annuals or perennials? Ideally, you should have different plots designated for both cool- and warm-season annuals, as well as perennials.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Part of understanding any emerging technology is clearing up common misunderstandings about it.

About a year ago, the Mississippi State University Extension Service began developing a new program known as Unmanned Aircraft Systems for Decision Agriculture and Environmental Management. The program is designed to educate anyone who might use unmanned aircraft systems, or UAS, professionally or recreationally.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Professional turfgrass managers can learn about innovations in turfgrass and landscape management strategy during the 2016 Turfgrass Research Field Day Aug. 23.

By Michaela Parker
MSU Extension Service

By Michaela Parker
MSU Extension Service

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- With only one doctor available in her hometown of Durant, Jhade Jordan understands the importance of practicing medicine in rural areas.  

Jordan is a member of the class of 2016 Rural Medical Scholars program. High school seniors from across Mississippi spent June on the Mississippi State University campus to learn more about becoming a family medicine physician. Through this program, supported by the MSU Extension Service, she learned what it means to be a doctor.

RAYMOND, Miss. -- New regulations passed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will continue to help cattle producers and veterinarians protect the health of animals and humans.

The amended rules will require all cattle producers to obtain a veterinary feed directive, or VFD, from a licensed veterinarian to use feeds that contain medications. Antimicrobials used in drinking water also require this veterinary prescription.

Gardeners are always looking for landscape plants that provide interest, and they primarily concentrate on the colorful flowers. But in my experience, even the most floriferous garden plant will need some help to maintain garden beauty.

This is where foliage plants come to save the day, and coleus is usually the first choice. But Artemisia is an alternative landscape plant that doesn’t get enough attention.

ROLLING FORK, Miss. -- Mindy Rutherford devotes her days to the family’s expanding Rolling Fork farm.

A former teacher, she left the classroom 11 years ago to focus full time on the row crop farm’s administrative duties and to help manage the first beef cattle herd she and her husband, Bill, bought. They are continuing a legacy begun by Bill Rutherford’s father in 1971.

“I always heard that if you are passionate about what you do, you never work a day in your life. It’s true, and that’s how I feel about the farm,” Mindy Rutherford said.

RAYMOND, Miss. -- Outdoor activities in the spring and summer increase the risk of exposure to poison ivy, but the plants’ danger does not disappear when frost arrives.

Thriving on Mississippi’s hot, humid climate, poison ivy is very common across the state and causes discomfort for 80 to 85 percent of the population. The additional bad news is that allergic reactions from exposure to any part of the plants, including roots, also can occur during the winter from dormant plants.

STONEVILLE, Miss. -- As demand for catfish remains high, the only components of its production trending down this year in Mississippi are pond acreage and the price of feed.

Producers are receiving an average of $1.12 to $1.21 per pound of catfish and paying less than $380 for a ton of feed. To Jimmy Avery, Extension aquaculture professor at the Mississippi State University Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville, those data are good news for the bottom line.

ABERDEEN, Miss. -- Mississippi’s tree farmer of the year is now a regional finalist for the national version of the same award.

Bobby Watkins manages Coontail Farm, a 240-acre loblolly pine plot in Aberdeen used for timber production. The area also has a wildlife-friendly habitat for hunting and fishing.

OXFORD, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service invites producers to an agritourism marketing workshop scheduled for July 21 and 22 at the Graduate Hotel in Oxford.

Growing Your Brand: Marketing Tools for Mississippi Agritourism and Local Foods will feature workshops on the importance of agritourism in educating the public about state agriculture and offer emerging strategies professionals can use to increase visitor traffic and grow their businesses.

BILOXI, Miss. -- Wild-caught shrimp contribute millions of dollars to Mississippi’s economy each year, and experts say better flavor gives them a competitive advantage over imported and pond-raised shrimp.

Dave Burrage, Mississippi State University Extension Service fisheries specialist, said consumers who participate in blind taste tests tend to prefer the taste of wild-caught Gulf shrimp over that of pond-raised, imported products.

POPLARVILLE, Miss. – A rare tropical plant drew a steady stream of fascinated onlookers to a Mississippi State University research station as it bloomed for the first time on June 30.

The 9-year-old titan arum was nicknamed “Spike” by the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station researchers who care for it. Known scientifically as Amorphophallus titanum, Spike likely will not bloom again for several years.

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Evidence that people are watching too many zombie shows or movies can be found in the concerns and questions pond owners have for biologists.

Lately, I’ve been telling you about some of my favorite go-to plants for Mississippi gardens. The canna lily is another easy landscape plant that I think everyone should have in his or her garden.

Cannas are valued for their large tropical foliage and showy, brilliantly colored flowers.

RAYMOND, Miss. -- An increase in housing starts in 2015 strengthened Mississippi’s timber industry, and stronger demand for sawtimber products used in construction are helping give the industry a boost this year.

James Henderson, an associate professor of forestry with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said timber ended the year with a total estimated harvest value of almost $1.67 billion.

JACKSON, Miss. -- An organization ready to harvest and distribute quality food to the hungry always looks for new farms to glean and more hands to help with the work.

The Mississippi Gleaning Network exists to link agricultural endeavors with organizations that distribute food to the needy. It is operated under the Society of St. Andrew, a Christian nonprofit, nationwide organization that supplies the volunteer labor.

Gleaning is an ancient practice in which workers are allowed into a harvested field to gather for themselves the food that is left over.

BEIJING, China -- Expanding Mississippi agriculture requires getting to know potential markets, and a group of Mississippi State University Extension agents is seeing one of the largest in the world firsthand.

BATESVILLE, Miss. -- Farmers can learn about financial management and a new produce safety program during the upcoming Alliance for Sustainable Agricultural Production field day July 15.

The on-farm field day will be at the Cotton Warehouse Farmers Market, located at 550 Highway 6 West in Batesville. Start 2 Finish Community Farms’ Happy Foods Project is co-hosting the event.