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MISSISSIPPI STATE -- To let the groom know he is more than a well-dressed escort at his bride's wedding, give him nontraditional wedding gifts that let him share the engagement spotlight.

The bride's schedule in the weeks before the wedding tends to be a hectic rush from one shower to the next -- most of which are for women only. While the groom also will benefit from the generosity of these friends and family, he may enjoy some gifts clearly selected with him in mind.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Honeymoons can be as simple as putting gas in the car and renting a hotel room, but when the trip is more elaborate, travel agents can become a couple's best friend.

Beverly Howell, extension family economics and management specialist at Mississippi State University, said professionals can help choose honeymoons that fit personal tastes and budgets.

"For a wedding trip to be meaningful and enjoyable, it doesn't have to be to an exciting place," Howell said. "There are other options people can use depending on their interests."

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The large, tulip-shaped, purple, pink and white flowers of the Japanese magnolia will open soon in neighborhoods all across our state, making you wish you had planted one or two. One of Napoleon's retired soldiers is credited with making the cross.

These huge-flowers produced in late winter and early spring are a sight long remembered. The past few years they have been exceptional in bloom. It won't be long until they start to show up at garden centers.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Many Mississippi gardeners are big on container gardening during the spring, summer and even fall, but once cold weather hits, the pots start to look kind of dismal. Take heart gardeners, we still can brighten up those cold dreary porches, patios and decks.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

After all of these years, I admit to still being hooked on David Austin English roses. Winter is a great time of the year for rose suppliers to try to capture your attention and dollars with pretty pictures.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

This is the time of the year when variegated plants really start-to-shine in the landscape. Some gardeners consider plants with leaf variegation gaudy or unattractive, but even the much maligned golden Euonymous, when placed against dark evergreens, is like a lantern in the forest. I believe the Euonymous may be a forgotten plant for the Southern landscape.

By Linda Breazeale

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Agricultural economists predict that miracles still happen. Despite a costly drought in 2000, they expect Mississippi's farm value to hold near the $5 billion level.

Charlie Forrest, agricultural economist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service, said some slightly better market prices and increased acres are helping offset the statewide economic effects of the drought. Some estimates show the impact of the drought on the state's agricultural economy to be around $311 million in lost revenue and added costs.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The state's poultry industry lost value in 2000 but easily held onto their ranking as the state's top agricultural commodity.

Mississippi's poultry industry is expected to have a value of $1.45 billion in 2000. This value is down about 2 percent from 1999 and down from a high in 1998 of $1.54 billion. Production is estimated at 1.58 billion eggs and 706 million broilers weighing 3.5 billion pounds in 2000.

By Crystel Bailey

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Hot and dry conditions made it tough for Mississippi cotton farmers in 2000 even though they managed to increase cotton acreage.

Mississippi's cotton's estimated value in 2000 was $518 million, which was up from $441 million in 1999. This makes cotton the state's No. 3 crop. Mississippi farmers planted 1.36 million acres of cotton in 2000, and harvested 1.28 million acres. Yields averaged 649 pounds per acre, compared to 708 pounds per acre in 1999.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The drought of 2000 hit Mississippi's farmers hard, with conservative estimates exceeding $300 million in lost revenues and increased production costs.

Charlie Forrest, agricultural economist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service, said many of the actual losses are near impossible to calculate. The hardest hit commodities were cotton, soybeans, cattle and forestry.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- More than $12 million in federal support provided by Congress through the Agriculture Appropriations Act will fund Mississippi State University projects in agriculture, forestry and rural health in 2001.

Sen. Thad Cochran heads the ag appropriations committee responsible for dividing the money among worthy projects. This year's ag appropriations is funding a variety of projects in the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and MSU's Extension Service and the Forest and Wildlife Research Center.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi's timber industry took another hit in 2000 as prices and harvests continued to decline, giving the industry a lower value than last year.

Mississippi's timber harvest is estimated at $1.26 billion, a 1.3 percent decline from 1999. This value makes forestry the state's No. 2 crop in market value, behind poultry.

"This is the second small decline in timber harvest value since we set an all-time record high in 1998 of $1.36 billion," said Bob Daniels, forestry specialist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service.

By Crystel Bailey

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- People would never send their family members out into the cold without a source of warmth and nourishment, and neglecting to provide for pets can be just as heartless.

"Animals need shelter from temperatures or wind chills below freezing.

By Bonnie Coblentz

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Owners of dogs that escape every chance they get don't have to feel like they're at the end of their rope.

Some dogs are content to live a lifetime within the confines of their yard with very little restraint. Others get the wandering bug, and dig, climb or jump fences, and break out to explore their world. Some stay close by while others roam for miles. This roaming risks their health and life, and often contributes to unwanted puppies.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi plants that survived the 100-plus temperatures last summer have new challenges arriving with winter's extremely cold days and nights.

Norman Winter, horticulture specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said most of the cold temperatures have been somewhat typical for the state and not as threatening for landscape plants.

By Crystel Bailey

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Poultry production can decrease the water quality in places where people like to swim and fish, but agricultural specialists are taking steps to manage this problem in Mississippi.

Poultry, Mississippi's No. 1 agricultural product, produces a massive amount of manure, or litter. To use this by-product, producers distribute the litter as phosphorous-rich fertilizer on pastures and forage crops. Excess phosphorous can move into the soil and eventually find its way into surface water.

By Chantel Lott

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Partygoers who tend to overindulge in the holiday spirits may need to learn the fine art of dawdling to decrease the effect of alcohol on their system.

Dawdling is characterized by mixing with other guests and friends, and maybe having a dance before heading to the bar at holiday festivities.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

A sugar high may not be ideal in children, but our trees certainly have rewarded us this fall from the extra sugar in their systems. Mississippi trees are on a high from trapped sugar and are giving the prettiest color most of us can remember.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Long ago they were called Flores de Noche Buena (Flowers of the Holy Night), but today we know poinsettias as the most popular Christmas plants. Christmas is loaded with legends and stories like the Little Drummer Boy and the origin of the poinsettia.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi State University hasn't entered the poultry business, but it does have a new, state-of-the-art, working broiler facility for research purposes.

The 43-by-400 foot broiler house on the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station's South Farm took in its first chicks in mid-October. The climate-controlled facility is operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agriculture Research Service at MSU.