News

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The air was so hot and muggy that I could hardly breathe, and trying to look dapper, I found myself glistening (sweating) profusely. But there they were Dancing Girls performing to the utmost in a climate that seems so extreme this summer.

JACKSON -- Mississippi will entertain about 1,500 county agents and their families from across the nation in early August as it hosts the 85th annual National Association of County Agricultural Agents Professional Improvement Conference in Jackson.

The event is scheduled for Aug. 6 to 10 and will be headquartered at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. A day of tours will take the group across Mississippi to see cultural attractions, as well as agricultural and manufacturing industries in the state.

MEMPHIS -- Mississippi State University co-hosted a conference in late July that plans to brighten the outlook for agriculture in the Midsouth.

About 175 agricultural leaders from Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas and Louisiana gathered in Memphis to study the current situation and look ahead to what the future of agriculture may hold. Farmers, lenders and suppliers were joined by Extension Service professionals, agriculture specialists and researchers.

By Crystel Bailey

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Recent college graduates must compete for jobs, but a new program may ease job-searching for those interested in a career in furniture management.

"Professionals in furniture industries in Mississippi and North Carolina realized that the management level was filled by older employees. They wanted to attract younger business people to the furniture industry by providing a program of study at the college level," said Teressa Hooper, coordinator for the Furniture Management Program at Mississippi State University.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Insects and weather are usually willing accomplices in their attempt to rob cotton growers of maximum yields, but most pests this year have left the weather to do the bulk of the dirty work.

Blake Layton, cotton entomologist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service, said insect damage has been sporadic across the state but generally lighter than normal.

By Crystel Bailey

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Health officials expect more people to survive a heart attack when changes are made to simplify cardiopulmonary resuscitation by inexperienced bystanders.

"Since most cardiac arrests take place in the home, a trained CPR provider is not usually available. For this reason, most victims in need of CPR do not receive immediate help," said Linda Patterson, a registered nurse and health education specialist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service.

By Norman WinterMSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The Brazilian Plume Flower had been grown for years in the coastal counties of the South, but it was sold only sparingly above Hattiesburg. At long last some more serious quantities have started showing up in area garden centers further north. All I can say is a resounding "Hallelujah!"

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi State University is researching ways to make a new cultivation practice used by many Mississippi rice farmers more profitable.

About 50 percent of Mississippi's rice acreage is farmed using precision leveling and straight levees as farmers have moved away from the traditional levees that curve to follow the natural contour of the land. These new rice paddies follow a constant slope of the land, with straight levees cutting through the land at right angles to the slope of the field.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Two relatively dry years are enabling loggers to reach less accessible trees, creating an oversupply of timber during a season that traditionally has sluggish markets.

"The extended dry weather is compounding the problem with prices, especially pulpwood," said Bob Daniels, forestry specialist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service. "Pulp mills are only buying the wood needed immediately, so inventories back up in the woods."

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Veterinary college tends to produce clinical practitioners despite the graduates' ideal preparation as researchers, a national problem Mississippi State University's College of Veterinary Medicine is hoping to address through a summer research program.

Dr. Jerald Ainsworth is director of the Summer Research Experience for Veterinary Students at MSU's College of Veterinary Medicine. He said veterinarians' broad scientific background in anatomy and physiology and multiple animal species prepares them well for careers in research.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Heat is an enemy of dairy milk production, and Mississippi's heat and humidity combine to significantly cut production during the summer.

When outside temperatures reach 75 to 80 degrees, dairy cattle experience mild heat stress. At 90 degrees and higher, they experience severe heat stress. During heat stress, a cow's normal body temperature of 101.5 degrees can reach 105 to 106 degrees.

By Crystel Bailey

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippians enjoy telling about close encounters with most wildlife species, but snakes are usually a different story.

Summertime activities place people outdoors during a time when snakes are more active. Awareness of potential snake habitats and cleaning up those areas may be the best bets for avoiding an unwanted encounter.

"Snakes are seen more frequently when mating, in spring, early summer months and then fall," said Dean Stewart, wildlife specialist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

At this time of the year when you start to pay attention to those plants that thrive with little care, there is a verbena that stands head above all other verbenas in more ways than one. The verbena I am referring to is verbena bonariensis.

The botanical name comes from its discovery in Buenos Aires, Argentina. However, it is known commonly as the Brazilian verbena, which further indicates that it is from South America.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Daffodils, tulips and daylilies are some of our most common flowers from bulbs, but this year there has been a blue flower called the agapanthus that has really put on a show from the coastal counties to North Mississippi.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Congressman Roger Wicker brought a 10-member delegation of Russian Duma members and staff to Mississippi State University this summer as part of their trip to the United States to see democracy in action.

The delegation spent the day on campus visiting the College of Veterinary Medicine and the Engineering Research Center and meeting senior MSU officials. They also learned how the land- grant system generates research and passes that information on to the people of the state.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Two faculty members from Mississippi State University's College of Veterinary Medicine witnessed first-hand the uphill struggle educators and agricultural trade associations face following decades of communism and in the aftermath of government instability in Albania.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- What little rice was planted on Mississippi farms this spring is looking good at the halfway point in the growing season.

According to the Mississippi Agricultural Statistics Service, state farmers planted about 20 percent fewer rice acres, dropping the state total to about 260,000 acres, down from 323,000 acres harvested in 1999. Some rice experts expect that number to drop even further. Prices which were a low $5.25 in 1999 are even lower this year.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Teachers and politicians alike preach the value of computers for every student, but is access the only issue?

An average home computer starts at $1,300 for hardware, software and accessories. While schools can get discounts through mass purchases and government programs, sometimes other priorities rank higher than providing a computer for every student in class.

By Chantel Lott

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Parents can spruce up school lunches without sacrificing nutrition or their children's satisfaction by including them in the planning process.

"The first step in planning any school lunch should be to ask a child what he or she wants to eat. Children tend to eat healthier if they have a say in the meal," said Barbara McLaurin, human nutrition specialist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service.

By Chantel Lott

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Parents' concerns are rising about the violence in the schools their children attend.

More and more parents are searching for information to educate themselves and their children about the risk of violence in school. Some preventative measures can ease the anxiety of parents and of children.