News

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi schools are leading the national effort to reduce excessive sugar intake from beverages that can do students more harm than good, and parents can follow their example at home.

Becke Bounds, assistant director of child nutrition with the Mississippi Department of Education, said Mississippi schools eliminated all full-calorie, sugared carbonated soft drinks during the school day in 2007. Steps have also been taken to make all school food healthier.

JACKSON -- Playground antics, such as teasing, hitting, or name-calling, may seem just a harmless rite of passage, but when playing turns into bullying, it can cause serious, long-term effects for everyone involved.

Bullying is a dangerous form of youth violence that involves repeated, aggressive behavior with a real or perceived imbalance of power between the bully and the victim. Bullies create this imbalance of power by using their popularity, physical strength or embarrassing information to manipulate or harm the victim.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – If Mississippi’s corn growers thought planting season was a wild ride, they better fasten their seatbelts for harvest time.

Erick Larson, corn specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said wet fields and cooler temperatures last spring resulted in less-than-desirable corn stands, and these conditions often delayed or prevented growers from planting their intended corn acreage.

STARKVILLE -- A Mississippi State University forestry professor was recently honored by the Society of American Foresters.

The professional forestry organization named Donald Grebner a fellow for his contributions to the society and the forestry profession.

Grebner is a professor in the university’s Forest and Wildlife Research Center. His areas of research include bio-energy, carbon sequestration, forest protection and international forestry.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi State University’s beef cattle research unit in Pearl River County is hosting a summer field day Aug. 13 to display results of ongoing research projects.

The White Sand Unit of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station is hosting the half-day event specifically designed for cattle and forage producers. The event begins at 9 a.m. and concludes with a provided lunch. The MSU Extension Service is also helping make this event possible.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Some of Mississippi’s top young people will experience the business world through a four-day state tour known as the 2013 4-H Cooperative Business Leadership Conference.

The conference involves the state’s 4-H Leadership Team members and this year’s 4-H Congress first-place, senior-level competition winners. In a July 16-19 bus tour that begins and ends at Mississippi State University, participants will stop along the way at business cooperatives in Mayhew, Meridian, Jackson, Greenville, Scott and Greenwood.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A veteran Mississippi State University faculty member is the new associate dean in the College of Forest Resources.

Ian Munn, a forest resource economist and professor, will lead the university’s natural resources program. MSU is the only university in the state that offers a bachelor’s degree in forestry and a bachelor’s degree and wildlife, fisheries and aquaculture. As associate dean, Munn will coordinate all aspects of these undergraduate programs, including curriculum, student advising and scholarships.

Mississippi landscapers often see favorite trees fall victim to lightning, strong winds and other elements, especially during tropical storm season, leaving the owners to make hard decisions on the trees’ future health.

Typical damage includes wounds, split branches, exposed roots, various degrees of leaning trunks, and broken and torn limbs. In many cases, a damaged tree must be removed and replaced.

BILOXI – More than 250 boats launched on June 11 to open the shrimp season in Mississippi’s coastal waters.

A cold, wet spring delayed the season’s start, which opened June 1 last year.

“The things farmers hate -- drought and heat -- are great for shrimp production,” said Dave Burrage, commercial and recreational fisheries specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. “The brown shrimp don’t grow as fast under the conditions we had this spring, but once it gets hot, they can go up a whole count size in a week.”

STONEVILLE -- Rice producers, suppliers and consultants will benefit from an upcoming rice tour at Mississippi State University’s Delta Research and Extension Center.

Registration for the July 30 Rice Field Day begins at 2:30 p.m. in the Charles W. Capps Jr. Entrepreneurial Center.

Andy Morris, North America rice buyer for Mars Inc., will be the keynote speaker at the afternoon event.

Trailers will leave the building at 3:40 p.m. to tour research sites on rice agronomy, breeding, entomology, pathology and weed science.

Technology hurts. Whether you’re banging your head on the desk in frustration or watching money disappear with the purchase of the new, must-have gadget, technology can hurt both physically and mentally.

Like many of you, I spend a great deal of quality time with my mouse and keyboard. During a recent workday, my wrist and forearm began to hurt so badly I had to stop altogether. Most of us know this type of pain as the beginning of carpal tunnel syndrome.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – One small lightbulb can make a big difference.

Oohs, ahs and wows filled a room at Mississippi State University’s Montgomery Hall on Friday when a group of teen campers finished their first experiment in building circuits. A piece of foil, a battery and a lightbulb the size of a marble launched a lesson on energy and ultimately set the campers to building their own robots.

JACKSON – To most people, showing horses seems a lot like work because of all the feeding, watering, stall cleaning, grooming and training involved – not to mention the countless hours spent at shows. But to Mississippi 4-H’ers involved in the horse program, all that work is a lot of fun.

Each summer, young people ages 8 to 18 converge on the Mississippi State Fairgrounds for the 4-H Horse Championship to reap the rewards of a year’s worth of effort. This year, more than 600 4-H horse program members participated in six educational contests and 105 riding events.

Ambitious gardeners and their beautiful, themed gardens amaze me every year with their creativity. With the Independence Day holiday upon us, the most popular theme right now is red, white and blue plantings.

I have always wanted to do one of these themed landscape displays, and in my line of work, you would think it would be no problem and assume I’ve done several. But like the shoemaker’s kids who run around barefoot, sometimes my own landscape suffers during the busy seasons.

BILOXI – The state’s county supervisors expressed concern about funding for essential services in numerous discussions at the 2013 Mississippi Association of Supervisors Conference.

Most of Mississippi’s 410 county supervisors attended the June 17–20 meeting at the Mississippi Coast Convention Center in Biloxi. Educational session topics during the conference included transportation funding, rural economic development and the expected impact on counties of new federal health care laws.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippians love Fourth of July watermelons, and the 2013 melon crop should be worth the wait after weather delays.

David Nagel, horticulturist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said the biggest challenge has been the slow growth rate that caused some concern that the first melons might miss the holiday celebrations. The good news is that clear, sunny days with plenty of rain along the way have combined to produce large, tasty melons.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Faculty in Mississippi State University’s School of Human Sciences recently launched a journal to promote academic research and outreach in human sciences and Extension topics.

The Journal of Human Sciences and Extension is a peer-reviewed publication with articles about human development; family studies; agricultural education; leadership development; Extension; health and wellness; apparel, textiles and merchandising; agricultural economics; nutrition and dietetics; family resource management; and program planning and evaluation.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A recent Mississippi State University doctoral graduate received a top award sponsored by the International Forest Products Society.

Qi Li accepted the Wood Award at the society’s annual conference in Austin, Tex. for her research paper on the chemical composition of woody feedstock used in biofuel production.

Li's work at MSU’s Forest and Wildlife Research Center focused on finding suitable, fast-growing, renewable resources to replace the use of fossil fuels.

STONEVILLE – Corn and soybean producers as well as others involved in agriculture will benefit from the July 18 Corn and Soybean Field Day at Mississippi State University’s Delta Research and Extension Center.

Registration begins at 10 a.m. in the Charles W. Capps Building. Booths and vendors will showcase some of the latest tools in precision agriculture, irrigation efficiency and application technology until 2:30 p.m.

Some summer days -- okay, honestly, most summer days -- seem just too hot to do anything in the garden and landscape. But a couple of tasks will pay off in the long run with better landscape performance. You guessed it: this column is all about mulching and composting.

Whether you are an experienced gardener or have a brown thumb, you can mulch like a pro. Few gardening activities have as much of an impact as mulching. Mulch reduces erosion, influences soil temperature, helps control weed growth and gives your landscape a well-groomed look.