News

Variegated jasmine foliage brings color

Few plants can brighten a container quite like variegated jasmines. These plants prove that in a Southern garden, foliage can be every bit as beautiful and showy as flowers.

MSU offers Oct 17-18 waterfowl workshop

A two-day event in mid-October will help those with waterfowl and wetland management responsibilities learn how to improve wetlands for waterfowl.

Hosted by the Mississippi State University Extension Service, the waterfowl weekend will be held Oct. 17-18 at Gumbo Flats Hunting Lodge in Lambert. The $100 registration fee covers all meals and educational aspects of the event.

Beef Cattle Field Day is set for Oct. 30, Raymond

RAYMOND, Miss. -- Cattle producers, industry professionals and others interested in beef cattle production are invited to the Beef Cattle Field Day Event at Mississippi State University’s Brown Loam Branch Experiment Station in Raymond on Oct. 30.

Try tropical gingers for shady garden areas

Finding the right plants for shady garden areas can sometimes feel like a losing battle, but shade doesn’t have to be boring. Gardeners do not have to settle for plain green foliage and limited color.

Events promote dairy education, industry

Mississippi State University will host two events this fall promoting agricultural education with an emphasis on dairy production.

Mississippi 4-H holds first slingshot competition

When Union County 4-H’er Aubri Hutcheson signed up for slingshot in Mississippi 4-H’s Shooting Sports program over the summer, she just wanted to try something new. 

Cooking Matters program guides adults to better meals

Adults across the state are learning about cooking and nutrition through some hands-on training provided by the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

Cooking Matters for Adults is a six-week program that helps adults eat better and make food budgets last longer. It launched in 2018 as an educational complement to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – Education, or SNAP-Ed, and the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program, or EFNEP. It is continuing despite recent federal budget cuts.

State rice crop struggled through tough crop year

Harvest ended a year of ups and downs for Mississippi’s rice producers, with acreage up but average yield down because of numerous challenges.

Nearly all of the state’s rice crop was harvested by late September. Mississippi growers harvested about 156,000 acres of rice this year, up about 25,000 acres from 2024.

Tractor seat plant is a tough shade performer

There is an unusual looking plant with a descriptive name that performs well in shade gardens in the state.

The tractor seat plant has oversized, thick and leathery foliage shaped like the curved iron seats once found on old tractors. Known also as leopard plant, the Farfugium japonicum is native to the stream banks, moist woodlands and coastal regions of Japan and eastern Asia.