STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Coaches win championships, teach high school classes and are expected to maintain perfect playing surfaces on their athletic fields, so sometimes they get help from the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

Michael Richard, an Extension associate in turf grass management, has begun offering clinics to help high school coaches, park and recreation directors, and others maintain the playing surfaces they oversee.

Even if you preventatively treat your yard periodically through the year for fire ants, you’ll still see mounds pop up.

There are two ways to treat these mounds: liquid drenches and dry powders. (File photo by MSU Extension Service.)

Fire ant mounds always pop up right where you don’t need them – in the flower bed you planned to weed tomorrow, next to the mailbox that needs to be reset, and near the patio where you are throwing a party tonight. (Photo by Brian Utley/Cindy Callahan)

Sod production is a year-round process for Mississippi producers, and demand is up for this valuable commodity.

Jay McCurdy, turf specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said the state’s producers are having a good year with this grass crop.

Fire ants are everywhere. If you’ve thrown your hands up in exasperation trying to deal with them, don’t give up just yet. (File photo by MSU Extension Service)