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STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Mississippi Board of Animal Health is asking backyard bird owners to be vigilant in their biosecurity procedures after a commercial breeder chicken flock in Lawrence County tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI.

White chickens

With all the upcoming holiday get-togethers around the corner, it can be easy to move less, sit more, and gain weight. This year, join our Walk with Extension 12 Days of FITMAS Challenge, which emphasizes moving more and eating more vegetables.

Woman on an exercise machine
Join our Walk with Extension 12 Days of FITMAS Challenge beginning December 5 and get tips for moving more and adding more vegetables to your diet.

A Mississippi State University Extension Service horticulturist will demonstrate evergreen Christmas decorations in the Hernando town square Nov. 12. Jim DelPrince, who works in Biloxi at the MSU Coastal Research and Extension Center, will be part of the “Dickens of a Christmas” market in downtown Hernando.

A red bow rests on a log with evergreen foliage in front of a candle.

I’ve always enjoyed the fall season in the landscape and garden. I find the moderating temperatures refreshing, which helps me get my second wind when taking care of gardening chores. Many of our summer annuals seem to feel the same way about the reinvigorating fall weather. In fact, I think these summer annuals actually look their best in the fall. There is no better example of this than zinnias grown in the fall.

A large, red flower is surrounded by smaller, red and white flowers.
Three honeybees feed on a single orange bloom.
Dozens of red and purple flowers bloom on tall stems.

Charcuterie boards are all the craze right now, and rightfully so! They’re fun to make and delicious to snack on. With the holidays coming up, they’re sure to be the talk of the party!

A charcuterie board.
When planning your charcuterie board, keep food safety in mind! (Photo by Canva)

The cornucopia, or horn of plenty, is most often associated with Thanksgiving. It is generally depicted with the fruits of harvest overflowing its horn-shaped form and serves as a reminder to be thankful and grateful. If you like do-it-yourself projects, making your own cornucopia is an easy project.

collage of cornucopia designs
Cornucopias serve as a reminder to be thankful. They are an easy do-it-yourself project that can be refreshed for each season.

Now is the time to plant one of the great, classic cool-season annuals. While they have a dainty look, violas are tough plants that will perform through the fall, winter and into the spring landscape and garden seasons. Violas go by either of the botanical names Viola tricolor or Viola cornuta, but most gardeners I know call them by their common name, Johnny jump ups.

A yellow bloom has a delicate blue edge.
Yellow blooms have a dark petal.
A tray is filled with plants with dozens of yellow, blue and white blooms.

A Mississippi State University Extension Service specialist contributed to the most recent edition of the American Institute of Floral Designers’ “Guide to Floral Design.” Jim DelPrince, Extension horticulture specialist, was a co-author of the third edition of this reference book. He also served as terminology researcher for the publication, which was announced July 5 in Las Vegas.

A man stands at a table holding floral arrangements.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Lorin Harvey has heard from several Mississippi sweet potato growers that the quality of this year’s crop is the best they have seen in 20 years.

“The high quality of the crop is what stands out to me this year,” said Harvey, sweet potato specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. “We have to see how things hold up in storage, but I have high hopes.”

A close-up photo of a pile of sweet potatoes.

Brian Mills and Will Maples sit down in the Crop Doctors’ Podcast studio to discuss commodity marketing.   Brian and Will run through scenarios for the upcoming national acreage reports and market projections for our major commodities.  They also discuss strategies to consider when marketing Mississippi commodities.

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