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August is National Catfish Month! Celebrate by adding some farm-raised, Mississippi catfish to your regular menu plan. Check out some of our previously featured recipes.

Catfish on a plate
Catfish is a great choice when you need a meal on the table quickly. It is low in calories, high in protein and packed with nutrients, making it a great option to add to your meal rotation.

With figs in season, they’re on my mind a lot these days. The sweet, Southern decadence is quite the treat! I associate figs with my grandparents since they had a tree in their backyard. I remember helping them pick buckets full of figs when I was younger and eating them soon after they were picked. 

Figs
Southern Brown Turkey figs are a popular variety in Mississippi. (Photo by Canva)

Even though we’re still in a very warm August, now is the time to start thinking about fall color. It can be a garden challenge trying to maintain a variety of color in the coming cool-season landscape. In my opinion, dianthus is one good choice to help keep your garden interesting, and it is an easy choice for that extra splash of cool-season color.

A cluster of flowers has white edges and red centers.
Small, red and white blooms cover a plant.
Dozens of white blooms with red centers cover a plant.

STONEVILLE, Miss. -- Delta Agricultural Weather Center stations typically record historical weather data and help growers make production decisions, but now they are also key components of a new honeybee study at Mississippi State University.

Esmaeil Amiri, an assistant professor of apiculture with the MSU Extension Service and researcher with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, is using the facilities and datasets provided by the weather center for his research team’s study on the effect of weather on honeybee health.

A man displays a frame from a honeybee hive box.

As your child heads back to school this fall, you’ve made sure they have all the supplies, clothes, technology, and other items they need to be successful in the classroom. There’s just one thing missing from this list: Sleep. Consistent, quality sleep is just as important to a successful academic year as anything you can purchase.

A child sleeping
Consistent, quality sleep is just as important as anything else your child needs to be successful in school.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The presence of a water source on private land can make a property much more desirable for several reasons. Whether it’s a lake, pond, stream or river, a water source provides opportunities for recreation, development, agricultural production, and wildlife and fisheries habitat.

A key aspect of maintaining the value of the water resource is ensuring that it is protected and used wisely.

Creek with trees on the left providing shade and a steep bank on the right.

RAYMOND, Miss. -- The rollout of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline offers more hope to individuals dealing with mental-health-related distress. That population includes farmers and farm workers, who are among those most at risk for suicide and mental health distress.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, male agricultural workers have the fourth highest suicide rate among men in all industries. 

A man stands on crutches in silhouette against a background of farm equipment.

Mississippi rice producers and crop specialists are optimistic about the state’s 2022 harvest despite a high population of rice stink bugs that were difficult to treat.

Rice in a field

As the time nears for summer to turn to fall and temperatures drop, I get excited thinking about the changes this will bring to the landscape. Depending on where you garden in Mississippi, September, October and November can be filled with some of the brightest colors of the year.

A butterfly rests on a cluster of white blooms.
Clusters of red flowers bloom above green foliage.
A plant has a small cluster of purple and white blooms.

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