News

RAYMOND, Miss. -- With a renewed interest in home canning in recent years, advice and recipes are abundant, but experts remind home canners to be sure they use safe practices. The foundation of safe home canning begins with research-tested recipes and the correct equipment.

Many Mississippians take steps to live sustainably, but they may not be aware of the impact their clothing choices have on the environment.

Beyond material sourcing and item manufacturing, what happens when the piece of clothing is retired from the closet can have a significant environmental impact. Textile waste is unwanted clothing and fabrics that are thrown away rather than recycled.

Next up in my series celebrating April as Native Plant Month are those that thrive in sunny landscapes.

One of my favorites is yarrow, a tough, drought-tolerant perennial that does especially well in full sun and well-drained soil. Once established, yarrow is very low maintenance and even thrives in poor, sandy or rocky soils.

Artificial intelligence is the most recent tool in the toolbox for the Mississippi State University Extension Service in its ongoing efforts to provide the best research-backed information to the residents of the state.

MSU’s Agricultural Autonomy Institute, or AAI, hosted the National AI in Agriculture and Natural Resources Conference on March 31-April 2 in Starkville. ExtensionBot was the first item to be addressed at the conference.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Row crop producers who reported financial loss in 2024 may be eligible for economic assistance through a U.S. Department of Agriculture resource.

USDA’s Farm Service Agency has made $10 billion available through the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program, or ECAP, for growers to offset increased input costs and lower prices for their commodities.

I often get asked which plants thrive in the shade, so today I want to discuss some native selections that do just that.

During a recent visit to a nursery in New Albany, Mississippi, I came across some unique native plants that are perfect for partially to fully shaded areas. These plants brighten spaces, support pollinators and require minimal maintenance.

One of my favorites is Golden Ragwort, known scientifically as Packera aurea. It is a versatile perennial in the daisy family that provides year-round interest.

April is Native Plant Month, making it the perfect time to celebrate the beauty and importance of native species. Native azalea is one of my favorites, and it is currently putting on a spectacular show.

Throughout this month, I’ll highlight other native plants that thrive in our region.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Row crop growers in Mississippi expect to plant more corn in 2025 than they did last year, but not as much cotton or as many soybeans.

The National Agricultural Statistics Service, a unit of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, released its annual prospective plantings report March 31. Surveys are conducted with farm operators nationwide during the first two weeks of March each year to collect data on which row crops they plan to plant and how many acres.

GULFPORT, Miss. -- Every day at Gaston Point Head Start Center starts the same as teachers and staff strive to prepare each child for excellence in school.

The day at each Mississippi State University Extension Head Start center begins long before the first child arrives as classrooms are prepared for the day. Activities are set up, lesson plans finalized and hall decorations checked to make sure there is a warm, welcoming space for children and families.

I recently came across a remarkable papaya plant thriving since 2014 inside a greenhouse, and it has now grown into a productive tree.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Entering this spring, beekeepers will be tasked with rebounding from the worst winter in over a decade for winter bee mortality.

A nonprofit organization, called Project Apis m., surveyed more than 700 U.S. commercial beekeepers and found they lost 62% of their colonies between July 2024 and February of this year.

Fruit production requires considerable effort, and some fruits require much more care than others -- facts specialists with the Mississippi State University Extension Service keep in mind as they provide research and information support to the industry.

MSU has ongoing blueberry research at the South Mississippi Branch Experiment Station in Poplarville and the Beaumont Horticultural Unit, and muscadine research at Beaumont and the McNeill Research Unit. MSU also has trials and research on blackberries, wine grapes, elderberries, passion fruit and strawberries.

SENATOBIA, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service will offer free bacteria and chemical screenings for private water well owners in Tate County during an upcoming workshop.

Mississippi’s native subterranean termites have started swarming, and these structure-destroying insects will continue to swarm across the state over the next few months.

John Riggins, professor of forest entomology in the Mississippi State University Department of Agricultural Science and Plant Protection, said termites swarm to produce new colonies when the weather warms up, often after a rain.

Growing citrus in containers has been a rewarding experience for me and some of my friends, and it might be something you should consider for your own landscape.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Until an avian flu vaccine for chickens or other alternative is federally approved, commercial poultry operations in the U.S. will have to keep “stamping out” entire flocks with a confirmed case to prevent further exposure -- just like one in Noxubee County recently had to do.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Practice was in session Friday at Mississippi State University’s Humphrey Coliseum as a group of local people with disabilities worked on their basketball shots.

The participants were guests of the MSU Athletics Department and MSU Extension’s REACH program, which stands for Resources of Extension Accessing Communities for Hope. Jim McAdory, MSU Extension agent in Winston County, organized the event.

“We want you to be a part of the Bulldog family,” McAdory told the guests.

PICAYUNE, Miss. -- The public is invited to celebrate part of the Mississippi State University Crosby Arboretum’s history during the Strawberries & Cream Festival April 13 in Picayune.

STONEVILLE, Miss. -- Will Eubank’s new role as an assistant professor and Extension rice specialist at Mississippi State University’s Delta Research and Extension Center, or DREC, is a full-circle moment.

Loropetalums have a bold beauty in landscapes that I admire, but I’ve noticed that the traditional, large varieties can sometimes be a bit overwhelming in small garden spaces.