News

JACKSON – Seventy-eight Mississippians have been diagnosed with West Nile Virus, and one death is attributed to the disease.

Mississippi is one of the three hardest-hit states, following Texas and Oklahoma. Specialists predict the number of cases will continue to increase through early fall.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippians do not have to look far to see the impact of the Midwest’s historic drought, as the state’s catfish farmers already feel the pinch of sky-high feed costs.

DURANT – Holmes County, where 4-H was born as a “corn club” more than 100 years ago, is getting back to its roots by inspiring a new generation to garden.

A community garden project blossomed with the help of District 2 county supervisor James Young, the Mississippi State University Extension Service and local volunteers.

Students across the state are hitting the books and buckling down for a great school year. Likewise, teachers across the state are engaging youth in science, technology, engineering and math activities…but there are only so many hours in a school day, and teachers cannot do it all.

Groups like Mississippi 4-H can help fill in the gap and interest kids in careers in technology fields. The Mississippi State University Extension Service’s 4-H youth program partners with local organizations to bring robotics to the classroom and after-school clubs.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- In an industry with small profit margins, a perishable product and fierce, largely unregulated competition, one Mississippi company has confidently filled its market for more than 30 years.

Pride of the Pond is the catfish processing operation of Battle Farms of Tunica. Owned by Bill Battle, the farm has about 10,000 acres of row crops and 2,700 acres of ponds in Panola, Tunica and Quitman counties. The state-of-the-art catfish processing plant is located just a few miles outside Tunica and employs 121 people.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – July brought 32,000 grasshoppers to Mississippi State University, but rather than being a plague of locusts, they are a research bonanza.

The Mississippi Entomological Museum is borrowing a portion of the grasshopper collection from the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. JoVonn Hill, a research associate with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, said the collection complements what MSU already has.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – About 32,000 grasshopper specimens from the Smithsonian Institution are now housed in the Mississippi Entomological Museum to support ongoing research at Mississippi State University.

JoVonn Hill, a Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station research associate in MSU’s Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology, has been working since last summer to secure the collection’s loan from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

VERONA – Mississippi State University recently hosted the academic equivalent of a “baited field” for row-crop farmers, consultants, university researchers, Extension agents and industry representatives.

The North Mississippi Row Crops Field Day Aug. 9 provided the latest research information and recommendations for local producers at the North Mississippi Research and Extension Center in Verona. Participants also heard from Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Cindy Hyde-Smith.

CLARKSDALE – Mississippi State University will hold the first North Mississippi Peanut Field Day on Aug. 29 in Coahoma County.

Registration for the half-day event begins at 9 a.m. Activities will include updates by MSU research and Extension specialists, as well as harvest demonstrations. The event will be held at Mark and John Agostinelli’s farm on Monty Martin Road off New Africa Road in Clarksdale. Snacks will be provided by the Mississippi Peanut Growers Association.

OCEAN SPRINGS – The St. Martin High School 4-H Club took second place in the 4-H edition of the Great American Seafood Cook-Off.

“I am so proud of them and their accomplishment,” said Evelyn DeAngelo, Jackson County 4-H Agent with Mississippi State University’s Extension Service. “I know they were a bit disappointed not to win first place, but their second place win paired with last year’s first place has established Mississippi as the team to beat in future competitions.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A professor with the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine received national recognition from the American Veterinary Medical Association for his dedication to animal welfare.

Dr. Phil Bushby received the 2012 American Veterinary Medical Association’s Animal Welfare Award at the national convention in San Diego. He has taught at MSU since 1978 and holds the Marcia P. Lane Endowed Chair in Humane Ethics and Animal Welfare.

Summer’s heat can be pretty hard on flowering annual and perennial plants, but colorful foliage plants can fill in those gaps in the landscape and containers.

Foliage plants provide color without relying on flowers, so you don’t have to wait for the show to begin. Plants with colorful foliage are attractive the moment they are transplanted into your landscape.

Foliage standbys in the landscape are caladium, ginger and cannas, but there are lots of other choices. One colorful foliage plant that is underused in our Mississippi landscapes is the copperleaf plant.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – The bright spot for Mississippi’s smaller-than-normal rice crop is that it is looking good at harvest, thanks to an early start and a favorable growing season.

Nathan Buehring, rice specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said most of the state’s rice was planted by mid-April, putting it about two weeks ahead of schedule.

“Everything so far looks good,” Buehring said. “This is one of the earliest planted crops we have ever had, and we’ll be heavy into harvest by the middle of August.”

By Alicia Barnes
School of Human Sciences

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Distractions, fatigue and stress have contributed to the vehicular heatstroke deaths of an estimated 610 children over the past 21 years.

With fatalities occurring in the spring, summer, and fall every year, the Mississippi Child Care Resource and Referral Network at the Mississippi State University Extension Service wants parents and caregivers to be aware of the danger of children being left in vehicles.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – When a new plant becomes an overnight sensation in gardening circles, plant lovers who wonder how a previously unknown variety can end up with star status can turn to a Mississippi State University professor for the answer.

Rick Snyder, a vegetable specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, grows a garden of test vegetables as part of the All-America Selections program.

JACKSON – A pet’s bad breath is not just offensive; it could be a sign the animal has periodontal disease.

“By the age of 3 years, up to 80 percent of dogs and cats have some degree of periodontal disease if regular home care has not been done,” said Dr. Diana Eubanks, associate clinical professor at Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – More than a year after a tornado ripped through the small town of Smithville, students are returning to temporary classrooms, but they still have access to current technology.

The Mississippi State University Extension Center for Technology Outreach, formerly known as Computer Applications and Services, donated 40 refurbished computers to the Monroe County School District for the schools in Smithville.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi teens can soon be trained in disaster preparedness in their communities, something usually done by only a small percentage of adults.

Mississippi State University’s Extension Service is certifying trainers for the Mississippi Youth Preparedness Initiative, or MyPI. One goal is to teach teenagers how they can help themselves, their families, and their communities prepare for and respond to disasters.

QR codes, or quick response codes, are popping up all over the place. They are showing up on the back of my bills, business cards, and even the church bulletin! QR codes are those squares containing three large black boxes on the perimeter of the square and many smaller black boxes within the square. The smaller boxes can form either a random pattern or an actual image.