News

MISSISSIPPI STATE –4-H programs in Mississippi and Tennessee received a donation from North American energy infrastructure company TransCanada to fund training for community leaders.

The $30,000 contribution will be divided between the two states’ programs to finance a social media training program taught by trained 4-H members. 4-H’ers train county government officials, emergency responders and business leaders to use a variety of methods to communicate with constituents and community members.

Million Bells is one of my favorite flowering plants in the early summer. I think you’ll find this plant to be a good choice for the summer landscape in your Mississippi garden.

Million Bells are known botanically as Calibrachoa, and you may see them called by either name in garden centers. Regardless of what name they go by, you need to have some of these garden performers in your landscape.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Warm spring weather sent cotton farmers to the fields as early as the first week of April, and cotton stands are ahead of normal and looking good.

IAs of May 6, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Statistics Service estimated the state’s cotton was 68 percent planted and 45 percent emerged. The five-year average for this same date has the crop just 31 percent planted and only 12 percent emerged.

MISSISSIPPI STATE –Mississippi State University officials will attempt to remove sweltering heat from the discussion topics at the Agronomic Crops Field Day on July 19, allowing participants to focus on the crop information.

MSU is providing air-conditioned shuttle buses for field tours in place of the open wagons typically used for these educational events. The tours will stop at cotton, corn, soybean, and other research and demonstration plots.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A date has been added to the free Mississippi Market Ready training series to help food producers learn how to sell their products directly to restaurant chefs and retail managers.

On July 19 in Biloxi, Mississippi State University Extension Service experts will discuss current food policy legislation, building relationships with restaurant managers and chefs, proper packaging and labeling, marketing strategies, pricing structures and regulatory concerns.

If you want to make Emily Post roll over in her grave, consider texting a thank you message or posting your appreciation to someone on their Facebook wall, rather than sending the traditional, handwritten thank-you note. No matter how much society embraces technology, as long as the U.S. Postal service is still operational, you need to handwrite thank-you notes.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Technology may have changed in the 114 years since the national soil survey started, but the dedication of soil scientists engaged in the project has not wavered.

On May 8, partners from Mississippi State University’s Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and other natural resources agencies met in Jackson to celebrate the completion of an ambitious project: to map Mississippi’s soils on the acre level.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi State University’s BuckScore software is now the official scoring system for the Outdoor Channel.

BuckScore is a software package that uses digital images to estimate the age and antler score of white-tailed deer. Developed by scientists in the university’s Forest and Wildlife Research Center and Extension Service, MSU licensed the product in 2010 to NBFog, a Texas-based company focused on outdoor business.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Campers looking for a little education along with their recreation this summer should check out camps offered by Mississippi State University.

Various camps are available on campus as well as in individual counties.

Bug Camp, a four-day, interactive opportunity to learn about entomology and plants, has been attracting children and adults to MSU’s campus since 1994. It is the only camp of its kind in the world and attracts participants from across the United States.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- John Guyton enjoys digging up secrets and passing them along to others.

“I like to use little-known facts about nature to give people a different way to think about their environment and the ways they interact with that environment,” said Guyton, entomology specialist with Mississippi State University’s Extension Service.
His approach is especially helpful when it comes to teaching kids.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – With specialized training and equipment and several years of experience behind them, a team of Mississippi State University veterinarians are ready to use interventional radiology to aid patients suffering from some difficult-to-treat conditions.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Plastic storage crates in a sunny lab at Mississippi State University are the new homes of 52 endangered Boreal toads, native to the Colorado Rockies.

Boreal toad numbers have dwindled to dangerous levels in recent years, and MSU has partnered with the Memphis Zoo to find a way to increase the population.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics selected a Mississippi State University student to serve as a delegate to the national organization.

Jesse Pace, a senior from Flowood majoring in Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion with a concentration in nutrition, was elected to serve a one-year term on the academy’s advisory committee. The committee consists of seven elected positions and one appointed position and includes students from universities across the United States.

Coral bells are perpetual favorites, and their colorful foliage can add interest and texture to any garden.

The first coral bells had green foliage, but these days, green foliage selections can be hard to find. New selections have purple, red, and white marbling and different colored venation. You will often see foliage colors of bright gold, orange and brown. Still others have different colors on top and bottom, so the colors flash when the wind blows.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi’s top agricultural commodity weathers economic storms by responding quickly to shifts in demand, and economists at Mississippi State University predict 2012 will be a year of recovery.

In 2011, Mississippi ranked fourth in the nation in broiler production, with more than 765 million birds produced on 1,478 farms. The broiler industry represented over $2.21 billion in value for the year.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi State University is “beating the bushes” for high school students with horticultural interests for a June 3-6 camp on campus.

Designed for students age 15 to 17, the 43rd annual Horticulture and Landscape Architecture Summer Camp will offer a variety of educational and fun activities.

STONEVILLE -- Mississippi State University has hired a new irrigation specialist for its Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville.

Jason Krutz began his dual appointment with the MSU Extension Service and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station May 1.

Krutz has worked in irrigation management and water quality and quantity research for almost 10 years.

STONEVILLE -- A Mississippi State University researcher has been selected for a national leadership training program.

MSU research professor Tim Walker, an agronomist and rice breeder at the Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville, will participate in Leadership for the 21st Century, or Lead21.

Each year, Lead21 trains 80 participants from land-grant institutions and their associates, such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

As graduation ceremonies come to a close, many high school seniors are preparing for their senior trips. Whether they are headed to big cities, sandy beaches or overseas, smartphone apps can help young travelers navigate their grand adventures.