News From 2015

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- A free webinar series will offer business owners tips for using technology to increase sales and customer satisfaction.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service, Mississippi Main Street Association and Mississippi Development Authority Entrepreneur Center are partnering to deliver four sessions related to business development.

GOODMAN, Miss. -- Fruit and vegetable producers can learn how to improve profits during the Feb. 20 field day at the Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture Production Farm near Goodman.

Speakers from the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group will provide information to help farmers gather the right data to make decisions that can increase profits.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Lisa Mensah, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s new undersecretary for rural development, visited Mississippi Friday, her first trip since being confirmed to the post.

Mensah visited with officials from Mississippi State University and Alcorn State University, as well as stakeholders in central Mississippi and the Delta, to discuss rural development issues.

RAYMOND, Miss. -- Rebecca Melanson recently joined the Mississippi State University Extension Service as a plant pathologist.

She will focus on disease management issues in fruits, vegetables and nuts.

If you’re like me and most other home gardeners, you want shrubs to have multiseason interest and be versatile, beautiful AND low maintenance. This is no small list to consider when looking for shrubs at the garden center or nursery.

I may know the ideal shrub that has all these traits and is also a Mississippi native. Virginia sweetspire is perfect for the shrub border or woodland setting. In fact, Virginia sweetspire was selected as a Mississippi Medallion winner for 2011.

PICAYUNE -- The Mississippi State University Crosby Arboretum in Picayune invites artists and craftsmen of all media to enter an art show scheduled for April 10-12.

The show, sponsored by the Crosby Arboretum Foundation, will celebrate the Piney Woods region of Mississippi. It will feature paintings, photography, and sculptures, in addition to works of art in clay, metal, wood, thread and cloth. Awards will be presented April 12.

BILOXI -- Coastal region agriculture producers and other interested clients are invited to help direct educational programming and research provided by Mississippi State University.

The Commodity Advisory Council meeting will begin at 9 a.m. on Feb. 24 at the Coastal Research and Extension Center in Biloxi.

Experts with the MSU Extension Service and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station will share research results, answer questions and listen to producer needs for 2015.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi farmers interested in growing sesame have to rely mainly on recommendations made for Texas fields, a problem Mississippi State University researchers are working to address.

Sesame produces small, edible seeds valued for consumption and oil production. Consumers recognize it most frequently as the tasty seeds on hamburger buns, but a lot of cooking is done with sesame oil. When the seed is toasted, it has a nutty smell and pleasant taste.

By Wes Neal
Associate Extension Professor, Fisheries
MSU Extension Service

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- As a fisherman, which is more pleasing: casting mindlessly into an open expanse of water, or carefully casting around a sunken log where you feel sure that a lunker is waiting to inhale your bait?

Catching fish is only part of the overall experience; aesthetics play an important role as well.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A comprehensive reference book on all aspects of bovine reproduction was recently published under the leadership of a Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine professor.

Dr. Richard Hopper, professor in the MSU-CVM Department of Pathobiology and Population Medicine, is lead author and editor-in-chief of “Bovine Reproduction.” Hopper is section leader for the CVM Theriogenology, Ambulatory and Food Animal Medicine Service. Theriogenology is the study of animal reproduction.

COLUMBUS -- Mississippi chefs with a flair for cooking wild game can enter their best recipes in a contest at the Lowndes County Wildlife Tasting Buffet on Feb. 19.

The competition runs from 5:30-6:15 p.m. at the Trotter Convention Center in Columbus. Dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. Admission is $1 for those who bring a wildlife dish with a recipe, a dessert or a side item. Admission is $5 for those who do not bring a dish.

Contest categories include commercial processors, antlered, wild hog, fin, feather and fur. First place winners will receive certificates and prizes.

CARROLLTON -- As Mississippi legislators return to work at the state and federal levels, they may not recall the historical impact of great bygone public servants such as Carroll County’s J.Z. George.

History radiates from the walls of Cotesworth -- former home of George, one of Mississippi’s greatest statesmen -- but the land around it also has volumes to tell visitors who want to step back in time.

JACKSON -- Landowners, managers and hunters wanting to learn how to develop their land for turkey and quail can take part in a seminar on Feb. 27.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks are organizing the workshop, which will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science. Sessions will conclude at 3 p.m. The Jackson chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation is sponsoring the event.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi’s horse owners and riding enthusiasts have a new resource to assist them with issues related to pleasure and competitive equine activities.

RAYMOND -- Agriculture clients in central Mississippi are invited to help direct educational programming and research provided by Mississippi State University.

Producers of various commodities can attend the Central Mississippi Producer Advisory Council meeting Feb. 17 at the McKenzie Arena in Raymond.

Representatives of the MSU Extension Service and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station will listen to producer needs for 2015 and answer questions in nine commodity sessions.

Many gardeners have their sights on the garden and landscape at the beginning of this new year. The mailman is fueling this garden interest with all the seed and plant catalogs being delivered. I spent a recent weekend looking through the 18 catalogs I already had and have ordered all of the seeds for this year’s vegetable garden.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Newlywed couples face numerous questions when considering the purchase of their first home.

Finances, mobility, career stability, credit and the state of the housing market are all important factors to think about before making that investment.

Rita Green, Mississippi State University Extension Service assistant professor and family financial management specialist, said couples that opt to buy homes should do so based on what they can afford and not how much they are qualified to borrow.

RAYMOND -- For brides who want to shed a few pounds before their big day, nutrition experts recommend proper planning, not fad diets.

“Trendy diets, such as low-carbohydrate diets, are popular and can produce quick results but aren’t the healthiest way to lose weight,” said Brent Fountain, associate professor of food science and nutrition with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. “We recommend people lose one to two pounds per week. Any additional weight loss will likely be water loss and not fat loss.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Wildlife on roadways can be as hazardous to motorists as texting or reckless drivers.

State Farm Insurance reported Mississippi ranks sixth in the nation for wildlife-vehicle related accidents. More than one third of Mississippi’s 70,000 auto crashes are due to collisions with wildlife, specifically with white-tailed deer. One in 84 people statewide will be in a crash involving wildlife annually.

VERONA -- Mississippi State University’s North Mississippi Research and Extension Center will host its annual Producer Advisory Council meeting Feb. 19 in Verona.

Agricultural clients will meet with representatives from the MSU Extension Service and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station to discuss education and research needs.

Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. at the Magnolia Conference Center next to the Lee County Agri-center. The general session begins at 9 a.m.