Extension Matters: Volume 8 Number 1

  • A teenage boy wearing a Shooting Sports National Championships shirt stands between his mother and father as they all smile.

    Steady Focus

  • A woman smiling with two smiling children.

    Extension in Action

  • A smiling woman wearing a blue shirt stands next to and rests her arm on a red piece of machinery.

    Answers, Support, and Education

  • A smiling woman wearing a white shirt sits behind a desk with her hands resting on the desk in front of her.

    4-H Where are They Now?

  • A man gazes off to the left as the sun sets behind him and two cows look at him from the opposite side of the fence he is leaning on.

    Keeping the PROMISE

  • A panoramic image of a large crowd of people with two large screens in the back.

    Together Again

  • A man and woman stand on either side of a planter box full of leafy green plants; the box is one of many in a small community garden.

    Keeping Belzoni Gardening

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    What’s New in Extension

  • An older woman smiles while holding a quilt.

    Doing the “Heart” Work

  • A woman and a man standing in front of a mural and lamppost.

    Where You Are

  • A man wearing a bright yellow button-up shirt leans against a large truck and rests one hand in his blue jean pocket.

    Good Stewardship

  • A Facebook post showing how to identify oaks using acorns.

    Social Media Connection

  • A group of five men and women standing on the MSU football field during a game day.

    Development Direction

A teenage boy wearing a Shooting Sports National Championships shirt stands between his mother and father as they all smile.

Pearl River County 4-H’er excels at 4-H National Shooting Sports competition

If Dad considers himself a “gun person,” but Mom sees herself as “gun-shy,” what should their son do if he’s dreaming of a career in the military?

 

A woman smiling with two smiling children.

At least half the childcare providers in Pike County, from Summit to the state line, are participating in free trainings scheduled and delivered by Don Smith, the Mississippi State University Extension Service agent in Pike County.

 

A smiling woman wearing a blue shirt stands next to and rests her arm on a red piece of machinery.

Since 1994, she’s worked for Buck Island Seed Co., a business her brother co-founded with two other men in the same year. The company performs custom seed cleaning, treating, and blending for rice, soybeans, wheat, oats, and triticale, a small grain. Booth also raised various row crops with her husband on their Tunica County farm until his death in 2020. She now rents out the land to a producer who grows soybeans, corn, and triticale.

A smiling woman wearing a white shirt sits behind a desk with her hands resting on the desk in front of her.

Former Adams County 4-H’er Symone Thomas is living her dream as a meteorologist at FOX West Texas in San Angelo, Texas. When she started in 4-H, Thomas was looking for a fun hobby and a way to spend time with her friends. She found much more—a passion for service. During her college experience at Mississippi State University, Thomas accumulated more than 250 community service hours, earned multiple honors, and was recognized for her service to campus.

A man gazes off to the left as the sun sets behind him and two cows look at him from the opposite side of the fence he is leaning on.

Extension destigmatizes mental health issues, one conversation at a time

When Colby Hardin first started working at the Arkansas Department of Corrections dairy farm, he prepared as if going to war.

 

A panoramic image of a large crowd of people with two large screens in the back.

Following its 2020 cancellation, the Mississippi State University Extension Service’s Row Crop Short Course hosted 675 people from Mississippi and neighboring states.

A man and woman stand on either side of a planter box full of leafy green plants; the box is one of many in a small community garden.

Even before the first crop in the Belzoni Community Garden was planted in 2019, Clifton Williams and Chandra Hines had devoted countless hours toward keeping the town both beautiful and fed as part of Keep Belzoni Beautiful.

 

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Mississippi 4-H Introduces New Youth Leadership Positions

Administrators with the Mississippi State University Extension Center for 4-H Youth Development recently announced two new offices for 4-H’ers: president-elect and past president. These new positions will allow the 4-H’ers more training and opportunities, state leaders agree.

An older woman smiles while holding a quilt.

Making a Difference

MHV group addresses community needs, provides fellowship

The Mississippi Homemaker Volunteer club that Glyndel Wood organized in 1982 in Itawamba County is still an avenue of community service and fellowship for members.

 

A woman and a man standing in front of a mural and lamppost.

Leaving a Lasting Legacy

Former Simpson County 4-H’er highlights Extension agent’s legacy

Children notice everything, and they remember. When children watch a man use his personal resources and take extra time just for them, when they listen to his words of encouragement through disappointments and triumphs, and when they watch him demonstrate boundless patience whatever the circumstance, those children remember.

 

A man wearing a bright yellow button-up shirt leans against a large truck and rests one hand in his blue jean pocket.

Annual forestry show gathers industry, highlights best logging practices

Year after year, the Mid-South Forestry Equipment Show attracts thousands of visitors. Canceled in 2020, as most large gatherings were because of the COVID pandemic, the show opened in 2021 with about 3,500 former and new attendees ready to discover the latest forestry equipment, safety guidelines, and timber-harvesting methods.

A Facebook post showing how to identify oaks using acorns.

Popular Post

#ExtensionForRealLife

A group of five men and women standing on the MSU football field during a game day.

Assessing and Adjusting

MSU Extension prepares 4-H HomeGrown Scholarship campaign

 

 

 

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Message from the Director

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Dr. Gary
Jackson

Dear friends,

As another new year begins with a new growing season, so much opportunity lies before us. Extension continues its mission of extending knowledge and changing lives, and our personnel continue to educate and improve people’s lives and businesses here in the great state of Mississippi.

This issue of Extension Matters shares some of our strongest examples of local people whose quality of life is improved because of Extension instruction and assistance. Our research-based recommendations for agricultural production and natural resources conservation are improving farms and protecting the environment. 4-H youth development is providing hands-on, applied learning for young people, and Extension continues providing reliable approaches to improving health and well-being. Governments, businesses, and volunteer organizations continue to receive Extension support as they determine how to better serve their clients.

Even as our state and nation overcome challenges, Extension is here, offering trustworthy, research-based information from expert specialists, faculty, and local agents. We are committed to realizing all the great potential here in Mississippi together.

Sincerely,

Gary Jackson
Director, MSU Extension Service