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News From 2008

Joey is a hot, new plant from Australia that is coming this spring. Its 4-inch-long flowers have an iridescent sheen of neon pink and silver that are bottle brush-like with a little tilt at the top that hints at a feather. (Photo by Norman Winter)
December 25, 2008 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

At this time of the year, some people look back and reflect and others look to the future. Joey, a hot new plant from Australia that is coming this spring, will have us looking to the future.

December 18, 2008 - Filed Under: Poultry

By Karen Templeton
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – With an estimated production value of $2.3 billion in 2008, poultry remains Mississippi's No. 1 agricultural commodity.

“When following agricultural commodity trends for the past several years, we see that poultry stays at the top of the leader board,” said Vanessa Kretzschmar-McCluskey, an assistant professor of poultry science at Mississippi State University. “Poultry will likely remain a big producer as Mississippi ranks fourth in U.S. broiler production and 13th in egg production.”

December 18, 2008 - Filed Under: Soybeans

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Soybeans rode increased acres and high prices to a second straight year as Mississippi's top row crop, increasing 15 percent to bring an estimated $604 million to producers in 2008.

Mississippi farmers planted 2.1 million acres of soybeans, 35 percent more than was planted in 2007.

“The increase was primarily due to excellent prices for soybean,” said Trey Koger, state soybean specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. “The other commodity crops had lower prices and high costs for inputs, especially for cotton and rice.”

December 18, 2008 - Filed Under: Timber Harvest

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The continuing decline in housing construction was supposed to decrease the value of Mississippi's timber harvest for the third consecutive year, but an increase in pulpwood demand kept that from happening.

December 18, 2008 - Filed Under: Crops

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Agricultural economists are predicting Mississippi's 2008 crop values will reach a record $5.9 billion, but cost-of-production increases have dampened most year-end celebrations.

Nonstop Fire, or Begonia tuberhybrida, is a blaze of orange and yellow. The plants develop lateral branches, giving a great mounded look for baskets and planters. (Photos by Norman Winter)
December 18, 2008 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

2009 looks to be the Year of the Begonia. This is not an official proclamation but my expectation of the incredible new begonias that will debut this spring. From hanging baskets to the landscape, begonia lovers can rejoice.

Mississippi State University entomology alumnus Joe Lewis conducted research with parasitic wasps as part of a cooperative United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service project to investigate plant response to insect attacks. (Photo courtesy of Tifton Gazette, Georgia/Paula Stuhr)
December 11, 2008 - Filed Under: Community

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A working relationship that began 40 years ago has led to international recognition for a pair of Mississippi State University entomology graduates.

James H. Tumlinson and W. Joe Lewis are recipients of the 2008 Wolf Prize in Agriculture for their contributions to the field of chemical ecology. The Israel-based Wolf Foundation gives Wolf Prizes in the areas of medicine, agriculture and the arts. The Wolf award is considered agriculture’s equivalent of a Nobel Prize.

December 11, 2008 - Filed Under: Poultry

By Karen Templeton
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Everyone is looking for ways to save on fuel costs these days, and poultry growers are no exception. Fuel used for heating poultry houses during the cold winter months can be very costly.

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service and Mississippi State University's poultry science department have explored ways to reduce energy usage and improve energy efficiency in poultry houses.

Mississippi State University biological engineering students Sam Pote of Starkville, left, and Caleb Dulaney of Collinsville conduct their research project on isolating an enzyme that initiates lignin breakdown in plant cells. (Photo by Marco Nicovich)
December 11, 2008 - Filed Under: Biofuels

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Plant waste offers a nearly unlimited supply of raw material for biofuel production, but the substance that stands in the way of its use is the same one that makes the plants stand.

Penny violas and ornamental grasses make great cool-season mixed containers. Here a few Penny colors are mixed with the long stems of the carex.
December 11, 2008 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

A few Pennies can make your winter landscape look like a million bucks.

I'm not talking about the proverbial penny saved or even the penny found lying on the sidewalk. The Penny I am talking about is not copper-colored but perhaps a rich orange, deep blue or one of more than 20 other colors.

Mississippi State University food science club members, from left, Tony Garcia of Brandon, Gabrielle Bryant of Vicksburg and V. J. Radhakrishnan of India pack jars of muscadine jelly they made for area food pantries. (Photos by Patti Drapala)
December 11, 2008 - Filed Under: Food and Health

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The experience of bagging sweet potatoes and boxing jelly for food pantries this semester has taught Mississippi State University students who focus on food and health issues that helping others is a sweet gift, too.

December 11, 2008 - Filed Under: 4-H, Equine

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Wheelchairs and crutches are not common sights at most horseback riding classes, and laughter is not always heard at physical therapy sessions, but all of these can be found at the Mississippi Horse Park.

The therapeutic riding program available at the horse park near Starkville offers children and adults with physical challenges a chance to develop skills atop a living, breathing animal.

December 4, 2008 - Filed Under: Children and Parenting

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A Mississippi State University program recently was honored for its early childhood training workshops.

The MSU Extension Service Child Care Resource and Referral Network received the 2008 Swimmy Award during the Mississippi Early Childhood Association’s annual conference held in October in Jackson. The Swimmy Award is based on the children’s book “Swimmy” by Leo Lionni, an internationally known author and artist. The award is presented to organizations for their collaboration, teamwork and dedication to Mississippi’s youth. 

Shardendu Kumar Singh
December 4, 2008 - Filed Under: Community

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Shardendu Kumar Singh, a former Mississippi State University graduate student, was honored by the Association of Agricultural Scientists of Indian Origin as its 2008 Outstanding Graduate Student Award winner.

The association includes agricultural scientists, faculty, post-doctoral fellows and graduate students of Indian origin. The group provides development opportunities for new scientists and graduate students. Singh received his award at the association’s annual meeting in Houston in October.

Use differing textures to keep winter landscapes beautiful. (above) Here the multiple trunks of a river birch partner well with the huge, palmate leaves of a dwarf palmetto palm. With few flowers blooming, our landscape's main interest at this time of year comes from differing textures. (Photos by Norman Winter)
December 4, 2008 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

With few flowers blooming, our landscape's main interest at this time of year comes from differing textures.

I recently stumbled on a combination planting that featured natives in an awesome show of texture. Had I kept my eyes open, I would surely have seen Mother Nature, rather than a landscape architect, do it first. Nevertheless it struck me as a partnership worthy of writing about and photographing.

December 4, 2008 - Filed Under: Animal Health

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Titles like “You Want To Put What, Where?” and “We Don't Just Shoot 'Em Anymore” put a light-hearted spin on some complex science in an attempt to recruit students to a new class that offers a look at veterinary medicine.

November 25, 2008 - Filed Under: Soils

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi farmers have no control over volatile fertilizer costs but they can use good soil fertility management to offset the effect on production expenses.

“We have to be efficient users of fertilizer, and that doesn't mean just this product's application rate,” said Larry Oldham, soil specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. “This concept includes the whole production system of seed, soil, water, climate, pests, labor and capital.”

November 25, 2008 - Filed Under: Agricultural Economics

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- With banks in financial trouble and the stock market still dropping, farmers preparing to secure financing for next year's crops should expect an uphill battle.

David Schweikhardt, a professor of domestic policy and international trade issues in the Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics at Michigan State University, said producers are paying off their production loans in the fall and will get new ones in the spring.

An old pyracantha grows next to a stately oak and drapes over it almost like Spanish moss. This combination is found not far from my office in Hinds County in front of the courthouse, which was built in 1857 and served as a hospital during the Civil War. (Photo by Norman Winter)
November 25, 2008 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Winter is often cold and dreary, but the pyracantha, a member of the rose family, helps landscapes remain beautiful, interesting and a great source of food for cedar waxwings.

The pyracantha gets its name from the Greek word “pyr,” for fire, and “akanthos,” for thorn, hence the common name firethorn. This is very appropriate, as the pyracantha has sharp, painful thorns. I remember as a child reaching in to retrieve baseballs from the branches and coming out screaming.

November 25, 2008 - Filed Under: Animal Health

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A shortage of research veterinarians has prompted a new degree program that allows a student to earn a veterinary degree and a doctoral degree at the same time.

Mississippi State University's College of Veterinary Medicine is responding to a growing demand for researchers needed to study environmental impacts on human and animal health.

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