News From 2015

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Returning to school is difficult for most students, but for those who have suffered family losses, the new academic year can be an overwhelming burden.

Megan Aucoin, a senior social work major at Mississippi State University from Starkville, Mississippi, knows all too well how difficult it can be to return to school after such a loss. Aucoin, 21, lost her mother, Alana, to colon cancer in fall 2013.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Travel emergencies can happen at any time, but planning ahead with well-stocked first-aid kits can help take the sting out of road disasters.

David Buys, an assistant professor in the Mississippi State University Extension Service and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, said preparation and prevention are crucial for travelers.

BILOXI, Miss. -- A long-time Mississippi State University floral professor is now teaching the Mississippi public about floral design.

Jim DelPrince, who taught students on the Starkville campus for 23 years, joined the MSU Extension Service as a floral design specialist July 1. He is stationed in the MSU Coastal Research and Extension Center in Biloxi.

A long road trip I’m currently on made me realize that our climates may be significantly different, but our plants are often very similar.

This week, I’m participating in the National Agricultural County Agents Association conference in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. As I was driving north of Omaha, Nebraska, on I-29, I observed and enjoyed the blazing orange flower clusters of Asclepias tuberosa, commonly called butterfly weed.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Record beef cattle prices are making Mississippi producers happy to be in the business this summer.

Brian Williams, a Mississippi State University Extension Service agricultural economist, said 400- to 500-pound Mississippi calves are selling for $282.50 per hundredweight, and 700- to 800-pound steers are selling for $200 per hundredweight.

“Mississippi feeder cattle prices are higher this year than a year ago by about $20 to $30 more per hundred pounds,” Williams said.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- For many of Mississippi’s wild animals, winter and spring are times of courtship. Bucks chase does across pastures during the winter, and gobblers roam the woods listening and looking for receptive hens during the spring.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- A Mississippi State University Extension Service nutritionist has been granted a fellowship by the world’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Backyard hobbyists and commercial producers of fruit and vegetable crops share a common need: pollinators.

Without them, flowering plants would be unable to produce fruit and seed. Bees are most commonly associated with pollination, but butterflies, hummingbirds and flies also are common pollinators.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi fishermen and shoppers are wondering where the shrimp are as they wait for the on-again, off-again shrimp season to really get underway.

Dave Burrage, Mississippi State University Extension Service professor of marine resources at the Coastal Research and Extension Center in Biloxi, said shrimp season might have opened too early this year.

STONEVILLE, Miss. -- John Orlowski joined the Mississippi State University Extension Service and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station July 1 as soybean agronomist.

HOLLY SPRINGS, Miss. -- Homeowners in small communities and rural areas without public water supplies can learn how to better manage, operate and protect their private wells.

The “Water Quality and Private Wells” workshop will be July 28 from 6 to 9 p.m. The program is available as an online webinar or in person at the Marshall County Extension office in Holly Springs.

STONEVILLE, Miss. -- Rice growers and consultants will be able to cross two meetings off their lists on one day: July 30.

Mississippi State University and the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation will sponsor a summer meeting and field day at the MSU Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville. The Farm Bureau summer rice grower meeting will begin with lunch at noon in the Capps Center, followed by a program at 1 p.m. The Rice Field Day will begin at 3:30 p.m. with a field tour of research plots.

By Karen Templeton
MSU College of Veterinary Medicine

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- When Henry Wilson of Columbus noticed the eye of his beloved horse, Tender, was changing color, he knew something was wrong and did not waste any time getting her to a veterinarian.

“Tender has ridden in a lot of shows and parades and, of course, relies a lot on her good vision,” Wilson said. “In addition to the eye discoloration, she was squinting a lot, and there was discharge around one of her eyes.”

BILOXI, Miss. -- Mississippians interested in working with the state’s natural resources can get in-depth education and certification through an 8-week course.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service and Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium will host the Coastal Mississippi Master Naturalist Program from Sept. 3 to Oct. 21.

Participants will meet once a week from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to learn basic principles of natural resource ecology and management through classroom instruction, field activities and team exercises.

It’s pretty easy to grow plants when water is plentiful, and that’s the situation much of the time in Mississippi. But sooner or later, the weather gets hot and dry, and Mississippi gardeners know that we need plants that can thrive in the summer heat.

Mississippi gardeners also must know how to keep themselves safe while working in the heat. Working outdoors for any length of time in the hot sun can take a toll on even the hardiest gardener.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- A Seed Technology Short Course with the theme “Storing for Quality” is scheduled for Aug. 4-5 at the Bost Extension Center at Mississippi State University.

The MSU Extension Service designed the short course for seed industry professionals. University experts will address seed storage topics such as moisture, drying, aeration, harvest practices, postharvest management and maintaining quality in storage.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- When university personnel visit another country, the purpose is often to teach, but a visit to the Netherlands allowed some Mississippi State University faculty to learn.

SUMMIT, Miss. -- A team of early childhood specialists with the Early Years Network’s Special Needs program will conduct a free Developmental Screening Day on July 15 in Pike County.

The screenings will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Southwest Mississippi Community College Simmons Building, located at 100 College Drive in Summit.

Children 6 months to 5 years will be checked for age-specific physical and educational milestones at no cost to parents.

INDIANOLA, Miss. -- A team of early childhood specialists with the Early Years Network’s Special Needs program will conduct a free Developmental Screening Day on July 14 in Sunflower County.

The screenings will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Delta Center, located at 411 Catchings St. in Indianola.

Children 6 months to 5 years will be checked for age-specific physical and educational milestones at no cost to parents.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Summer in Mississippi brings a bountiful buffet of fruits, vegetables, flowers and shrubs to enjoy -- but not just for people. White-tailed deer, avid plant browsers always eager for high-energy food, seem to enjoy the fruits of the gardener’s labor just as much!

Deer can be among the most destructive wildlife intruders for vegetable gardens, flower beds, trees, shrubs, berries and vines. In fact, a small herd of deer can eat and trample a small, backyard garden virtually overnight, according to the Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management.