News From 2015

NEWTON, Miss. -- Mississippi cattle producers can learn about the latest research on forage management during a Nov. 6 meeting.

The 2015 Mississippi Forage and Grassland Council Annual Conference will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Mississippi State University Coastal Plain Branch Experiment Station in Newton.

When I was visiting Natchez looking for locations to film the TV version of Southern Gardening this past week, I had a great time enjoying the historic homes and gardens, but the sights that had me doing double takes were all the “naked ladies” parading around town.

Now, you may be thinking that I’ve been listening to too much Ray Stevens, but this is not a reference to “The Streak.” The naked or nekkid (I think this version is more fun to say) ladies I’m referring to are fabulous landscape plants that belong to the genus Lycoris.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Mississippi Chapter of the American Society of Agronomy has planned a day full of educational seminars for its annual meeting Nov. 4 at the Grenada County Extension office.

Experts from the Mississippi State University Extension Service and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station will join other scientists in sharing the latest information about a wide range of crop-related subjects.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- After causing significant challenges in 2014, sugarcane aphids did not catch Mississippi’s grain sorghum growers by surprise this year.

“We are not sure if sugarcane aphids were not as bad as last year or if we just did a better job using insecticidal seed treatments,” said Angus Catchot, an entomologist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. “One big difference was that we were more educated in our control efforts. No one was caught by surprise, and everyone had budgeted for control.”

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Deer Lab, MSU Extension Service and Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks are taking deer management into the 21st century.

We are very excited about three mobile technologies that are available for hunters and deer managers this fall. These phone apps were designed to help you with some of the most important deer management activities: aging deer, planning food plots and keeping records of deer data.

By Sarah Buckleitner
MSU Forest and Wildlife Research Center

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Hunters can go into the woods armed with the knowledge of Mississippi State University deer experts, thanks to a newly updated MSU phone app called “Deer Hunt.”

Developed by the MSU Deer Lab and MSU Extension Service, Deer Hunt enables hunters and wildlife managers to use mobile technology to easily collect critical deer observation information.

PEARL, Miss. -- Representatives from the Mississippi poultry industry and state agencies realize that information is key in bird flu preparation, response and recovery if the foreign virus lands in the state this winter.

Dr. Brigid Elchos, deputy state veterinarian for the Mississippi Board of Animal Health, invited communication officers who may be involved in a bird flu outbreak to meet at the Pearl office of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency on Sept. 11.

Last week, I had the opportunity to speak to the Hattiesburg Area Daylily Society and had a great time doing some garden-sharing. Afterward, I was thinking about the daylilies in my landscape and how gorgeous they’ll be next year.

Daylilies are easy landscape plants guaranteed to please.

HAZLEHURST, Miss. -- South Mississippi homeowners in small communities and rural areas can learn how to better manage, operate and protect their private wells during an Oct. 13 program in Copiah County.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Low feed costs and steady demand are keeping the playing field level for Mississippi swine producers, but the bottom line at year’s end will be down from 2014 totals.

Mississippi’s value of production for hogs was $153 million last year. No estimates are available for 2015, but hog prices have been much lower than they were in 2014, while hog numbers were higher at the first of the year.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- When brooding chicks are warm, they grow well in poultry houses, but when heaters are not operating efficiently, it drives up the already high cost of broiler production.

This is the problem John Linhoss, an animal environment specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, took on for his doctoral research. The study was done in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agriculture Research Service’s Poultry Research Unit in Starkville.

JACKSON, Miss. -- The sound of Canada geese calling overhead from their V-formation used to be the telltale sign that autumn had arrived. These days, residents of the Eastern U.S., including Mississippi, can hear this sound nearly year-round.

In many urban areas, geese commonly greet people taking a morning stroll or walking into work. Others, like myself, have been aggressively escorted off the 18th hole at the local golf course by adult geese protecting their young. Simply put, there are two types of people: those who love geese and those who do not.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Specialty markets in pork production are cropping up across the U.S. in response to a growing interest in pasture-raised pigs.

Before the 1960s, most U.S. pork was raised in outside lots or on pasture systems. Commercial pork production today generally relies on large warehouse-like buildings or barns that house sows and pigs in stalls or pens.

By M.K. Belant and Keri Collins Lewis
MSU Ag Communications

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Nature offers a narrow and unpredictable window for breeding fish, and Mississippi State University scientists are studying ways to help hatcheries stock the state’s lakes.

What if conditions could be controlled within hatcheries so the intense seasonal workload could be dispersed over time? This ability would be especially beneficial for the popular black, white, and hybrid triploid Magnolia crappie.

NEWTON, Miss. -- Mississippi State University’s Coastal Plain Branch Experiment Station is completing a transformation from the state’s premier dairy research facility to a site that focuses on land management.

One the benefits of being a gardener is that most of the time, I’m paying attention to what’s going on in the landscape and beyond. I’ve found that Mother Nature gives us clues, especially around the seasonal transitions.

There are subtle clues that summer is ending and fall is beginning. Red maples start to show tinges of reds and oranges. Each tree is different, but there is one red maple in my neighborhood that always starts to change before any others.

Another change in the landscape color palette is the arrival of mums in the nurseries and garden centers.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Four prominent landscape designers and Mississippi State University alumni are returning to campus to share ideas with amateur and professional gardeners.

The 60th Edward C. Martin Jr. Landscape Symposium will be held Oct. 21 from 9 a.m. to noon at the MSU Bost Extension Center Auditorium.

Speakers for this year’s symposium, themed “Landscape Rehab 101,” are Christian Preus, Kirk Cameron, Phillipe Chadwick and Carol Reese.

INDIANOLA, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service is partnering with stakeholders in the Delta to offer preparation courses aimed at prospective entrepreneurs.

Applications are being accepted for the Simply Effective Entrepreneur Development program, which begins at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 21 at the Mississippi Delta Community College Capps Technology Center in Sunflower County. Classes will meet each Monday night for seven weeks.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi farmers planted more peanuts in response to economic factors that made the crop an attractive choice this year, but a lack of rain now has them expecting average yields.

Mississippi has 42,000 acres of peanuts this year, up 45 percent from what was planted in 2014. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates 84 percent of the crop is in fair to good condition.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi summers bring unbearable heat and humidity, but they also bring many treasures, like longer days, more vacation time and hummingbirds.

Many Mississippi residents can’t wait to fill up their feeders with a sugary concoction and wait for the buzzing of those amazing little wings. These tiny birds migrate south before cold weather arrives in the fall. Hummingbirds winter in Central and South America, and they return to Mississippi in early spring.