MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi's premier agricultural television program is now showing during new time slots on Mississippi Public Broadcasting.

Farmweek, the weekly, 30-minute agriculture news program of the Mississippi State University Extension Service, is broadcast on Fridays at 6 a.m. and repeated on Sundays at 5:30 p.m. The 27-year-old show has experienced several time changes in recent years, but the content remains focused on Mississippi agriculture and concerns of lawn and garden care.

Artis Ford, managing editor for Farmweek, said changes in Public Broadcasting Service's "must-carry" requirements for national programs forced the change.

"The nationally syndicated programs have to run in certain time slots and that's limiting the time available for statewide productions to be shown," Ford said. "There also are funding difficulties that have been increasing in recent years."

Ford co-hosts Farmweek with veteran newsman Leighton Spann. Together with feature reporter Brian Utley, they provide news segments, features and Norman Winter's Southern Gardening episodes. Topics range from traditional agriculture to land management, timber, wildlife and fisheries, aquaculture, ag-related businesses and home landscapes.

Mississippi's oldest and only locally produced agricultural television news show, Farmweek is produced by MSU's Office of Agricultural Communications. Farmweek Radio airs on Mississippi Public Broadcasting Radio on Thursdays at 6:33 a.m. and 4:33 p.m.