MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Some good advice from the Mississippi State University Extension Service given at just the right time saved James Goodlow a lot of money.

Goodlow, owner of Goodlow Farm in Canton, farms about 350 acres of soybeans today, but he, his brother and father used to farm about 2,500 acres in Madison County.

"About seven years ago, I had about 1,000 acres of cotton. My scout told me I had an armyworm problem," Goodlow said. "I went to my Extension agent and told him I had to spray all my cotton for armyworms. It was going to cost me $16 an acre.

"He said that didn't sound right since we hadn't had much armyworm pressure in the county. He brought in an Extension specialist, and we couldn't find a single armyworm," Goodlow said. "I didn't have to spray, and that saved me $16,000."

Four years ago, rust hit 700 acres of Goodlow's corn. His Extension agent told him that certain varieties don't experience a yield reduction from rust.

"We sprayed about 10 acres and compared it at harvest with the other acreage and found no difference in yield," Goodlow said. "We had been getting ready to spray about 700 acres of corn when he told us that."

Will McCarty, leader of Agriculture and Natural Resources in MSU's Extension Service, said the mission of the Extension Service is to provide research-based information, educational programs, and technology transfer focused on issues and needs of the people of Mississippi. The goal is to enable them to make informed decisions about their economic, social and cultural well-being.

Each day, Extension helps many farmers like Goodlow by providing information they need to make wise management decisions.

"We believe that agriculture and its related enterprises are of major economic importance in Mississippi, so we direct programs and resources to reflect this importance," McCarty said.

Extension's overall purpose is education that empowers people to make intelligent decisions relating to their vocations, their families and their environment.

"As the off-campus educational arm of Mississippi State University, Extension provides current research and educational information to individuals in all 82 counties," McCarty said.