News From 2011

MISSISSIPPI STATE – The Mississippi State University Extension Service is bringing communities together to address obesity in the Mississippi Delta.

Get Healthy, Trim Down Delta is a program supported by the Delta Health Alliance through financial support from the Office of Rural Health Policy, a branch of the Health Resources and Services Administration. Four counties inside the Delta were selected to participate in the program.

Shopping at the local garden center for potting mix for container plants can be confusing. A bag that simply says “garden soil” can have anything in it. While this may work for in-ground plants, plants in containers require a totally different kind of mix.

Bagged mixes for container plants are often called potting or container mixes. These mixes actually contain no soil at all. They are sold under a variety of trade names and are similar in their basic recipe.

By Justin Ammon
Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Recent research has demonstrated the value of cattle with calm temperaments and the price producers pay for keeping wilder animals in their herds.

A five-year Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station study found that cows with poor temperaments can affect the entire herd and reduce producers’ bottom lines.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – In the minds of many brides and grooms, the perfect wedding cake is one that acknowledges tradition yet reflects individuality, and most cake decorators can make the couple’s dreams come true.

Cake decorators use skill, experience and creativity to turn the wishes of the bride and groom into a showpiece that draws the admiration of the wedding guests. The cake must look good, but it also has to taste good to succeed.

By Cheree Franco
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – In the chaos of organizing a wedding, brides and grooms sometimes overlook how tough the transition may be for their furry, feathered and hoofed friends.

Blending pet families can be stressful for both humans and animals, but foresight and attention to detail help ensure a successful adjustment.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – The real financial challenges of a marriage have much less to do with the wedding itself than with learning to handle money wisely as a couple.

Carla Stanford, Mississippi State University Extension Service child and family development area agent in Pontotoc County, said couples should know each others’ spending habits and financial patterns before they marry.

By Karen Templeton
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Planning a wedding can be stressful for any couple, but when the bride or groom has divorced parents, the process can be even more challenging.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Couples may think tight wedding budgets mean only friends and family can provide food for receptions, but professional caterers offer options at any price level.

Vicki Leach, chef instructor in the Culinary Arts Institute at Mississippi University for Women, said caterers may even be willing to work with the couple’s family and friends.

“Business is business, and most caterers are looking for opportunities for people to taste their food,” she said. “Caterers can get referrals from even the smallest jobs, and that helps them build their client base.”

The onslaught of gardening catalogs arriving at our homes is a sure sign of the impending spring and summer gardening seasons.

They have started to pile up at my house. Looking at the stack, I found myself daydreaming this weekend as the wintery blast came sweeping through Mississippi. How will our gardens look in a few short weeks? And how can we make this transformation a little easier?

Whoever said great looking gardens can be maintenance-free? A great looking garden is a lot of work, and with our busy lives, taking a few shortcuts can help us work more efficiently.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – The fourth annual Mississippi KIDS COUNT Summit will focus on the educational challenges affecting the future of Mississippi’s children.

This year’s event, “Working Together to Improve Educational Outcomes for Mississippi’s Children: What Will It Take?” will be Feb. 3 at Christ United Methodist Church in Jackson. The event provides a forum to discuss early care and education, literacy, healthy schools and graduation rates.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Four qualified 4-H=ers who want to learn more about state government will have the chance to be pages for one week in March during the 2011 Mississippi legislative session.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service 4-H program and the Center for Governmental Training and Technology are sponsoring the opportunity for 4-H youth to serve in the 2011 Legislative Page Internship Program March 14-18. Program coordinators hope to select two male and two female 4-H’ers for the positions.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

BRANDON – Rankin County Master Gardeners enjoy converting plain spaces into landscapes that draw attention, so they jumped at the chance to transform the county Extension office into a focal point for good gardening.

By Justin Ammon
Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- All college students run a high risk for serious financial problems, and a Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station study indicates that older students are actually less financially secure than younger ones.

January is a good time to take a look at your landscape because views are not obstructed by much foliage. When we can get a really clear view of what lies beyond our own yards, we sometimes don’t like what we see.

Many times we see the neighbor’s house or some view we’re not interested in. These views are hidden in the summer but seem to stare back in the winter. You may notice some traffic noise that gets blocked out by summer foliage.

You could build a privacy fence or wall, but these can seem a little cold and stark. It may be time to plant a living screen.

By Cheree Franco
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Most Mississippians spend their lives swatting mosquitoes, but each fall scientists from all over the world flock to Mississippi State University to learn to raise hardy mosquitoes, flies and other insects.

In 1999, professor emeritus Frank Davis and a handful of his colleagues in the entomology department recognized a lack of mass insect-rearing facilities at universities. They approached Vance Watson, then Vice President of Agriculture, with a proposal.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – An old-time family tradition of turning sugar cane into molasses earned a Jefferson Davis County man honors as the state’s top syrup producer for 2010.

Hosea Brown owns and operates My Paw Paw’s Ole Fashion Molasses in New Hebron. He grows about 1.5 acres of sugar cane on his Bradley Hills Farm and processes the cane into syrup molasses each year.

“I do this as a hobby because my grandfather has done it for years,” Brown said. “I’m just trying to keep it going as a family heirloom, and I have somewhat taken on the family responsibility.”