Feature Story from 2013

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi 4-H is looking for four outstanding young people to work in state government for one week in March during the 2013 legislative session.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service 4-H program and the Extension Center for Government and Community Development are looking for qualified 4-H’ers to serve in the 2013 Legislative Page Internship Program. They will work with the Mississippi Senate during the week of March 11-15.

HATTIESBURG – Muscadine and grape growers can get hands-on experience at a vine pruning workshop Feb. 12.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service is hosting the Muscadine Pruning Workshop from 10 a.m. to noon at the Beaumont Horticulture Unit, part of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station.

GULFPORT -- Horticulture scientists at Mississippi State University are studying and recording the effects of the coastal climate on rooftop gardens in Gulfport.

When they learned the eight green roofs at the Armed Forces Retirement Home were struggling to survive, Christine Coker and Gary Bachman, both horticulture scientists at MSU’s Coastal Research and Extension Center, knew they could help.

GOODMAN -- Fruit, vegetable and flower growers can participate in a Jan. 18 field day highlighting sustainable growing practices.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service and several partner organizations will host the event at the Alliance for Sustainable Agricultural Production Demonstration Farm near Goodman from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Growers of all experience levels are welcome. Attendance is free, but pre-registration is required. Lunch and materials will be provided.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi State University’s Extension Service is seeking donations of adult-sized saddles and two additional safe, gentle horses for therapeutic riding sessions.

The MSU Extension Service’s 4-H Therapeutic Riding and Activity Center, or TRAC, promotes therapeutic riding through educational and research-based activities. Therapy horses must be in good health, have a current negative Coggins test, and be people friendly and extremely calm. English and western saddles are also needed for the program.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Wildlife groups are sponsoring squirrel hunts for youths in seven counties across Mississippi on Feb. 9 to promote lifetimes of safe and responsible hunting.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Even though she did not grow up on a farm, Dr. Cyprianna “Chipper” Swiderski grew up in the Baltimore area with a love for horses.

That love carried her through two graduate degrees, an internship, a residency and nearly 25 years as an equine practitioner. Now, she is a faculty member in the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi high school juniors considering medical careers have the opportunity to take part in an intense and revealing summer program at Mississippi State University.

The five-week Rural Medical Scholars summer program at MSU aims to identify the state’s future primary-care doctors and help them become members of the medical school class of 2022.

RAYMOND – Producers and consultants can register now to hear agricultural specialists address the management of a wide variety of pests during a daylong workshop on Feb. 12.

The annual pest management workshop will take place at Mississippi State University’s Central Mississippi Research and Extension Center auditorium in Raymond. Registration is $10 and begins at 8:30 a.m. The program begins at 9 a.m., and sessions will conclude by 4:30 p.m.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A one-day Mississippi Market Ready Training at Mississippi State University can help business owners capitalize on the “buy local” movement.

On Feb. 13, MSU Extension Service experts will discuss current food policy legislation, building relationships with restaurant managers and chefs, proper packaging and labeling, marketing strategies, pricing structures and regulatory concerns.

This workshop will be at the Bost Conference Center from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Doors will open at 8:30 a.m. for coffee and socializing with speakers and colleagues.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – While every bride wants a special wedding, having an event that breaks the bank is the wrong way to start married life.

According to http://www.costofwedding.com, the average cost of a wedding in Mississippi is under $24,000. In Washington County, weddings costs range from $16,724 to $27,874; in Madison County, couples typically spend between $19,367 and $32,279; and in Jackson County, that cost is between $17,025 and $28,675.

JACKSON -- Wedding cakes have long been the centerpiece of the reception, but large multi-layered cakes are being replaced by new trends.

Couples are choosing smaller cakes or no cakes at all and instead offering several different desserts or individual dessert servings.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Personal touches in a wedding can take the ceremony from textbook to storybook, and they may even save the new couple some money.

“Sometimes the sentimental things are less expensive than the newest and most fashionable things, and they certainly make the wedding memorable and personal,” said Bobbie Shaffett, family resource management specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Bridal fashions are breaking free of the decade-long fascination with strapless gowns and offering a new take on classic, romantic dresses.

By Kaitlyn Byrne
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE — Technology offers ways to improve wedding experiences for guests and connect friends and family who could not attend.

Some couples choose to broadcast weddings via Skype or other live streaming services to loved ones who are not able to be at the wedding because of distance or illness.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – The best way to avoid an infamous wedding disaster is to have a supervisor who is able to anticipate factors and think fast when the unexpected occurs.

Karen Benson, an area family and child development agent with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, has been on both sides of wedding challenges. After directing several weddings for other couples, she gained planning experience last fall as the mother of the bride.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A Mississippi State University genetic researcher recently won a national award for his collaboration with a team of scientists to map a cotton genome.

Daniel Peterson, director of MSU’s Institute for Genomics, Biocomputing and Biotechnology and scientist with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, received the 2012 Cotton Biotechnology Award from the National Cotton Council of America and Cotton Incorporated.

VERONA – The growing interest in fruit and vegetable farming in north Mississippi is reflected in the expanded agenda for an upcoming growers’ meeting at the Lee County Agri-Center.

Two full days of seminars and activities are planned for the third annual North Mississippi Fruit and Vegetable Growers Conference and Trade Show Feb. 14 and 15 in the Magnolia Building at the agri-center in Verona.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Upcoming Mississippi State University workshops can help landowners or managers interested in attracting gamebirds learn how to encourage quail and turkey populations on their land.

The Gamebird Workshop: Managing Quail and Turkey in Mississippi is offered through the MSU Extension Service, MSU College of Forest Resources and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. It will be held twice at different locations.

PICAYUNE -- Patricia Drackett has a life-long love of playing in the dirt with worms, nature’s original gardeners, and she has the picture to prove it.

The photo of a little girl covered in dirt and holding a long earthworm is old and faded, but it remains one of Drackett’s most treasured possessions, especially after it survived Hurricane Katrina. She said her love for plants started with pulling weeds in her grandmother’s garden.

“People in plant-related fields often look back to their childhood for the origins of their career path,” she said.