Feature Story from 2013

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A tough bunch of salamanders found a home in a brand-new lab at Mississippi State University, where they are helping researchers learn how to keep populations of these amphibians from declining worldwide.

The 62 tiger salamanders took a long road before reaching MSU. They came from Nevada by way of Iowa and the Omaha Zoo before arriving at a Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station lab at MSU.

STONEVILLE – Farmers and consultants came to the 2013 Rice Field Day to learn the latest rice growing recommendations, but they also witnessed the industry’s support of Mississippi State University’s research program.

MSU hosted the annual event on July 30 at the Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville. Following the keynote address by Andy Morris, a rice buyer for Mars Food, MSU received a $50,000 check from the company to support rice research in the state.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Two Mississippi State University poultry science graduate students took home honors from the Poultry Science Association annual meeting.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Getting enough sleep can significantly improve a child’s readiness for school and general well-being.

Mississippi State University researchers recently took on a project at a local child care center to offer research-based strategies for developing healthier families. One of those strategies is developing bedtime routines to ease kids into sleep.

MISSISSIPPI STATE —Two Mississippi State University food science graduate students took top prizes for poster presentations at the Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meeting and Food Expo in Chicago.

Yan Zhao placed first in the Muscle Foods Division competition for her research on food safety in aging dry-cured hams. Her research looked at not only keeping the food safe but also at the effects different processes have on flavor and sensory quality.

PONTOTOC – Sweet potato growers, crop consultants and other agricultural professionals can learn about recent weed, insect and disease control research during an upcoming field day.

Researchers and specialists with Mississippi State University’s Extension Service and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment station will host the event Aug. 22 at the Pontotoc Ridge-Flatwoods Branch Experiment Station located at 8320 Highway 15 South.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Back to school time means homework, and homework today typically means at least some time spent in front of a computer.

While the Internet has long been used for research, today it frequently offers tutoring, drills and games aimed at brushing up the skills learned in class.

Carla Stanford, an agent with the Mississippi State University Extension Service in Pontotoc County, said careful parents and students can often find help with problem assignments or concepts that are particularly difficult to master.

By Kaitlyn Byrne
MSU Office of Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A social media workshop recently taught Mississippi’s Master Clothing Volunteers how to reach out to new members through Facebook and Pinterest.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A successful tailgate party requires a winning game plan for the food, not just for the football game that follows.

Food safety experts say one in six people gets a food-borne illness each year. While most of these incidents do not require hospitalization and are even blamed on a stomach bug or 24-hour virus, these illnesses are avoidable.

HATTIESBURG – Mississippi cattle producers continue to go online to connect with livestock markets throughout the country.

The sixth annual Mississippi Homeplace Producers’ Sale was broadcast live to viewers across the state and nation Aug. 5 from Southeast Mississippi Livestock in Hattiesburg. Since 2008, the sale has been conducted with the assistance of Mississippi State University’s Extension Service.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A new app from the Mississippi State University Extension Service connects the expertise of more than 150 county agents to clients wherever they are.

The Mississippi Extension Service Directory is a free app available for Apple products, including the iPhone, iPad and iPod, through the app store. Users can search the directory by county, region and agent’s name. Clients can launch an in-app phone call or view a map to the county office.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Although robots do dangerous and repetitive tasks and provide automation in industry, it was their role as really good teaching tools that drew trainers to Mississippi State University in early August.

The MSU Extension Service’s Center for Technology Outreach hosted the 4-H Robotics Academy Aug. 11-15. The center partnered with NASA and the University of Mississippi’s Center for Mathematics and Science Education to offer five days of robotics training at basically no charge. MSU’s Bagley College of Engineering was also involved.

CLARKSDALE -- Mississippi peanut growers can hear the latest research-based recommendations and get close looks at demonstration plots in Coahoma County during a Sept. 6 field day.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service will host the North Mississippi Peanut Field Day beginning at 9 a.m. on the Mattson Flowers Farm, located at the intersection of Highway 322 and Highway 49.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Veterinary students will join a diverse group of public health and veterinary experts in late September to explore successes and challenges in rabies prevention on both local and global scales.

The Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine will host the sixth annual Merial Rabies Symposium on World Rabies Day, Sept. 28.

This year’s symposium is themed “Protecting Animals, People and Our Future.” Activities will take place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Wise Center in Starkville.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi State University’s Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine recently honored five faculty members with the Regions Bank-DAFVM Superior Faculty Awards in a new program designed to highlight exemplary work in five key areas.

James Warnock, associate professor of biomedical engineering program in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, received the Teaching Award for his innovative teaching methods and commitment to his students. He has been a faculty member at MSU for eight years.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippians looking for more information about how to better care for themselves and their families have a new resource available online.

STONEVILLE – When it comes to irrigating crops, farmers are like Goldilocks.

“They don’t want too much water; they don’t want too little water; they want it just right,” said Jason Krutz, irrigation specialist with Mississippi State University’s Delta Research and Extension Center.

Krutz explained that too much irrigation can damage a crop, drive costs up and reduce underground water supplies.

By Kaitlyn Byrne
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Members of Mississippi State University’s football team traded helmets and shoulder pads for cows and hay bales at the third annual Beefing Up the Bulldogs event at the new Leo Seal Jr. Football Complex.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- When Labor Day rolls around each year, friends and family throughout Mississippi head to the fields early in the morning to get the first flights of doves over the fields they planted in the spring.

John Long, 4-H youth development specialist and shooting sports state program leader with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said opening day of dove season is the big kick-off to hunting season and is considered a Southern tradition.

VERONA – North Mississippi flower and vegetable gardeners will have the opportunity to tour fall horticulture plots at the North Mississippi Research and Extension Center on Sept. 28.

Mississippi State University Extension Service and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station personnel will host the annual event from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. on that Saturday in Verona.

MSU horticulture experts will lead educational seminars, answer questions and provide tours of the flower and vegetable gardens at the facility located at 5421 Highway 145 South.