Feature Story from 2014

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi youths recently took part in a competition with skills they can take to their graves.

WEST POINT -- Jim McAdory wants to surround a group of Choctaw teens with academic and professional examples of people who are pursuing or embracing careers in agriculture.

McAdory, an agent with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, is working with the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians to develop an agricultural mentors program for high school juniors and seniors.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Lauren Bright may not consider herself a pioneer, but she has blazed a trail for Mississippi State University veterinary medicine students interested in medical research careers.

In 2008, Bright became one of the first two students admitted to the newly combined doctor of veterinary medicine-graduate degree program at the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine, in which students earn a DVM and a Ph.D. at the same time. This May, she will become the program’s first graduate, when she receives her DVM degree in May 2014. She will receive her Ph.D. in spring 2015.

By Brittnie Burton
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Well-intentioned people may do more harm than good when trying to help large animals after disasters, trailer accidents and other catastrophes.

Doug Carter, an agent with the Mississippi State University Extension Service in Rankin County, said even people with large animal experience can make life-threatening mistakes. He was one of the Extension agents who took part in the Technical Large Animal Emergency Response awareness course at the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine on March 29 and 30.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A recreational vehicle loaded with early childhood resources will tour Mississippi April 7-11 to celebrate the Week of the Young Child.

The Mississippi Child Care Resource and Referral Network, a program of the Mississippi State University Extension Service, is sending its mobile library to Pontotoc, Chickasaw, Copiah, Madison, Rankin, Tunica and Panola counties.

Providers, families and community members can tour the RV and receive giveaways. Providers can earn one contact hour by completing a make-and-take activity.

PICAYUNE -- Mississippi's diverse ecosystems take center stage in a Mississippi State University landscape architecture expert’s new book about the Crosby Arboretum.

Bob Brzuszek, an Extension professor of landscape architecture, recently launched “The Crosby Arboretum: A Sustainable Regional Landscape,” through the Louisiana State University Press.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Faculty and staff in the Mississippi State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences were honored for exemplary service during a recent awards ceremony.

The four faculty honorees, chosen from a field of 217 educators, were recognized for inspiring students both in and out of the classroom. Recipients of the college’s annual teaching awards for 2014 were Shien Lu, Angel Fason, Fred Musser and Charles Freeman.

The college also honored two staff members for their outstanding contributions.

JACKSON – The mild spring weather brings people and pets out to play. But encounters with other dogs, wildlife and moving vehicles often hurt dogs that spend time outdoors.

Supervision is the best way to help Fido avoid trouble, said Dr. Christine Calder, a veterinary resident with a focus in behavior at the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The Mississippi Forestry Foundation is investing in the lives of students at Mississippi State University.

The foundation, a nonprofit division of the Mississippi Forestry Association, created two endowed scholarships in the College of Forest Resources through the “Infinite Impact: The Mississippi State University Campaign.”

The foundation’s membership previously supported one of the most coveted scholarships in the college, an annual $2,500 award. The most recent gifts are in addition to that annual scholarship.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Jerry Don Keith has been gardening for years, but he had the best garden he’s ever grown after he attended the Master Gardener training last spring.

“I knew I had a lot to learn, but I had no idea that the Master Gardeners would cover so much,” Keith said. “It’s not just about vegetable gardening, but trees, weeds, grass and soil. It’s learning what to do in gardens and yards. Sometimes the little things we learn are the most important.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi State University scientists have created a new software program to help foresters and landowners manage hardwood timber.

Emily Schultz and Tom Matney, forestry professors in the MSU Forest and Wildlife Research Center, developed the software and user’s guide based on 33 years of research.

The free software provides expected yields and future growth values for the red oak-sweetgum forest mixture that is widely distributed across Mississippi river bottoms.

BROOKLYN – Students at Forrest County Agricultural High School now have the resources of Mississippi State University at their fingertips.

The school entered a partnership with the MSU Extension Service this year that allows students, faculty and staff to attend Extension educational trainings through an interactive video system. Extension and school representatives and local and state officials marked the occasion with a ribbon cutting on April 8 at the high school.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Eliminating ramshorn snails is a proven method of controlling a major catfish parasite, but producers must be constantly vigilant to keep a small problem from exploding into big trouble.

Digenetic trematodes, which are spread by ramshorn snails, can cause costly problems in Mississippi catfish ponds, including slow fish growth, susceptibility to diseases and fingerling death. This parasite is showing signs of reemerging as a significant problem, and it has spread from the Delta to east Mississippi ponds.

MEADVILLE – Genette Hunt and Sarah Harvill live their dream every day.

The two own and operate Sage Farms in Franklin County, a 140-acre cutting-edge beef cattle operation.

“Owning farmland is something we both always wanted to do,” said Hunt, who has owned cattle with longtime friend Harvill since 1987. “When I was a child, 6 or 7 years old at the most, I’d go with my mother around our farm, and I’d ask her how many cows we had and how much land we had. I’ve always been interested in it.”

WEST POINT -- Representatives of the 4-H Foundation of Mississippi touted a 63-acre multipurpose youth complex as a great example of community partnerships during a ribbon-cutting ceremony in West Point Thursday (April 10).

MACON -- East Mississippi catfish producers are invited to an April 30 workshop that will help them address a new challenge to their profit margins.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service is offering a short meeting on trematode infection in catfish. All industry professionals are encouraged to attend the Wednesday session from 1:30-2:30 p.m. at the Noxubee County Civic Center in Macon. Registration begins at 1 p.m.

JACKSON – Commercial fruit and vegetable growers can learn to produce strawberries for local markets during a one-time short course offered May 13 and 14 in Choctaw.

Experts from the Mississippi State University Extension Service, the Research and Extension Division of the University of Arkansas, and the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce will present information about crop production and marketing.

Strawberry expert Barclay Poling of North Carolina State University and strawberry grower Mel Ellis of Mayhew Tomato Farm in Columbus are featured speakers.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station recently honored several members of the Mississippi State University faculty, staff and student body for outstanding research, service and facility maintenance.

Fei Yu, a MAFES scientists and assistant professor in the MSU Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, received the 2014 Excellence in Research Award sponsored by Mississippi Land Bank. Yu also received the MAFES Grantsmanship Award for amassing more than $4.5 million in grants.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service is tuning up its sewing machines as the requests for sewing classes stack up.

“Everything old is new again,” said Sylvia Clark, family and consumer sciences Extension associate. “There is a renewed interest in sewing, in making clothes and items for the home that reflect a personal sense of style and save money.”

Most schools in Mississippi, like those in many other states, no longer offer sewing classes.