Technology
3D printers. Robots. Smartphones. Technology changes so quickly—who can keep up? While technology is transforming our lives, it doesn’t have to be intimidating! Help with all of the latest gadgets, gizmos, and great ways to connect with loved ones can be found at the county Extension office and online through the MSU Extension Service. Workshops on a variety of technology-related topics, from basic software programs to how to use social media to promote your business, are available throughout the state.
Publications
News
Scams come in a variety of disguises, and some of them are very convincing. It can be especially hard to ignore phone calls from what appears to be a legitimate community business, organization or individual. But those calls could be coming from scammers anywhere in the world. Telemarketers out to defraud customers use caller ID spoofing to intentionally hide their identity by falsifying the information transmitted to someone’s caller ID.
From computer programs that regulate moisture sensors to smartphone apps that allow growers to monitor market data, most facets of agriculture continue their shift to digital platforms. This transition makes reliable internet access no longer a luxury, but a necessity.
Despite Mississippi agriculture’s annual economic impact of around $7 billion, broadband infrastructure is in short supply in the state’s densest agricultural hub: the 19-county Mississippi Delta.
Success Stories
The Excellence in Tourism Leadership Program is training volunteers, employees, and board members involved in Mississippi’s tourism sector and related organizations as they build networks with fellow tourism professionals.
Stafford Shurden’s weather station is ideal for monitoring conditions on his row crop farm, but he uses it even more during hunting season than growing season.
Bricks to Clicks provides free, low-cost, and easy-to-use marketing resources to help small businesses grow their audiences and income. Free marketing resources include a website course, one-on-one coaching, webinars, podcasts, a blog, and a bimonthly newsletter. With these marketing resources, business owners can get personalized guidance backed by decades of marketing experience to drive online awareness and engagement to increase sales.
Since 1994, she’s worked for Buck Island Seed Co., a business her brother co-founded with two other men in the same year. The company performs custom seed cleaning, treating, and blending for rice, soybeans, wheat, oats, and triticale, a small grain. Booth also raised various row crops with her husband on their Tunica County farm until his death in 2020. She now rents out the land to a producer who grows soybeans, corn, and triticale.
Small town builds big online presence
The Woodville Board of Aldermen was ready. It was 2014, and the officials concluded that the city needed a website to offer residents and tourists up-to-date information about city services, community events, and tourist attractions. City Clerk Cathy McCurley was appointed to create and maintain the new website for the southwest Mississippi town. The only problem? She knew nothing about building websites.
