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Feature Story from 2009

May 7, 2009 - Filed Under: Dairy

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Two days in June are dedicated to educating those in the dairy industry about key issues in a time when producers are struggling to maintain profitability.

Canadian wildlife biologist Jayme Sones reaches for a specimen in the insect collection at Mississippi State University's entomological museum. Sones is part of a worldwide research effort to catalog DNA of all living species for easier identification. (Photo by Patti Drapala)
May 14, 2009 - Filed Under: Insects

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A team of Canadian researchers cataloging the genetic makeup of all living species into an easily accessible system have identified the Mississippi Entomological Museum as a treasure trove after setting up camp at Mississippi State University for a week.

Lamar Adams
May 14, 2009 - Filed Under: Dairy, About Extension

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A Mississippi State University Extension Service employee with 22 years of experience in county-level programming for agricultural and natural resources, 4-H, consumer education and community development is the new statewide dairy specialist.

Lamar Adams, who was Extension director in Walthall County, began his new job May 1. Adams will develop educational programs for dairy producers throughout the state as a faculty member in MSU’s Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences.

May 21, 2009 - Filed Under: 4-H

MISSISSIPPI STATE – 4-H’ers have always worn green to State Club Congress, but this year they will be “going green” at the annual event May 27-29 at Mississippi State University.

This year’s theme is “100 percent green…for our club, community, country and world.” Organizers chose this message to reflect the 4-H ethic of putting ideas into action.

Chelsi Smith, 18, of Guntown, and Ashley Gray, 16, of Tupelo, complete a presentation for the upcoming state 4-H Club Congress at Mississippi State University May 27-29. Smith, a Saltillo High School graduating senior, will complete her year as president of the state 4-H Council during the event. (Photo by Patti Drapala)
May 21, 2009 - Filed Under: 4-H

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

TUPELO -- Mississippi 4-H Council President Chelsi Smith is a modern young woman who uses computers, PDAs and texting to reach members, yet relies on traditional 4-H values to make these tools effective.

May 21, 2009 - Filed Under: Children and Parenting

HATTIESBURG – All children, families and educators are provided an opportunity for education and access to learning materials at the Mississippi State University’s Resource and Referral Agency in Petal.

The referral agency is part of the Mississippi Child Care Resource and Referral Network, offered by MSU’s Extension Service. There are 12 referral agency sites, including the one in Petal, which serves Lamar, Jones, Wayne, Covington, Forrest, George, Greene, Stone, Pearl River and Perry counties.

From left, Jim Kelly, restoration expert for the Land Trust for the Mississippi Coastal Plain, and Lavell Mitchell, nurseryman, load RPM trees grown at Young's Nursery in Vancleave while Laura Bowie, Land Trust watershed outreach coordinator, carries more over in this April 23 photo. (Photo by Bonnie Coblentz)
May 21, 2009 - Filed Under: Disaster Response

MISSISSIPPI STATE – It took less than 24 hours for Hurricane Katrina to destroy nearly 1.3 million trees in south Mississippi landscapes, and those trying to replant are hoping to restore the tree-filled skyline as quickly as possible.

May 28, 2009 - Filed Under: Commercial Horticulture, Fruit

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi State University’s Central Research and Extension Center is offering the annual twilight tour of its 175 acres of research plots to conventional and organic fruit and vegetable growers on June 16.

The free event begins with registration at 5:30 p.m. at the Mississippi Agricultural Research and Experiment Station’s Crystal Springs Truck Crops Station. At 5:45 p.m., growers will be taken on a wagon tour of the research plots.

May 28, 2009 - Filed Under: Soybeans

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Soybean rust is active on kudzu in Alabama and Louisiana, but the disease has not made it to Mississippi, although rains are creating ideal conditions for its development.

Tom Allen, a plant pathologist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, helps monitor for this disease.

June 3, 2009 - Filed Under: Food

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi State University will hold two camps this summer to teach kids and teens that there can never be too many cooks in the kitchen.

MSU’s Department of Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion is offering “Fun with Food” camp for third- through sixth-grade students and “Culinology for Teens” camp for ninth- through 12th-grade students. Both camps will provide participants hands-on food discovery experiences.

June 4, 2009 - Filed Under: Livestock, Poultry, Pests

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A sudden outbreak of tiny buffalo gnats has created a costly nuisance in many Mississippi livestock operations, wildlife areas and backyard poultry flocks this spring.

The gnats are members of the blood-sucking insect family Simuliidae. While entomologists describe them as black flies, these insects may be gray, tan or greenish in color. They feed on the blood of humans and animals.

Robotics competitor Keelan Ready, of Hernando, checks programming adjustments on her team's robot. (Photo by Patti Drapala)
June 4, 2009 - Filed Under: 4-H, STEM – Science Technology Engineering and Math

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Educators who pioneered the 4-H movement recognized the importance of using hands-on activities and mental exploration to encourage youth to open themselves to new ideas and experiences.

While that basic premise of serving youth by helping them develop life skills remains important, many 4-H projects are clearly different from those of a hundred years ago. Today’s 4-H’ers can explore their world through numerous projects involving science, engineering and technology.

Tom Wilburn, a 1940 animal husbandry graduate from Mississippi State College, is pictured many years ago with his harness-race horse, Trotwood Roy. (Submitted photo)
June 4, 2009 - Filed Under: Equine

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Tom Wilburn’s memories of growing up on an east Mississippi plantation, attending Mississippi State College and plunging headlong into the harness racing industry are the types of tales Jeannine Smith is eager to record.

United by a common passion for local history, these two graduates of Mississippi State University spent a lifetime together in two years. Smith, who received her master’s degree from MSU in industrial technology in 1995 and a doctorate in education in 2001, began researching for a book on Artesia, her adopted hometown, in 2005.

June 6, 2009 - Filed Under: Agriculture

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Youth of all ages can spend a day at Tougaloo College on June 18 learning about sustainable agriculture through a variety of hands-on activities.

Admission is free to the Youth Sustainable Ag Day at the Tougaloo-Rainbow Garden. The event is sponsored by the Mississippi State University Extension Service, Hinds County 4-H, Tougaloo College and the Alcorn Cooperative Extension Program.

June 9, 2009 - Filed Under: Crops

STONEVILLE -- Mississippi State University researchers and Extension Service specialists will explain at a July 16 event in Stoneville current studies that could help farmers of agronomic crops.

MSU’s Delta Research and Extension Center will host the annual Agronomic Field Day. Registration begins at 8 a.m., and the program starts 30 minutes later.

June 11, 2009 - Filed Under: Wildlife, White-Tailed Deer

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Each year some 300,000 Mississippi hunters take to the woods in search of white-tailed deer. Before opening day, landowners and hunters spend hours preparing their properties and equipment for the hunting season.

A workshop sponsored by Mississippi State University’s Extension Service and Forest and Wildlife Research Center, and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks is giving landowners an opportunity to become better prepared for this fall activity.

This architectural drawing represents the future veterinary complex in Flowood that will house the Animal Emergency Clinic and the College of Veterinary Medicine Referral Services Clinic. (Drawing by Crosby Longo Architecture Studio of Lafayette/New Orleans, La.)
June 11, 2009 - Filed Under: Animal Health

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Time and location are crucial factors in managing medical emergencies, but there always have been fewer critical care facilities available within a short distance when the victim is the family pet.

In 1985, several private practitioners in Metro Jackson opened the Animal Emergency Clinic on Monroe Street in the city’s downtown district. As more people moved into the Jackson-Vicksburg-Hattiesburg area, each veterinarian experienced an increase in emergency caseloads.

Dr. Joey Burt shows students LeeAnne Rich, center, and Marla Waldrop that proper, gentle handling during an examination can soothe the patient and the pet owner. (Photo by Tom Thompson)
June 11, 2009 - Filed Under: Animal Health

By Patti Drappala
Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Dr. Joey Burt wants veterinary medical students who plan to open or join a clinic to develop medical, communication and business skills needed to be successful private practitioners well before they graduate.

Burt left a thriving private practice he established in Oxford, Ohio, last November to become chief of the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine’s Community Veterinary Services section.

June 12, 2009 - Filed Under: 4-H, Technology

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Youth who enjoy drama, theater, music, art or literature and want to learn how computing can enhance creativity should attend the 4-H Technology and Expressive Arts Camp July 21-24 at Mississippi State University.

The camp, which is open to 4-H youth ages 14-19, is designed to offer as many opportunities as possible for youth to discover and enhance their imaginations and creativity. Youth who are not 4-H members can participate by joining a 4-H club in their town or county.

June 18, 2009 - Filed Under: Forestry

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Carbon trading has been around for about a decade, but with the increasing global concern regarding climate change, it is receiving even more attention.

Forest landowners have the potential to generate additional income by using their forest for carbon sequestration, a method providing long-term storage of carbon dioxide.

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