Feature Story from 2010

MISSISSIPPI STATE – As the economy continues to present challenges, an upcoming workshop will help new food business owners learn how to increase their chances at success.

“Food as a Business” is a day-long video conference Sept. 28 with satellite locations at Mississippi State University, Hattiesburg, Raymond, Verona and Cleveland. The $40 registration fee covers snacks during breaks, lunch and conference materials. The registration deadline is Sept. 20.

PICAYUNE – Mississippi State University’s Crosby Arboretum in Picayune will be crawling with activities at the annual Bugfest Sept. 17 and 18.

The family-friendly event will include collecting, identifying and mounting insects for display; bug-themed crafts and games; and educational seminars on various insects and collecting techniques. The Bugmobile from the New Orleans Audubon Zoo will be featured Saturday afternoon, with presentations at 1 and 2 p.m.

TUPELO – Those committed to the well-being of today’s families can expand their knowledge and share their expertise Oct. 12 at the 13th annual Families and Communities Together Conference in Tupelo.

The FACT conference is sponsored by the Mississippi State University Extension Service, Mississippi Department of Human Services, Mississippi School Attendance, Family Resource Center of Lee County and other family-assistance agencies. It is open to the public and will be held at the North Mississippi Medical Center on North Gloster Street.

By Karen Templeton
MSU Ag Communications

BILOXI – The Deepwater Horizon oil spill has presented Gulf seafood workers with their biggest challenge yet, but they are prepared to keep their industry afloat with all the resources they have, including their noses.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Gardeners across the region should clear their calendars for Oct. 15-16 so they can participate in the Fall Flower and Garden Fest, the largest home gardening show in the Southeast.

Mississippi State University, through the Extension Service and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, is sponsoring the annual event at the Truck Crops Branch Experiment Station in Crystal Springs. Gates will be open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily, and admission and parking are free.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi State University engineering students helped analyze work flow and equipment performance to document the need for new animal cage washing facilities, which were paid for by a federal grant of nearly $300,000.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A Mississippi State University research project to convert trail camera photographs into management tools has led to new software that could improve the deer population “picture.”

Wildlife biologists take age and antler measurements from harvested deer because the physical collection of data is relatively easy. Until recently, harvested deer were the only source of such data, so it provided no information on the remaining deer.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Anyone who wants to learn about historic gardens of the South should plan to attend Mississippi State University’s 55th annual Edward C. Martin Jr. Landscape Design Symposium on Oct. 20.

The MSU Department of Landscape Architecture and the Garden Clubs of Mississippi, Inc., sponsor the event each fall to teach participants about landscape architecture and gardening. This year’s theme is the gardens and historic plants of the Antebellum South.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Launching a business can be challenging and overwhelming, but a recently updated Cooperative Extension Service publication can help provide entrepreneurs with keys to success.

Cashing in on Business Opportunities is a comprehensive educational curriculum designed to help aspiring and existing home-based business and microbusiness owners address challenges.

By Justin Ammon
Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station

MISSISSIPPI STATE — Sharon Hodge is not a social scientist, but as a Gulfport resident who stayed for two of the nation’s deadliest hurricanes -- Camille (1969) and Katrina (2005) -- she understands the type of person who chooses to tackle these mega storms.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Visitors to the South Mississippi Branch Experiment Station in Poplarville on Oct. 7 will have the chance to spend the day focusing on ornamental horticulture.

The 37th Annual Ornamental Horticulture Field Day will offer tours of the trial gardens at the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station branch. There will also be research updates from Mississippi State University and U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agriculture Research Service researchers.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – In many rural counties, gaining access to statistical data about local demographics, education and economics is difficult.

Communities need this data to make decisions, recruit employers, and prepare for the future, said Bo Beaulieu, director of the Southern Rural Development Center at Mississippi State University. In response to this need for centralized information, the center has updated its Community Data Center, a resource that collects, manages, and presents statistical data organized by county.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – The number of non-Mississippians applying to Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine has more than doubled in three years as the total number of applications continues to grow, defying a national trend.

Dr. Rich Meiring is a professor in the Department of Pathobiology and Population Medicine and director of admissions for the college.

By Karen Templeton
MSU Ag Communications

BILOXI – Vera Ramsey’s yard in the St. Martin community was full of amaryllis, daylilies and azaleas, but she was most known for her chaste tree full of beautiful lilac blooms.

“For years, she had the only known chaste tree on that side of the Bay,” said Ramsey’s granddaughter, Lori Ramsey Massey of Latimer. “So many people would stop and admire what they called the ‘lilac tree.’ They’d always ask for a cutting.”

By Katelyn Byrne
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi 4-H youth are teaming up with other groups to protect the state’s water resources through the Adopt-A-Stream Mississippi program.

Laura Giaccaglia, Bolivar County Extension director and 4-H agent, said local 4-H’ers and volunteers have been inspired to protect the water supply in their own counties.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Local gardeners know fall has arrived when Mississippi State University’s horticulture club announces its annual fall plant sale.

This year’s sale will take place Oct. 1 from 9 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. in the campus greenhouses behind Dorman Hall. The event is free and open to the public. A wide variety of flowering plants will be available such as chrysanthemums and pansies, as well as ornamental display options including pumpkins and corn stalks.

OXFORD – Representatives from small communities will get the chance to learn how to attract tourists by promoting their towns’ unique history, culture and charm at the annual Alabama-Mississippi Rural Tourism Conference Oct. 25-27.

The conference is sponsored by the Mississippi State University Extension Service, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, the Tennessee Tombigbee Tourism Association and other community and economic development entities.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – The Mississippi State University Extension Service 4-H Youth Program received a $5,000 grant from the Monsanto Fund to support the 4-H cooperative business tour in 2011.

The annual 4-H Cooperative Business Leadership Conference is the reward given to senior level 4-H members who placed first in their state competitions at 4-H Congress. They are joined on this tour by the state awareness team members and the state 4-H Council officers.

By Justin Ammon
Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station

MISSISSIPPI STATE – In 1999, a Madison boy lay bed-ridden for more than two weeks, and breathing treatments, inhalers and bronchitis medication all failed to treat his mysterious flu-like symptoms and high fever.

“It was just a total energy drain,” said Joe Short, the once-sick junior high student who graduated from Mississippi State University last spring with a degree in marketing.

PRAIRIE -- Mississippi beef producers can fine-tune their forage-fed operations with information offered at an Oct. 22 workshop in Monroe County.

The Forage-Fed Beef Workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Mississippi State University’s Prairie Research Unit.

Program topics include forage systems for pasture-finished beef, current forage-fed research, cattle buying decisions, selling and marketing, and the benefits of forage-fed beef. All beef producers are invited to attend the free workshop. Lunch will be provided.