Feature Story from 2012

GRENADA – Individuals and families can learn skills needed to survive the current economy during an upcoming seminar on asset building.

Asset Building: Pathway to Household Financial Stability” will take place from 8:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. June 26 at the Grenada County Extension Office. Registration is required by June 20 for the free event. A continental breakfast and lunch will be provided.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Veterinary technicians wanting to enhance their dental skills should plan to attend the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine veterinary technician dental training Aug. 18.

The one-day course will be from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. at MSU-CVM’s Wise Center in Starkville. The course is designed to develop competency and cover basic to advanced companion animal dental care. Experts will present lectures, and attendees will participate in hands-on exercises. Participants can earn eight continuing education credit hours.

JACKSON – The quest to improve Mississippian’s lives through digital literacy and better Internet access got a boost on June 8.

Mississippi State University’s Extension Broadband Education and Adoption Team, or e-BEAT, and the Mississippi Library Commission announced a partnership that will provide education and support at local libraries for citizens interested in computers and the Internet. The partnership will officially begin July 1.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – While some college students struck out in their employment searches this summer, one Mississippi State University student has two full-time jobs.

“I’ve been working from sunup to sundown every summer since I was 14, and this summer I’m farming and interning,” said James Locke, an MSU senior majoring in agriculture science. “School feels like a vacation to me.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Bugs provoke shudders or shrieks from most people, but Matthew Thorn seeks them out.

Two years ago, Thorn’s hobby led him to discover the Japanese Rock Pool Mosquito in Mississippi. The mosquito had never before been reported in the state. He collected the insect in its larva stage in Itawamba County. After the adult emerged, he identified it and was shocked by his findings.

By Kaitlyn Byrne
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Pet owners should make finding pet-friendly emergency shelters a priority, as these shelters are safe havens for all “family” members during evacuations caused by hurricanes or other threats.

STONEVILLE – Two upcoming field days at Mississippi State University’s Delta Research and Extension Center will showcase the latest research on soybeans, corn and rice.

On July 19, MSU Extension Service specialists and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station researchers will focus on soybeans and corn during presentations and field tours. Rice will be the topic on July 31.

By Nina Ammon
MSU College of Forest Resources

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A Mississippi State University alumnus’s dedication to sharing his passion for the outdoors has resulted in a national honor.

Jay Stokes, a 2007 graduate of MSU’s College of Forest Resources, was honored as a Field and Stream magazine Hero of Conservation. The honor recognizes individuals who conduct extremely effective hunting- or fishing-related conservation projects.

By Kaitlyn Byrne
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE — For greatest success, gardeners should start by improving the quality of the soil.

Larry Oldham, a soils specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said soil-related challenges vary across Mississippi.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – While nothing may beat the fresh taste of a home-grown tomato, a lot of things can go wrong in the garden to prevent the fruit from ever making it to the table.

Garden experts say tomato plants should be watered well, fertilized correctly, grown in direct sunlight and spaced properly so their leaves stay as dry as possible.

David Nagel, vegetable and home garden specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, listed three common problems that can plague tomato plants.

STARKVILLE – A new leader, a new name and a new fiscal year all begin July 1 in the technology department of Mississippi State University’s Extension Service.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A Mississippi State University doctoral student’s research on a life-threatening, food-borne pathogen was honored at a recent international conference.

Dong-Ryeoul Bae, a researcher at MSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine in the Department of Basic Science, submitted a poster presentation about his research on Listeria to the American Society for Microbiology. It earned an Outstanding Student Poster award at the organization’s June meeting in San Francisco.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – In response to the growing problem of too few doctors to serve the population, 14 years ago Mississippi State University created a plan to motivate bright high schoolers to give medicine a closer look.

MSU launched Rural Medical Scholars in 1998 for the single purpose of directing more of the state’s best and highest-performing students into medical careers. That means the 20 high school students currently in the five-week program have spent the summer seriously considering a future in medicine.

JACKSON – Mississippians can see footage of the West’s wildfires nearly every day, but many could be surprised to learn that their own state averages more than 600 wildfires a year. With urban sprawl infringing on the state’s forests, the fire risk is growing.

“Wildfires don’t get much attention here because we aren’t impacted like people who live in the West,” said Bob Brzuszek, associate professor of landscape architecture at Mississippi State University. “Our climate is more humid, we have a great fire service, and our wildfires tend to happen in more rural areas.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE – The Mississippi State University Extension Service is helping those who want to sell processed foods at Mississippi-certified farmers’ markets get the training they need.

The General Farmers’ Market Food Safety Training two-hour workshop will be offered on these dates:

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A variety of grass developed at Mississippi State University is getting its moment in the sun as a biofuel ingredient, thanks to a recent U.S. Department of Agriculture announcement.

Freedom giant miscanthus, developed by Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station researcher Brian Baldwin and his colleagues, was selected as the crop of choice for one of two new Biomass Crop Assistance Program projects. BCAP funds help offset the expenses of planting renewable energy crops that can require several years to mature to the point of harvest.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Wild pigs may be a boon to hunters, but to many of the nation’s landowners, they are a nuisance, an economic and environmental liability, and a disease hazard.

Farmers and landowners can arm themselves with information from a new website dedicated to providing research-based, useful solutions for feral hogs that damage their crops and property. The site, http://extension.org/feral_hogs, lists resources ranging from the history and biology of feral hogs to designs for corral traps.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A popular summer camp will serve double the number of children this year as the Mississippi State University Extension Service launches its Summer of Innovation.

The Extension Center for Technology Outreach, formerly known as Computer Applications and Services, received funding from NASA for the Summer of Innovation program for the second time. This series of camps is designed to inspire young people to engage in science, technology, engineering and math projects and to learn the fundamentals of rocketry.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Reading was not required to build a robot at Mississippi State University’s Cloverbud Camp, but teamwork, persistence and willingness to follow directions helped all of the pieces fit into place.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Fun with Food brought 32 young people in third through sixth grades to Mississippi State University for a week of hands-on learning about food and cooking skills.

Offered June 18-22 by MSU’s Department of Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion, the class brought together 10 boys and 22 girls for a 40-hour week filled with new food experiences. Sylvia Byrd, professor of nutrition, organized the program and has led it for the past five years.