Feature Story

Eggs are a traditional part of Easter décor and celebrations, and it is risky to eat or use these hard-boiled eggs for recipes after the festivities are over.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Two years have passed since the first cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the U.S., but problems the virus caused in the country’s grocery supply chain could remain well into 2022, which will likely mean higher beef prices for consumers.

Josh Maples, an agricultural economist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said labor reductions caused beef shortages, which have increased the price of this commodity across the country.

RAYMOND, Miss. – Unique nutritional needs require older Americans to pay special attention to how they stock their pantries to ensure they are consuming enough of the right foods.

RALEIGH, Miss. – Beef and poultry producers across Mississippi will have an opportunity to get up to speed on the latest issues facing their industries and see new products and equipment on April 14.

One way to improve a home landscape is to learn from the best, an opportunity coming to area gardeners when Douglas Tallamy speaks twice at Mississippi State University.

Gas prices have been inching up for months, but the recent overnight increases have many people looking for ways to keep costs down. According to AAA, gas prices in Mississippi average $3.99 per gallon of regular unleaded. A month ago, that average was $3.14; a year ago, it was $2.48.

Dependable, good nutrition is key to children’s successful development, a fact that brings hundreds of organizations and individuals into action when a disruption threatens lifelong impacts. Such a disruption came in March 2020 when the pandemic lockdown made school virtual. Thousands of Mississippi children who relied on school cafeterias for breakfast and lunch were suddenly without a huge percentage of their daily nutrition. Many school districts leaped into action, using existing bus routes to deliver meals to students a few times a week.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Business leaders looking to upgrade their social media marketing strategies can now get started by tuning in to a new podcast series.

Bricks-To-Clicks Marketing, a Mississippi State University Extension program, helps business leaders develop a digital marketing plan to bring in more customers and revenue. The program has launched an eight-episode marketing podcast centered around use of social media platforms to grow personal brands and businesses.

Rural Mississippians face the same challenge as every other community across the country when a local grocery store closes: Where do lower-income residents find food? Many communities have chosen to act rather than let this setback destroy the way of life they hold dear.

Central Mississippi agricultural producers and industry professionals met with Mississippi State University personnel to discuss research and education priorities at the 2022 Producer Advisory Council meeting on Feb. 23 in Raymond. The annual event is aimed at helping clients improve their productivity. Attendees gathered in small commodity groups to share their ideas with agents, researchers and specialists with the MSU Extension Service and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station.

Home lawns and landscapes have possibly never looked better, as consumer data show people changed buying habits and spent more on plant and landscape items during the pandemic. Tricia Knight, director of coastal horticulture research at Mississippi State University’s South Mississippi Branch Experiment Station in Poplarville, said revenue for the green industry grew during the pandemic in part because people were looking for something positive amid all the uncertainty.

A recent grant award is helping provide all-terrain vehicle safety training to Mississippi 4-H’ers. The Mississippi State University Extension Service 4-H ATV Safety Program recently received $10,000 from Polaris through the company’s T.R.A.I.L.S. grant program. The funds purchased two youth sized Polaris ATVs and safety equipment. T.R.A.I.L.S. is an acronym for trail development, responsible riding, access, initiatives, lobbying and safety.

VERONA, Miss. -- Each February, agricultural producers in Mississippi speak, and personnel with the Mississippi State University Extension Service and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station listen.

Producer Advisory Council meetings present opportunities for growers to meet with MSU commodity experts and share ideas for research and educational projects.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service has been awarded $5 million to directly impact early-childhood education in the state by developing a new curriculum for children from birth through age 5. The funds will be used to develop “My Mississippi Adventures,” a developmentally appropriate, integrated curriculum to be used in licensed child care facilities.

Communities along the Gulf Coast facing the constant challenge of sea-level rise coupled with heavy rains and tropical storms have an ally in the Resilience to Future Flooding project. This project focuses on addressing communication and financial barriers to sea-level rise resilience in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

The first step to achieving financial fitness is creating a budget, but that first step can be hard to take. This step-by-step approach makes the budgeting process less intimidating.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service invites beef cattle and hay producers to attend the Cool-Season Forage Field Day March 4 in Starkville.

JACKSON, Miss. -- Lily and Emma Grace Putnam raised their Mississippi-bred reserve champion lamb in their Sunflower County pasture, which they recently finished fencing in with the help of loans and grants.

“We have always had the land and have been pasturing it in piece by piece as we’ve been able to, but we needed to complete the fencing this year so we could finish breeding our ewes,” said Lily Putnam, a Sunflower County 4-H’er based in Sunflower County. “The loan was helpful to me because we used it to buy equipment to get ready for lambing and start a breeding business.”

HOLLY SPRINGS, Miss. -- Hunters and landowners in Mississippi are invited to an upcoming group discussion on chronic wasting disease.

“White-Tailed Deer and Chronic Wasting Disease: Hunter and Landowner Group Discussion” will be hosted by the Mississippi State University Extension Service Feb. 25 at the Extension office in Marshall County. This event was moved from its original scheduled date in January to allow for more participation.

Pat Scace, floral display supervisor at the Missouri Botanical Garden will give a lecture on March 21 from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Mississippi State University Coastal Research and Extension Center. It will conclude with a recognition ceremony for the newest group of certified MSU Extension Service Master Floral Designers. Deadline to register is March 14.