Feature Story

PICAYUNE, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Crosby Arboretum will hold its biannual music night May 6 in Picayune. Attendees will enjoy three live performances by area acts during Music Under the Stars. The event will be held on the Pinecote Pavilion from 6 to 9 p.m.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Community improvement starts with a volunteer spirit and a desire to serve as a role model for positive change.

In north Mississippi, plenty of teenagers are ready to step up. They just need to know how to help.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service 4-H program hosted 69 14- to 18-year-olds April 22 at the Mill Conference Center in Starkville to help some of these future leaders learn not just how to lead, but also how to take care of themselves and help their peers during challenging times.

Poultry is big business in Mississippi, and poultry producers are having to manage disease and high feed costs to produce the meat and eggs that Americans consume in great quantities. Poultry is the most consumed meat in the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, followed by beef and then pork. Eggs are also popular, with Americans eating close to 250 eggs per person each year.

The Science Scholars camp invites all interested high school students to apply to the June 28-30 event at Mississippi State University.

Agriculture is the world’s single largest consumer of fresh water, making the water shortages expected over the next 10 years in at least 40 states -- Mississippi included -- critically important.

GULFPORT, Miss. -- When Martin King’s sister encouraged him to enroll his children in Head Start, he took her advice. And he said he’s glad he did. King’s children, ages 3 and 5, began class in September at Gaston Point Head Start. It is one of several locations in Harrison County where the Mississippi State University Extension Service manages and delivers the early learning program.

EGYPT, Miss. -- On hot days, Robert Thompson’s beef cows used to retreat to a cluster of trees in the middle of his pasture for shade.

The 24-head herd will have to cool down elsewhere now as two towering brush and limb piles have replaced the resting area. Clearing a new place for the cows is one of many tasks facing Thompson after an EF-3 tornado chewed through the 18-acre grazing area in Monroe County during a March 25 severe weather outbreak.

D’IBERVILLE, Miss. -- Students at Gilbert Mason Head Start eagerly anticipated Work Together Wednesday, when the 4- and 5-year-old classmates planted herbs in the school’s raised beds. Wednesday’s activities were part of the school’s celebration of the Week of the Young Child held nationwide April 1-7. The annual observance is organized by the National Association for the Education of the Young Child. Each day, teachers used themes related to food, music and art to encourage movement and healthy lifestyles for students and parents.

RAYMOND, Miss. -- The hard freeze that swept Mississippi on March 19 and 20 dampened some of spring’s early displays and left many landscape plants with unsightly cold damage. Now, homeowners are wondering what to do about their landscape plants that lost their leaves or have brown-tipped or brown, shriveled leaves.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- If the newest Mississippi planting forecast holds, more corn and rice will be produced in 2023 compared to recent years, while demand will drive down cotton acreage.

The National Agricultural Statistics Service, a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, released its annual prospective plantings report March 31. According to the report, intended cotton acreage is at 400,000 acres, down 25% from the 530,000 acres planted in 2022. Growers also plan to plant 700,000 acres of corn, which is 21% more than the 580,000 acres harvested last year.

STARKVILLE, Miss. – A Mississippi State University Extension Service specialist has joined a national collaborative founded to guide climate change research.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- After natural disasters, food and shelter are prioritized well above mental health, but ignoring emotional distress can lead to serious physical health conditions.

RAYMOND, Miss. -- Not so long ago, goats were niche livestock animals in Mississippi. But these small ruminants have grown in popularity in recent years, especially dairy goats. Farmers who have limited acreage or want to diversify their livestock operations often choose goats. Others want goats for their meat or milk. Regardless of the purpose, people who want to join the ranks of goat owners should understand some important aspects of goat ownership before bringing one home.

PICAYUNE, Miss. -- The public is invited to celebrate part of the Mississippi State University Crosby Arboretum’s history during the Strawberries & Cream Festival April 16 in Picayune. The event commemorates the Depression-era strawberry farm located on the grounds of what is now a premier native plant conservatory. The festival begins at 1 p.m. and ends at 3 p.m. Activities will be held on the Pinecote Pavilion. Admission is free.

Eddie Smith is the new face and driving force of the Southern Gardening family of resources that includes weekly videos, newspaper columns, guest appearances and social media posts focused on gardening in Mississippi.

POPLARVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi blueberry producers expect to see substantial yield losses in the state’s largest commercial fruit crop after the hard freeze that hit the state on the weekend of March 18. Eric Stafne, fruit and nut specialist with the MSU Extension Service, said growers will see significant losses. The condition of the crop is poor based on what commercial growers are reporting to him and his observation of damage to blueberry plants at the South Mississippi Branch Experiment Station in Poplarville, where he is based.

Sweet potato growers in Mississippi can get free nematode testing of soil samples they send to Mississippi State University from now until Dec. 31, 2024. The samples can be submitted in nematode bags available at local county MSU Extension Service offices; samples are also accepted in quart-sized, sealed plastic bags.

The tarnished plant bug is Mississippi’s No. 1 most economically damaging insect in cotton, costing an estimated $42 million in yield losses plus millions more spent to control the pest.

MERIDIAN, Miss. -- Gardening and floral design enthusiasts and professionals can enjoy a floral design demonstration and reception at Merrehope in Meridian. Petals & Prosecco will feature Jim DelPrince, a horticulture specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. He will show attendees how to make 19^th century-style mantel garlands.

The E.G. (Gene) Morrison Brown Loam Branch Experiment Station in Hinds County, which has sat largely vacant for two years, now has a new purpose, updated facilities and a new life after reopening this spring. The research station, part of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station at Mississippi State University, is a 1,700-acre facility dedicated to cattle, forage and agronomic crop research. It is part of the Central Mississippi Research and Extension Center in Raymond.