Feature Story from 2014

STONEVILLE -- Pivot irrigation is no longer a common sight across the Delta, but experts say this system remains a viable and efficient way to water crops.

“I would like to see pivots in the Delta,” said Jason Krutz, irrigation specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. “They deliver water more efficiently, so if we have an aquifer problem, which everything indicates we do, they would go a long way towards helping address it.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Using fast-growing woody crops as a source of energy and fuel may be the key to energy independence in the United States.

The latest Southeastern biofuels research and production methods will be on display for landowners, industry professionals and community leaders during a month-long series of field days in September sponsored by the Southeastern Partnership for Integrated Biomass Supply Systems.

POPLARVILLE -- Horticulture enthusiasts and industry professionals can hear research updates and tour demonstration gardens at the Mississippi State University South Mississippi Branch Experiment Station in Poplarville on Oct. 2.

Scientists with the MSU Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, Extension Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service will deliver information on pest management, variety trial results and landscaping during the 41st annual Ornamental Horticultural Field Day.

GOODMAN -- Fruit and vegetable growers can learn about growing fall crops and building mobile cooling trailers during the Sept. 19 Alliance for Sustainable Agricultural Production Demonstration Farm Field Day in Goodman.

Bill Evans, a Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station associate research professor with Mississippi State University, will cover variety selection, planting dates, disease resistance, pest management, crop rotation and more.

PICAYUNE -- Families and school groups can learn about some of Mississippi’s insects and their plant companions during the annual Bugfest Sept. 26 and 27 at the Mississippi State University Crosby Arboretum in Picayune.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Row crop producers interested in quality soil should sample fields after harvest and apply recommended lime in the fall.

Larry Oldham, a soil fertility specialist and professor with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said lime is an important component of soil fertility management because it sets the environment in which plants live and grow.

CRYSTAL SPRINGS -- Leisure gardeners and horticulture professionals are invited to attend the Southeast’s most popular gardening show Oct. 17 and 18 at the Mississippi State University Truck Crops Experiment Station.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Dog owners may be surprised to find out that certain ticks can paralyze their beloved pets.

These tick species carry a nerurotoxin that affects the mobility of animals. If the animal is not treated, their limbs may become paralyzed.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Michael Hingson will soon visit Mississippi State University to explain how the human-animal bond saved his life during the terrorist attacks in New York on Sept. 11, 2001.

Hingson and his guide dog, Roselle, were among those working in the World Trade Center on 9/11. Through trust and teamwork, Hingson and Roselle escaped from the 78th floor of Tower One moments before it collapsed.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Childhood visits to grandma’s farm, complete with a mean rooster, piglets on the loose and homemade apple pie, led one Mississippi State University graduate into full-time farm living.

Brittany Reyer of Reyer Farms in Lena grows seasonal produce, free-range chickens for egg production, and pasture-raised heritage breed pigs and cattle with her husband, Jody. When they were expecting their first child, they began investigating options that would allow Brittany to stay home full-time.

JACKSON -- More than 130 students, teachers and community members combed the grounds of the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science in Jackson on Sept. 13 during the state’s first BioBlitz.

Scientists from the Mississippi State University Extension Service and the museum led participants through the facility’s trails during the 13-hour event to inventory insects, spiders, birds, aquatic animals, mammals, trees and mushrooms.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The newest technology and machinery used to advance the South’s timber industry will be demonstrated Sept. 19-20 at the Mid-South Forestry Equipment Show.

The event will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Held at the John W. Starr Memorial Forest off of Highway 25 south of Starkville, the show is sponsored by Mississippi State University’s College of Forest Resources, Hatton-Brown Publishers Inc., the Mississippi Loggers Association and the Mississippi Forestry Association.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Some travelers may be afraid of lions, tigers and bears, but the real health threats come from mosquitoes, ticks and fleas.

David Buys, health specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said people traveling outside the United States should consult doctors, local health departments, or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website for disease risks and recommendations.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi State University is bringing three influential designers to campus in October to give professional and hobby gardeners new ideas about landscape design.

The 59th Edward C. Martin Landscape Design Symposium will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Oct. 15 at the MSU Bost Extension Center Auditorium. Bob Brzuszek, Extension professor of landscape architecture, is the symposium program chair.

Speakers this year are Eric Groft, John Mayronne and Sadik Artunc.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A Mississippi State University graduate student is using a centuries-old teaching method to plant the seeds of success in would-be gardeners.

Kandiace Gray of Fulton is working on her master’s degree in horticulture. She has created a hands-on workshop series designed to share the how-to side of the pretty pictures found on Pinterest gardening boards.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Anticipating the return of manufacturing to the U.S., Mississippi State University’s Franklin Furniture Institute is hosting the Mississippi Reshoring Summit on Sept. 24.

Higher labor costs in China and technological advances that aid in U.S. production are partly responsible for increasing domestic manufacturing. The summit will help attendees answer the question for their industries, “Is it time to reshore?”

STONEVILLE -- The thousands of dollars farmers invest in equipment, seed and labor to produce row crops, such as soybeans, cotton and corn, is wasted if they do not have quality soil.

“Everything ties back to how well the soil is maintained,” said Bobby Golden, an agronomist and researcher with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station at Stoneville. “If we didn’t have a strong, stable foundation, which is the soil, the crop yields we produce wouldn’t exist.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- In Mississippi, more than 200,000 deer are harvested each year, providing families with a source of free-range meat. However, hunters must exercise care when processing deer to ensure good-tasting, high quality, safe meat products.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A Mississippi State University Extension Service youth initiative and its coordinator earned national honors this month for efforts to prepare communities for disasters.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- This week marks National Farm Safety and Health Week and it is the perfect time to recognize the dangers of harvest equipment on the highways.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, 70 percent of traffic fatalities in Mississippi occur on rural roads. In addition to being more common, crashes on rural roads tend to be more severe and are more likely to result in death. Farm equipment can be a hazard rural roads any time of year, but harvest time means increased traffic.