News From 2013

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A one-day Mississippi Market Ready Training at Mississippi State University can help business owners capitalize on the “buy local” movement.

On Feb. 13, MSU Extension Service experts will discuss current food policy legislation, building relationships with restaurant managers and chefs, proper packaging and labeling, marketing strategies, pricing structures and regulatory concerns.

This workshop will be at the Bost Conference Center from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Doors will open at 8:30 a.m. for coffee and socializing with speakers and colleagues.

When funny, mold-looking things start growing on landscape trees and shrubs, phones start ringing in Mississippi State University Extension Service offices across the state.

Winter is a wonderful time of the year when many of our deciduous trees drop their leaves, signaling the end of one year with the promise of new growth in the spring. But it’s also the time when home gardeners start to notice other things growing in their gardens. The fact that they are green to gray in color adds a sense of dismay.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Even though she did not grow up on a farm, Dr. Cyprianna “Chipper” Swiderski grew up in the Baltimore area with a love for horses.

That love carried her through two graduate degrees, an internship, a residency and nearly 25 years as an equine practitioner. Now, she is a faculty member in the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

GULFPORT -- Horticulture scientists at Mississippi State University are studying and recording the effects of the coastal climate on rooftop gardens in Gulfport.

When they learned the eight green roofs at the Armed Forces Retirement Home were struggling to survive, Christine Coker and Gary Bachman, both horticulture scientists at MSU’s Coastal Research and Extension Center, knew they could help.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Wildlife groups are sponsoring squirrel hunts for youths in seven counties across Mississippi on Feb. 9 to promote lifetimes of safe and responsible hunting.

HATTIESBURG – Muscadine and grape growers can get hands-on experience at a vine pruning workshop Feb. 12.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service is hosting the Muscadine Pruning Workshop from 10 a.m. to noon at the Beaumont Horticulture Unit, part of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station.

GOODMAN -- Fruit, vegetable and flower growers can participate in a Jan. 18 field day highlighting sustainable growing practices.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service and several partner organizations will host the event at the Alliance for Sustainable Agricultural Production Demonstration Farm near Goodman from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Growers of all experience levels are welcome. Attendance is free, but pre-registration is required. Lunch and materials will be provided.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi State University’s Extension Service is seeking donations of adult-sized saddles and two additional safe, gentle horses for therapeutic riding sessions.

The MSU Extension Service’s 4-H Therapeutic Riding and Activity Center, or TRAC, promotes therapeutic riding through educational and research-based activities. Therapy horses must be in good health, have a current negative Coggins test, and be people friendly and extremely calm. English and western saddles are also needed for the program.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi 4-H is looking for four outstanding young people to work in state government for one week in March during the 2013 legislative session.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service 4-H program and the Extension Center for Government and Community Development are looking for qualified 4-H’ers to serve in the 2013 Legislative Page Internship Program. They will work with the Mississippi Senate during the week of March 11-15.

Color in the landscape can seem like an unachievable goal in the cold and dreary winter months. But it can be reached when gardeners rely on plants with features other than flowers to brighten the areas around homes.

Pyracantha is one of the best choices the home gardener can make for the winter landscape. This plant’s colorful berries can add beauty and interest to any winter setting.