Mississippi Landmarks June 2017

Volume 13, Number 2

JUNE 2017

Sweet Potato Growers Could Have Markets for Imperfect Produce‌ page 24 Research, Education, and Extension in the Division of Agriculture, Forestry, and Veterinary Medicine

Mississippi State University

Contents On the Cover

Vo l u m e 1 3 , N u m b e r 2

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June 2017

MSU researchers and Extension specialists Dr. Alba Collart (left) and Dr. Stephen Meyers meet with sweet potato producer Jamie Earp in a facility where sweet potatoes are cured after harvest. Researchers surveyed consumers’ willingness to buy potatoes that sustained skinning injury during harvest and packing.

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Ag Comm Graduates Prepare for Careers The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has produced the first graduates from its new agricultural communications concentration.

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Inventory Measures Benefits of City Trees An assessment of tree canopies in Mississippi communities helps municipal officials understand the value of their trees and provides options to keep the overstory healthy.

16 Irrigation Research Benefits Farmers and Gardeners Horticulture experts are evaluating sensor-based microirrigation to keep maintenance costs low and improve yield quality in fruit and vegetable production.

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Tea Has Potential as a Cash Crop in Mississippi Researchers are working to support a growing tea industry in the state, including The Great Mississippi Tea Company.

18 CALS Trains Tomorrow’s Agricultural Leaders Twin brothers are exceptional students and have exemplified quality leadership and teamwork skills during their time at MSU.

14 Habitat Study Benefits Turkey Management Scientists are using GPS transmitters to track wild turkeys in a unique study to determine factors that affect the health and numbers of the game birds.

10 Paper Byproduct Is Used to Create Valuable Material Researchers have developed a method for converting a waste product into graphene, a carbon-based material that can be used in a variety of applications.

20 Healthy Homes Initiative Enhances Public Health Workshops provide science-based information to help people make informed decisions that can lead to healthier homes.

12 Studies Seek to Improve Stocker Calf Health Efforts to enhance the health of the state’s stocker cattle will benefit Mississippi producers.

22 New Seed Technologies Require Certification Online training helps farmers gain certification to apply auxin herbicides to new crop varieties that are resistant to dicamba and 2, 4-D.

24 Marketing Study Aids Sweet Potato Producers Agricultural economists found that there might be a consumer market for sweet potatoes with moderate amounts of skinning injury.

26 Division Grads Honored as Alumni of the Year Distinguished graduates from DAFVM colleges were named 2017 Alumni of the Year.

27 County Profile Mississippi LandMarks profiles Choctaw County.

28 News Notes DAFVM takes note of faculty, staff, and student accomplishments.

30 Tax-Exempt Trusts Help Farmers Plan for the Future MSU Foundation professionals can work with landowners and their advisers to explore the benefits of charitable remainder trusts and other planning options.

Vice President’s Letter Research, Education, and Extension in the Division of Agriculture, Forestry, and Veterinary Medicine

Mississippi LandMarks is published quarterly by the Division of Agriculture, Forestry, and Veterinary Medicine at Mississippi State University.

PRESIDENT Mark E. Keenum VICE PRESIDENT Gregory A. Bohach DIRECTOR, MSU Extension Service Gary B. Jackson DEAN, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences DEAN, College of Forest Resources DIRECTOR, Forest and Wildlife Research Center DIRECTOR, Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station George M. Hopper DEAN, College of Veterinary Medicine Kent H. Hoblet Mississippi LandMarks is produced by the Office of Agricultural Communications.

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Elizabeth Gregory North ASSOCIATE EDITORS Robyn Hearn Keri Collins Lewis GRAPHIC DESIGNER Annette Woods WRITERS Vanessa Beeson Linda Breazeale Amy Cagle Bonnie Coblentz Susan Collins-Smith Nathan Gregory Jessica Smith PHOTOGRAPHERS David Ammon Kevin Hudson Kat Lawrence Tom Thompson

For a subscription to Mississippi LandMarks or an address change, call (662) 325-2262.

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Available on the World Wide Web www.dafvm.msstate.edu/landmarks

Whether we are gardeners, agricultural producers, instructors, or parents preparing for the end of another school year, spring is a time of growth—when planted seeds emerge. In the Division of Agriculture, Forestry, and Veterinary Medicine, we could not be prouder of the many ways our students have learned and grown during their time with us.

We watched as our scholars received their diplomas, including 290 undergraduates and 39 graduates in the College of Agriculture and Life Science, 61 undergraduates and 13 graduate students in the College of Forest Resources, and 107 total graduates from the College of Veterinary Medicine. In this issue of Mississippi LandMarks, we invite you to read about a few of these students on pages 4 and 18. We offer our sincere congratulations to these graduates, as well as our appreciation to their families for entrusting us with their educational careers.

As growers anticipate the 2017 season, they have some new weapons for combatting weeds. New seed technologies will allow producers to grow crops tolerant to the herbicides dicamba and 2,4-D. DAFVM scientists have long worked to educate producers and prepare them for the certification required to use these new tools. More than 740 producers gained certification through online training modules offered by the division. To read more about these technologies, see page 22.

Starting this summer, our ongoing efforts to protect and preserve natural resources will get a boost from grants awarded by the Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund through private and public partnerships.

From conservation of sea turtles to long-term monitoring of marsh birds as indicators of marsh health, we are honored to participate in this important restoration work and investment in coastal projects.

Across the division, we strive to serve as careful stewards of the trust and the financial support given to our work. As with all state-funded agencies, we are aware of the ongoing need for efficiency. We have held vacant positions and leveraged technology to reduce travel expenditures.

DAFVM continues to search for efficiencies to reduce the costs of accomplishing our land-grant missions: teaching, research, and service.

Mississippi agricultural producers also are careful stewards of their resources, and a growing number are using irrigation technology to increase efficiency and conserve water. In fact, a survey conducted by the Soybean Promotion Board found 20 percent of Mississippi soybean producers use soil-moisture sensors. Compare this rate of participation with the national average of 1.5 percent, and you will see that Mississippi producers are leading the way.

On March 24, young people from across the state gathered for the first World Food Prize Mississippi Youth Institute. Essay contest winners presented their research findings, toured the MSU campus, and attended the Charles E. Lindley lecture on global food security presented by Keegan Kautzky, director of national education programs for the World Food Prize.

In the following week, MSU hosted the 2017 SEC Academic Conference,“The Future of Water: Regional Collaboration on Shared Climate, Coastlines, and Watersheds.” Two days of intensive research presentations, panel discussions, and expert speakers laid the groundwork for future collaborations with partner universities and water research institutes across the Southeast.

With our best wishes for your professional and recreational activities during the summer months,

Gregory A. Bohach

The Messengers First Grads of New Ag Communications Program Prepare for Careers

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Like her parents, Jessica Smith grew up on a farm, so pursuing a career in agriculture feels natural to her.

The MSU College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) has a major that was a perfect fit for her interests: agricultural communications.

“Through different organizations I was in, I developed a love for people and wanted to do something where I was interacting with people on a daily basis,” said Smith, who is from Picayune, Mississippi. “I want to incorporate that into bridging the gap between producers and consumers and emphasizing the importance of agriculture in our daily life.”

Smith and Madison Tew are the first graduates of the new agricultural communications concentration at MSU. Seven students have declared in the agricultural communications concentration since CALS implemented the program in 2015. The concentration is one of three in the School of Human Sciences Agricultural Education, Leadership, and Communications major.

Dr. Quisto Settle, an assistant professor in the program, developed the curriculum and teaches its communications strategies course. Students pursuing the ag communications concentration take a combination of courses in CALS and the MSU Department of Communication, along with general courses and electives.

“I was given a lot of leeway to build the concentration the best I could,” he said. “I looked at the agricultural communications programs across the country that I respected and saw what was being asked of their students.

From that list and what I have seen agricultural communications students being asked to do in postcollege life, I put together the competencies I believed they needed to be successful. After that, it was a matter of finding the courses on campus that would meet those needs and developing the agricultural communications strategies course.”

Tew, a native of Ozark, Alabama, came to MSU to be on its collegiate livestock-judging team. She entered the agricultural communications concentration after she found out it was getting started.

To get the most out of her studies, Tew chooses agricultural topics for assignments in communication courses outside of CALS. She found it advantageous to have the flexibility of focusing on her area of interest.

“When you have a mix of agriculture classes with communication courses, you learn how to effectively convey information consumers need to know through what you learned,” Tew said. “If I have a paper or a

project I’m working on in a nonagriculture class, I tailor it toward agriculture. It is more of a challenge to see how I can tie a general communication project back into the industry.”

Settle said he believes the most pertinent issues facing the long-term viability of agriculture in the U.S. will boil down to good communications.

“Improvements of production practices are always going to happen, but the perceptions of the public and policymakers have a big effect on the industry,” he said. “They need to understand why producers do what they do. When misunderstanding occurs, you get policies that adversely affect the industry and do not help the public at large. Regulation is necessary, but it is important that policymakers work with the folks in agriculture.”

Another issue, Settle added, is consumers making ill-informed purchasing decisions.

“People want to buy safe, nutritious food, but if they lack information about agriculture, they can easily choose a product based on faulty information,” he explained. “Likewise, there are times that the agricultural industry needs to understand what the public wants in order to meet those needs. Agricultural communicators are the best way to bridge that gap.”

The agricultural communications concentration was designed to educate students about agriculture and communications, not one or the other.

“They get the communications skills needed to communicate effectively in general, but they also get agricultural information they should have to discuss the industry,” Settle said. “There are issues specific to agriculture that are difficult to communicate about if you do not understand the industry.”

Smith said she looks forward to a career that will allow her to address consumer and producer issues.

“I have always had a general knowledge of agriculture, but these courses enhanced what I knew about contemporary issues in the industry,” she said.

“At first, you just want to know what is going on around you in your county or state. Through this program, I am learning what other states have to face.

The industry is so diverse depending on where you are, and it is important to be up to date about those things if you are going to be communicating about them to the public.”

By Nathan Gregory • Photo by Kevin Hudson

Madison Tew (left) and Jessica Smith are the first graduates of the new agricultural communications concentration in the MSU College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

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Urban Forest Inventory Helps Cities Plan and Measure Benefits

Mississippi’s urban tree canopy is substantial compared with some other states, helping improve air and water quality for city dwellers.

A recent survey coordinated by the MSU Extension Service recorded no less than 45–48 percent tree canopy in each of seven municipalities, said Dr. Jason Gordon, Extension urban and community forestry specialist.

“We have a lot of urban canopy,” Gordon said. “But that doesn’t mean we need to take it for granted.”

Gordon, along with five other Extension specialists and agents, worked with community volunteers to help these cities assess their trees and develop inventories and management plans to keep them healthy. Students, Master Gardeners, community garden club members, city employees, and Extension personnel gathered data in Oxford, Raymond, Starkville, Pearl, Tupelo, Long Beach, and Pass Christian. Two Alabama cities also were included in the survey, which was funded by the MississippiAlabama Sea Grant Consortium.

Surveyors sampled trees throughout each municipality to collect information such as location, size, age, hazards, health condition, and species distribution. The team entered these details into the i-Tree software, which generated a report to help each community manage canopy risks and determine environmental benefits. The

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U.S. Forest Service and collaborators developed this free program.

“This report gives us a picture of how well the trees are serving communities by sequestering carbon, filtering air pollution, mitigating storm water, and providing other similar ecosystem services,” Gordon said. “We are even able to apply a monetary value to certain services. For example, the report may indicate that the canopy saved $2 million worth of air conditioning in homes and businesses.

Having a monetary figure helps municipalities communicate the importance of canopy health better with stakeholders and citizens.”

After reviewing the i-Tree report, Extension personnel and volunteers

developed a strategic management plan that sets goals and objectives, including tree replacement, species diversity, periodic risk assessment, and routine maintenance, such as pruning and mulching.

The bottom-up survey requires more than 20 measurements done by hand at each computer-generated plot. It is often a more comprehensive assessment than an aerial survey can provide. Depending on the number of surveyors, the task can take several months, but it is worthwhile for any city, said Dr. Stephen Dicke, Extension urban forestry specialist.

“Most cities don’t realize how valuable their trees are,” he said. “One tree can add as much as $500 to $2,000 to the

Dr. Jason Gordon (right) and other Extension personnel worked with community volunteers to help municipal officials assess their trees and develop inventories and management plans to keep them healthy.

property value. That adds up when you start looking at how many trees a city has.

You could be looking at a couple of million dollars in real property value.”

That fact alone is enough to justify the amount of work that goes into the survey. A well-done maintenance plan makes it much easier for officials to protect that value by helping a city set attainable goals and make better use of the financial and personnel resources to reach those goals, Dicke said.

“If I were a city manager, I’d want to know as much about the tree canopy as possible,” he said. “Tree maintenance will cost money, but maintaining healthy trees is much less expensive than maintaining trees in decline.”

Starkville volunteer Leslie Moma said she hopes the group’s efforts will help the city plan for the future health of the city’s trees.

“We often identify our feeling of home by the vegetation that surrounds us,” said Moma, who is a graduate student in the MSU Department of Landscape Architecture. “Here in the South, that identity is often associated with the large canopy of trees that shade our backyards and streets. When we better understand our local community of trees, their health, and their requirements—especially in an urban environment—then we can preserve and expand this tree canopy, investing in

Starkville’s sense of place for generations to come.”

Any city, even smaller ones, can benefit from bottom-up surveys, Gordon said. Extension can provide training to help volunteers learn the equipment and techniques needed to complete the survey.

By Susan Collins-Smith • Photo by Kat Lawrence

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Tea Production

Has Potential in Mississippi

Jason McDonald (above), co-owner of The Great Mississippi Tea Company in Brookhaven, believes tea has potential as a cash crop in the state. Beverly Wainwright (below), a tea blender, is heating tea leaves to achieve a certain flavor.

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In the South, it’s sweet and iced, but tea has global appeal. Ranked second among the world’s most popular beverages, tea is found in almost 80 percent of U.S. homes.

Not surprisingly, Mississippians are interested in growing the crop.

Two of them, Jason McDonald and Timothy Gipson, own The Great Mississippi Tea Company. They planted tea 4 years ago on McDonald’s timberland, which had been devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The company now has an acre of tea in Brookhaven nearing harvest.

Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station (MAFES) researchers Dr. Guihong Bi and Judson LeCompte believe The Great Mississippi Tea Company is on to something.

“We believe tea has great potential to be a cash crop for Mississippi growers,” said Bi, a research professor in the MSU Department of Plant and Soil Sciences who directs the Mississippi Tea Project.

Bi and LeCompte, a MAFES research associate, work with growers, nurseries, and homeowners to select tea varieties and develop sustainable production practices that are best suited to Mississippi’s climate. Most recently, they studied plant phenotypes of samples collected from across the U.S., including The Great Mississippi Tea Company, to investigate the differences in leaf size, leaf color, plant vigor, and heat, cold, and pest tolerance.

“We have several growers in the state who are currently producing tea and many other producers interested in diversifying their cropping system with tea,” Bi said. “The information

shared by Jason and other growers is very valuable and provides guidance to prioritize our research efforts to help current and potential growers.”

McDonald and Gipson planted 2 more acres of tea plants in 2016 and plan to add another 2 acres in 2017.

McDonald said he anticipates another small harvest this summer, which will help them continue to test and develop teas. Teas made from this harvest will be entered into the Tea of the United States competition in the fall and shared with potential vendors.

“We thought we would have a full harvest in 2016, but the plants weren’t ready,” McDonald said. “They still are not of sufficient quality to produce a superior product. We’d rather wait until the plants are ready and have a quality product. We could sell our tea right now. There is a demand for U.S.grown tea on novelty alone. But once the novelty wears off, the quality has to be there for the product to continue to sell.”

In the meantime, they are working hard to build their brand and learn more about tea production and marketing.

In 2016, they invested in a consumer-owned cooperative in Hawaii—The Hawaii Medicinal Tea and Herb Cooperative—and now spend part of the year in Hilo. They are learning from experts and experienced growers, studying tea varieties, and testing a marketing model that will help them when their Mississippi crop is ready for full production.

“The tea industry in Hawaii is about 15 years ahead of us in Mississippi,” McDonald said. “From a business standpoint, it’s not unique in Hawaii. People have heard of it and seen it.”

“We believe tea has great potential to be a cash crop for Mississippi growers.”

—Dr. Guihong Bi

In January, McDonald and Gipson planted a trial plot of almost 1,000 tea plants in Hilo. They plan to plant 10 acres in 2017 and will eventually grow more than 100 acres of tea in Hawaii. They are experimenting with different varieties, some of which came from the Mississippi stock. Other seeds came from Nepal, Kenya, and Hawaii.

“We brought most of the genetics with us,” McDonald said. “We’re propagating those and also trying out some varieties that can’t grow in Mississippi.

On the big island (Hawaii), we have 10 of the world’s 14 climates represented, and they are all within a 2- to 3-hour drive, which makes it easier to collect and test plants.”

McDonald is exploring the possibility of importing seed from China and plans to create a germplasm repository in Hawaii representative of varieties worldwide.

“Currently, there is a ban on importing material other than seeds from camellia species of all types,” he said.

“But we’ll be able to bring in seeds and

select for various growing zones and then easily move cuttings around the U.S. for new growers.”

Current research by Bi and LeCompte is supported by USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Hatch funds through the MSU-MAFES Special Research Initiative and Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce Specialty Crop Block Grant program.

Story and photos by Susan Collins-Smith

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“There is a wide range of potential applications for graphene, and we expect it to be sold in the millions of tons in the future. It is a very good idea to convert lignin, a waste product from the production of paper, to a very valuable product, graphene.” —Dr. Qiangu Yan

Graphene is a carbon-based material that could be an ecologically friendly, sustainable solution for an almost limitless number of applications, such as semiconductors, electronics, and composites.

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Forming

Graphene from Paper By-Product

Benefits the Environment and Economy When science uncovers a use for an formed. Last is purification. industrial waste product, the enviLignin and the catalyst are unironment benefits. But it is a double formly mixed in the precursor bonus when that waste product can preparation step. The precurgenerate income. sors are then dried, predecomMSU Forest and Wildlife posed, and ground to certain Research Center (FWRC) sustainable size particles. bioproducts researchers teamed with “The precursor powders are industry partner Domtar and the then fed into a reactor at high U.S. Department of Agriculture temperature under a controlled Forest Products Laboratory to create atmosphere, where lignin is congraphene materials from lignin, a verted to graphene materials waste product of paper production. with the assistance of catalysts,” Graphene, a very expensive, he said. “Finally, graphene is carbon-based nanomaterial, is separated from the catalysts in extremely strong and an excellent the purification step.” electrical conductor. Graphene Yan said the newly improved formed in single layers costs about Dr. Qiangu Yan and other researchers in the Forest process can produce different $700 per gram. It has applications in and Wildlife Research Center have developed forms of multilayer graphene processes for converting lignin, a waste product of the semiconductor, electronics, materials by altering process paper production, into graphene, a highly valuable energy, and composite industries. parameters such as temperature, product with many applications.

Lignin is the sticky, adhesive subtime, and precursor size. stance that remains when wood is broken down and Graphene forms include multilayer chains, fibers are removed for paper production. nanoplatelets, fluffy graphene, flake-like or curved “Annually, 70 million tons of lignin are produced graphene, and random shapes, each with potential useworldwide as a waste product,” said Dr. Jilei Zhang, an fulness for different applications.

FWRC professor of sustainable bioproducts. “There are “There is a wide range of potential applications for some applications for lignin, but the majority is burned graphene, and we expect it to be sold in the millions of as a fuel. We’re trying to use biomass as the carbon tons in the future,” Yan said. “It is a very good idea to source for graphene production.” convert lignin, a waste product from the production of Graphene is pure carbon formed into a single layer paper, to a very valuable product, graphene.” of atoms bonded together in a hexagonally arranged, Zhang said the high cost of graphene to date has honeycomb-like lattice. Zhang compared the structure prohibited much research into the potential uses of to chicken wire. It is easy to make the carbon nanotube the nanostructure. structures, he explained, but it is much more difficult to “The problem is economics,” Zhang said. “Our form graphene one layer thick. goal is to make a valuable product with this carbonThere are several ways to make graphene strucbased nanomaterial. We have a way to manipulate the tures. The FWRC team melted carbon into a metal and substance for greater value. We have the product now, then lowered the temperature to release the graphenebut we are looking for different applications.” based structures. Any source of carbon can be used, The University of Manchester, United Kingdom, and current processes often use methane. The scientists who isolated graphene, received the Nobel researchers at MSU use biomass as the carbon source.

Prize for physics in 2010. Since it is carbon-based, Dr. Qiangu Yan, an FWRC assistant research prographene could be an ecologically friendly, sustainable fessor of sustainable bioproducts, explained that the solution for an almost limitless number of applications. process MSU uses to produce graphene materials includes three major steps.

By Bonnie Coblentz • Photos by Kevin Hudson “First, there is the precursor preparation and pretreatment of the lignin,” Yan said. “Second, there is thermal conversion, where the graphene materials are

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Seeking Better Management

for Stocker Cattle Health and Producer Profits

Students work under the supervision of Dr. Brandi Karisch (top photo, right) and Extension beef instructor Cobie Rutherford (second from right) to record the weight of a calf and collect samples for a stocker cattle study. Tucker Wagner (right) is Karisch’s graduate student in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences.

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Mississippi has nearly a million head of cattle in an industry with a production value of about $315 million in 2016. MSU researchers hope to make this sector even more vital by enhancing the health of the state’s stocker cattle population.

Dr. David R. Smith, the Mikell and Mary Cheek Hall Davis Endowed Professor in the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM), is collaborating with several division colleagues, including Dr. Brandi Karisch, an assistant extension/research professor in the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences. They have several related studies to improve health outcomes for calves that have reached the stocker phase.

Smith said Mississippi cattle producers are able to grow a marketable product on marginal lands, though not without challenges.

“While some land might not be ideal for row crops, beef cattle can be raised on grass in a lowmaintenance manner,” Smith said. “The state’s cattle typically enter a stocker phase and are then finished in feedlot states. That means introducing factors like transportation that can put cattle at risk for getting sick.

“Our goal is to determine the population’s overall risk factors so that cattle can move through the system with a lowered likelihood of illness,” he explained.

Karisch, who is the Extension beef cattle specialist and a scientist in the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, detailed several studies that took place over several years. Frequently, one study was based on findings from a previous study.

“In an earlier study, we evaluated diets in calves,” Karisch said. “We determined that animals that weighed more on arrival were less likely to get sick. That information led to a different study that compared groups of calves by weight class.”

The team compared 300-pound calves to 500pound calves and determined the smaller calves were more likely to get sick when moving through the mar-

keting system. That study inspired researchers to dig deeper and explore calf immunity. The immunity study, which evaluates the timing of vaccination and deworming of calves as they enter the stocker phase, entered its second year in spring 2017.

“We want to study how these cattle are developing immunity and the ability to fight off certain diseases and explore how an internal parasite load might affect their ability to fight off bovine respiratory disease,” Karisch said.

According to Karisch, calves are usually vaccinated and dewormed upon arrival at a stocker operation. Researchers are testing the effectiveness of this timing. In these tests, some calves get vaccinated and dewormed on arrival, while some have the procedures later. Calves that are immediately vaccinated get a second dose 4 weeks later. The delayed group gets its first dose of vaccine at 4 weeks. Calves are evaluated on pasture for 84 days and monitored for signs of illness. Researchers also monitor differences in parasite egg counts in fecal samples.

“Essentially, the ultimate goal is to prevent sickness before it happens, rather than to treat sickness after it happens,” Karisch said.

The researchers hope to formulate management practices before or during the stocker phase, such as optimal timing for vaccination and deworming.

“The ultimate goal is to provide best practices and tools that producers can apply on their farms to keep cattle healthier and decrease antibiotic use,” Karisch said. “If the cattle stay healthier throughout, they end up costing the producer less money, growing larger, and producing better beef in the end.”

Dr. Amelia Woolums and Dr. Robert Wills, both professors in the CVM Department of Pathobiology and Population Medicine; and Dr. John Blanton, professor and head of the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences, are also participating in this research.

By Vanessa Beeson • Photos by Tom Thompson

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Unique Habitat Study

“We discovered that a certain degree

Could Boost Declining Turkey Population

increase wild turkey abundance.

of forest fragmentation will actually Mississippi wild turkeys respond well to an interspersion of forested and open habitat types.”

鵻鵼

Annie Davis Farrell

Forest and Wildlife Research Center scientists are using GPS transmitters to track turkey movements in a habitat study. Adam Butler is the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks turkey program coordinator.

New technologies and tools are allowing researchers to study turkey habitats on a new level, revealing previously unseen nuances that impact population numbers.

Dr. Guiming Wang of the Forest and Wildlife Research Center (FWRC) and Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture explained how recent wild turkey habitat studies differ from others across the Southeast.

“Mississippi has 30 years of data by region that shows declining harvest numbers,” said Wang, an associate professor of wildlife ecology and management. “Researchers have reported similar declines in other Southeastern states. We wanted to study population connectivity down to the DNA and determine factors that affect the health and numbers of turkey in a wide variety of habitats.”

Wildlife biologists worked hard to restore wild turkey populations in the 1950s and 1960s. By the 1990s, turkey numbers were declining. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks funded the MSU project to investigate potential causes.

Unique to this wild turkey study is the use of GPS transmitters to track bird movements. Researchers are trying to capture 15 birds in each of the state’s five regions and attach tracking transmitters to them.

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“Birds move about 10 miles over a year’s time,” Wang said.

FWRC researchers wanted to develop a statewide habitat suitability map, explore relationships between landscape features and wild turkey abundance, and estimate the number of genetically distinct wild turkey populations within Mississippi. They studied habitat fragmentation, which is a growing issue as human populations expand.

“Areas that were once open pastures, fields, or woodlands are now subdivisions, commercial property, or highways,” he said. “We wanted to see how that might isolate or limit flock movements. Fragmentation creates barriers that make it harder for flocks to blend. With less diversity, the overall health of the flock declines, leading to reduced populations.”

Annie Davis Farrell, who was then a graduate student in the MSU College of Forest Resources, said hardwood forests are critical components of wild-turkey habitat.

“We discovered that a certain degree of forest fragmentation will actually increase wild turkey abundance,” she said.

“Mississippi wild turkeys respond well to an interspersion of forested and open habitat types.”

Based on genetic test results, Farrell said wild turkeys are not prone to travel great distances.

“Maximum annual dispersal distances range from 6 to 12 miles,” she said. “Spring-harvested male turkeys were genetically related within almost 20 miles, with possible effective dispersal distances of about 34 miles.”

Farrell said the research team found no justification for creating different management plans based on genetics within Mississippi.

“Wild turkeys in Mississippi should be managed based on regional habitat differences, not genetic differences,” she said.

Farrell received her Master of Science degree in August 2016 and is now working as a wildlife biologist for the National Wild Turkey Federation in Texas.

By Linda Breazeale • Submitted Photos

Annie Davis Farrell participated in the research as a graduate student in the College of Forest Resources.

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Sensor-Based Irrigation

Can Help Small Farms Cut Costs

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Truck-crop producers and small-scale vegetable growers in Mississippi will soon have an extra option to help them keep maintenance costs low and improve the quality of their yields.

Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station researcher Dr. Bill Evans is evaluating sensor-based microirrigation techniques to measure their economic viability for small- and medium-scale fruit and vegetable farms.

Evans, an associate research professor, is testing this technology on tomato plots at the Truck Crops Branch Experiment Station in Crystal Springs, Mississippi.

“Most growers water their plots a certain number of times a week, rather than watering based on available soil moisture, which results in water usage inefficiency and suboptimal produce yields and quality,” Evans said. “This study uses soil-moisture sensors on an electrical junction that have allowed us to get closer to ideal water levels than using a calendar-based schedule.”

Evans began the project in 2015 with Dr. Jairo Diaz, who was then director of the Mississippi River Research Center (MRRC) at Alcorn State University. They interviewed more than 100 growers in the state to assess current irrigation methods and potential acceptance of sensor technology. An ongoing multiyear process of testing various sensors and irrigation parameters followed the survey. In 2017, Evans will demonstrate the best-performing sensors at field days across the state.

Those three project components encompass Evans’s two major objectives: (1) evaluate sensors to determine which are most effective in Mississippi’s soils and climate; and (2) train growers and service professionals how to use the sensors.

Evans and MAFES research technician Matthew Bates are testing the sensors at different depths on 24 tomato research plots at the branch station. Each plot is approximately 200 square feet.

There are also 24 plots at MRRC of similar size with the same sensors.

In addition to watering the plots, Bates reads the sensors each morning during the growing season, records the data, and weighs the ripe tomatoes twice a week.

“We use disposable, porous plastic pipes laid on the row to deliver irrigation to each individual root system,” Bates said. “The pipes have wires that connect to the meter when I do the readings. We’ve been watering each plot so many minutes a day until we get a number on the sensors that indicates ideal soil moisture and yield potential.

We need more time with the sensors because they record different readings depending on how deep the pipe is in the ground, but I think growers will find them to be easy to install and use.”

The irrigation systems used at the Truck Crops Station keep moisture from reaching plant leaves to prevent disease.

“Because the systems do not get the leaves wet, we reduce disease and weed growth by directing the water only where it is needed,” Evans said. “The sensors are installed in between crop

plants and measure relative amounts of water available for plants based on how tightly water is held in the soil. The more water there is, the looser the soil holds it on average.”

Evans projected a single sensor grouping could be used to irrigate as many as 5 acres of crops. He estimates a sensor and irrigation controller array will cost less than $500 for a producer growing 5 acres, depending on the crop and the uniformity of the land.

“We have already seen reduced water use with an increase in crop quality using soil moisture sensors, so we know they can effectively monitor crop water needs and soil moisture availability to better tie irrigation events to the needs of the crop,” Evans said.

“Modern sensors can be affordable for even small growers. Our challenge will be familiarizing growers and service professionals enough with the technology for our growers to get the most out of it.”

By Nathan Gregory • Photos by Kevin Hudson

MAFES research technician Matthew Bates (page 16) transplants tomato plants in an evaluation of sensor-based microirrigation techniques at the Truck Crops Branch Experiment Station.

Dr. Bill Evans (above, left photo) leads the microirrigation study, which could reduce costs and improve yield quality for truck-crop producers and smallscale vegetable growers in Mississippi.

17

For twins, selecting the same university seemed natural, but for Hannibal and Malcolm Brooks, it also meant choosing a place they felt at home.

Without definite ideas about what major to study, the brothers from Pensacola, Florida, chose to enter the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) because they loved the close-knit atmosphere.

“Seeing how the faculty is so invested in the student experience and feeling the warmth of the student body was a defining moment,” Hannibal remembered.

They decided to join the Mississippi State Bulldog family after receiving a handwritten letter from a CALS Ambassador. Eventually, Hannibal and Malcolm became ambassadors themselves, learning to lead and encouraging others to choose MSU. “Being a CALS Ambassador is eyeopening because you get to experience a multitude of majors without necessarily taking courses in their respective departments and see how those fields intersect and enrich each other,” Malcolm explained.

They didn’t know it at the time, but this experience would change the trajectory of their careers, from preliminary plans to pursue food science careers to graduate programs focused on business, where they can offer management training to others.

Allison North, CALS admissions coordinator, said she knew the Brooks brothers were exceptional from the start, with a unique combination of enthusiasm, intellectual curiosity, and the ability to connect with everyone they meet.

“Their personality and integrity has really shown through during their time at State,” Allison said. “Not only do they exemplify quality leadership skills interacting with potential students but when participating in the classroom, as well.”

Their scholastic experiences have been enhanced outside of the classroom, as they have both been highly involved in a whirlwind of extracurricular activities. The brothers learned a lot about themselves and what they most enjoyed doing.

18

Mississippi LandMarks June 2017

QUeSt For

SUcceSS: Agricultural Students Become Leaders at MSU

“Being a CALS Ambassador is eye-opening because you get to experience a multitude of majors without necessarily taking courses in their respective departments and see how those fields intersect and enrich each other.”

鵻鵼 Malcolm Brooks In addition to being inducted into a servant leadership society, Hannibal has led the MSU Food Science Club as president. Both Hannibal and Malcolm helped the food science quiz bowl team score a regional victory after being unranked for 10 years.

“We advanced to the national competition held at the Institute of Food Technologists conference,” Hannibal said.

“Though we didn’t win, we were able to visit with international researchers about interesting discoveries, including acoustic

technology to accelerate drying and a new sixth taste.”

Through the Undergraduate Research Scholars Program, Hannibal strengthened his leadership and teamwork skills with the Department of Poultry Science while testing the effectiveness of a probiotic, while Malcolm focused on the detection of a Salmonella species using a state-of-the-art biochemical system.

“Not only was there room for academic development, I had the opportunity to strengthen my personal ability to identify cross-disciplinary relationships and formulate novel approaches,” Malcolm explained. “A grounded scientific education has been instrumental in refining my natural inquisitiveness into a useful tool.”

Summer internship opportunities in 2015 took the brothers to Washington, D.C., to work in the U.S. Department of Agriculture with the Office of Congressional Relations and the Food and Nutrition Service. In 2016, they were Summer Science Food Scholars at Cornell University. From public policy to hard science, Hannibal and Malcolm searched for ways to refine their plans for the future while expanding their leadership influence from the state to the national level.

With such wide-ranging interests and experiences, these twins are keeping their options open. Both plan to enter graduate school, possibly to pursue master’s degrees in management.

Through their extensive work as CALS Ambassadors, they have developed a love for communications, social settings, and streaming media. While at MSU, Hannibal and Malcolm have taken advantage of each opportunity to grow individually as leaders.

“Wherever we end up after graduation, we have the people of Mississippi State and College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to thank for helping us get there,” Hannibal said.

By Jessica Smith • Photo by Kevin Hudson

A close-knit atmosphere attracted twin brothers Hannibal and Malcolm Brooks of Pensacola, Florida, to MSU, where they entered the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Food Science, Nutrition, and Health Promotion.

19

HEALTH Begins at Home: Extension Program Addresses Common Issues Nearly two decades into the new millennium, 17 percent of Mississippi’s houses have severe problems, including overcrowding, incomplete plumbing, or incomplete kitchen facilities.

Poor housing conditions are linked to poor health outcomes for the people living in them.

In response to the need for science-based information about making homes healthier, the MSU Extension Service is collaborating with other land-grant universities, the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. They developed workshops about home environments to help people make informed decisions about household tasks, repairs, and challenges.

Dr. David Buys, Extension health specialist and MAFES researcher, has trained 50 Extension agents and specialists to deliver Healthy Homes Initiative workshops.

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Mississippi LandMarks June 2017

“Home environments can pose a variety of health issues, but it is sometimes difficult to figure out what really needs to be done to fix the problems,” said Dr. David Buys, MSU Extension health specialist and researcher with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station. “We have 50 Extension agents and specialists trained to deliver Healthy Homes Initiative workshops on a dozen topics, from asthma and allergies to mold, mildew, lead, and everything in between.”

Buys and the agents have built on existing relationships to reach diverse audiences. For example, Extension historically has provided training to the Canton Housing Authority, which requested training specifically for contractors, Buys explained.

“Contractors know the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ of safe housing—plug holes, fix seals, change air conditioning filters—but they may not know the ‘why,’” he said.

Brooke Knight, an MSU Extension agent in Jones County, envisioned workshops specifically for earlychildhood educators. She worked with Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) licensure officials to develop that program. The first training program reached 39 child-care providers. Through word of mouth among agents, clients, and partners at MSDH, Extension was asked to replicate that workshop in five other counties in late 2016.

Knight said warm, caring, and safe environments facilitate learning and contribute to healthy child development.

“Many young children spend a lot of time in child care,” Knight said. “They depend on parents and caregivers to make their indoor environments healthy and safe. By partnering with early-childhood educators, we are also solidifying their profession as an important piece of the parenting puzzle and providing them with pertinent information to be shared with families.”

Beverly Henson, director of Barbara Henson’s Nursery and Pre-K in Meridian, said the workshop was informative and a good investment of her time.

“Healthy Homes changed my thinking about the way I deal with the children,” Henson said. “I learned a lot about how to talk to parents about making their homes cleaner, and I gave them the same handouts we received from the training.”

Agents have also worked with independent living residents of a regional mental-health provider.

“What I love about the Healthy Homes Initiative is that it can be very scientific and technical or very basic, depending on the audience,” Buys said. “Agents can discuss one topic or deliver a series of workshops, whatever the clients need. We always strive to be clientcentered, and this initiative really gives us the liberty to function in that way.”

Who

should request a Healthy Homes Initiative workshop?

• • • • • • • • •

Child-care providers Churches Senior-citizen groups Health-care providers Community-health workers Housing-authority managers Community leaders PTA groups Home-health agencies

Go to http://extension.msstate.edu/hhi to request a workshop.

By Keri Collins Lewis • Photos by Kevin Hudson Natasha Haynes, Extension agent in Hinds County, is a Healthy Homes Initiative instructor.

21

New Auxin-tolerant crops

require certification “As with any pesticide that reaches an unintended target, the danger lies in damage to crops that are not tolerant to the chemical. The danger is not limited to row crops.�

Dr. Darrin Dodds

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Mississippi LandMarks June 2017

MSU Extension is providing valuable training required this year that will allow producers to purchase and use certain herbicides safely on new seed technology.

Two seed companies released new soybean and cotton varieties that are tolerant to auxin herbicides, making it possible to use these chemicals for weed control during the growing season. However, other crops remain extremely susceptible to these herbicides, and exposure to even very small quantities of auxin herbicides caused significant losses in 2016.

The Environmental Protection Agency labels chemicals for farm use, specifying how the chemicals can be applied. Now that the auxin herbicides are labeled for use on these modified crops, the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce (MDAC) requires education and certification before growers are allowed to purchase the chemicals.

Extension was tasked with developing online training to prepare producers to correctly use the new technologies. Dr. Dan Reynolds, who holds the Edgar E. and Winifred B. Hartwig Endowed Chair in Soybean Agronomy, headed the team effort that developed six educational modules. Reynolds is an Extension specialist, a weed science professor, and a Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station researcher.

Other members of the team include Dr. Jason Bond, Extension weed scientist and MAFES researcher; Dr. Darrin Dodds, Extension cotton specialist and MAFES researcher; and Dr. Trent Irby, Extension soybean specialist.

These soybean plants, which are not resistant to herbicides that contain dicamba, were damaged after exposure to the synthetic plant growth hormone.

Dr. Dan Reynolds, an Extension weed scientist and MAFES researcher, headed the team effort that developed educational modules that allow producers to earn certification to use herbicides on new soybean and cotton varieties tolerant to auxin-based chemicals.

These modules address weed resistance, herbicide action, and off-target deposition via drift, volatility, and equipment contamination. They also cover restrictions, application, and other issues related to the Enlist and Xtend brand chemicals.

Licensed pesticide applicators in Mississippi who intend to use auxin chemicals in 2017 and beyond must pass this online training with a 70 percent or higher grade. MDAC officials certify results and issue permits.

Auxins are naturally occurring hormones that regulate plant growth. Auxin-mimicking herbicides have been developed to control some broadleaf weeds. The two synthetic auxin herbicides most commonly used in Mississippi row crops are 2,4-D and dicamba.

In 2016, these herbicides were not yet labeled for use on the new cotton and soybean varieties genetically modified for tolerance to auxin herbicides. Some producers damaged nearby susceptible crops when spraying existing auxin herbicides on their crops. Damage was caused by physical drift and volatilization, which occurs when liquid turns into a gas and moves away on the wind. Other fields were damaged by residue remaining on equipment not thoroughly rinsed between uses.

“The fact that other crops are so sensitive to the auxin herbicides at such a minute concentration make all these off-target issues really important,” Reynolds said.

Bond said the auxin-resistant crop varieties were in supply in 2016, but the new herbicide formulations were not available.

“People knew that these cotton and soybean varieties were tolerant to dicamba, so they bought dicamba off the shelf and used it on their fields,” Bond said. “It didn’t hurt their crops, but, in many cases, it moved off their fields onto their neighbors’ crops.”

Synthetic auxin chemicals are used commonly before planting to destroy weeds overwintering in fields. The new seed technology allows them to be used during the growing season on certain crops.

Dodds said a patent was issued for dicamba in 1958, and 2,4-D was developed during World War II. Both have been used for decades for vegetation control.

“As with any pesticide that reaches an unintended target, the danger lies in damage to crops that are not tolerant to the chemical,” Dodds said. “The danger is not limited to row crops.”

By Bonnie Coblentz • Photos by Kat Lawrence

23

Sweet Potato Growers Could Have Markets for Imperfect Produce

Nutritionists admire sweet potatoes for their health benefits, and increasing consumer demand has landed the orange-fleshed root vegetable on restaurant menus, in freezer cases, and in grocery produce sections.

However, merchants who stock fresh sweet potatoes know most consumers will not buy blemished products, including potatoes with skinning injury. This problem occurs during harvest and packing when equipment scrapes and mars the potato’s delicate skin. Producers most often send sweet potatoes with moderate skinning injury to processing markets at a reduced price, while potatoes with severe injury may be left in the field.

SWEET POTATOES taste good

“

and are safe to eat even when they have high amounts of skinning injury.

People perceive good-looking food as higher quality, and that is not the case with sweet potatoes.”

DR. STEPHEN MEYERS

24

Mississippi LandMarks June 2017

Dr. Alba Collart, an Extension agricultural economist (left); Dr. Stephen Meyers, Extension sweet potato specialist; and sweet potato producer Jamie Earp, co-owner of Earp Farms in Houlka, Mississippi, examine a bin of potatoes.

“Sweet potatoes taste good and are safe to eat even when they have high amounts of skinning injury,” said Dr. Stephen Meyers, sweet potato specialist with the MSU Extension Service.

“People perceive good-looking food as higher quality, and that is not the case with sweet potatoes.”

To help producers, merchants, and scientists understand consumers’ buying choices related to skinning injury, Meyers and Dr. Alba Collart, an Extension economist and assistant professor in the MSU Department of Agricultural Economics, recently conducted a marketing study.

The study enlisted 88 consumers who buy sweet potatoes regularly. Collart conducted 10 auction sessions during 2 days that collected data on consumers’ willingness to pay for fresh sweet potatoes with varying levels of skinning injury.

Participants were given money to bid in the auction and were presented with five categories of sweet potatoes with increasing levels of skinning injury—from 0–10 percent of sweet potato surface area. The study was conducted in the MSU Experimental Economics Laboratory.

Buyers placed bids on each category of sweet potatoes, offering the researchers the amount of money they were willing to pay for each category. Participants could offer bids of 0, choosing not to purchase the sweet potatoes. The first round of bidding was blind, meaning buyers did not know the actual extent of skinning injury. Researchers then told participants the percentage of skinning injury in each set of potatoes before allowing them to resubmit their bids.

“We found that consumers had a positive willingness to pay for fresh sweet potatoes of all skinning levels,” Collart said. “No 0 bids were offered.”

Consumers did offer the highest bids for sweet potatoes with the least amount of injury, and they made the lowest bids for potatoes with the highest amount of injury. However, producers might find marketing sweet potatoes with higher amounts of skinning injury is economically viable if consumers are willing to pay enough to offset production costs, Collart said.

“One interesting finding is that consumers were willing to pay more for sweet potatoes with moderate to high levels of skinning—from 5 to 10 percent—when bidding blindly compared to when these percentages were known,” Collart said.

“Highlighting attributes, such as locally grown, may help producers market cosmetically flawed sweet potatoes in other markets, but more research is needed on this.

“Producers must consider different storage and marketing costs and other market factors that affect pricing, such as seasonality and competition,” Collart said. “But marketing visually imperfect produce at a discount is currently being done under different business models in the United States and Europe, through brands and campaigns such as Imperfect Produce.”

Meyers and Collart have presented the study results at grower meetings they attend and believe that consumer education could play a role in changing consumer buying behavior.

Collart has begun a collaboration with Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station environmental economist Dr. Matthew Interis and graduate student Chloé Henson to test consumer education and its effectiveness.

The study was funded through the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.

By Nathan Gregory • Photos by Kevin Hudson

25

MSU

Honors Three Division Alumni

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Dean George Hopper (left) recognizes William S. “Sledge” Taylor III.

College of Forest Resources Dean George Hopper recognizes Elizabeth “Liz” Rooks-Barber.

College of Veterinary Medicine Associate Dean Ron McLaughlin (left) recognizes Dr. Robert A. Filgo Jr.

26

Mississippi LandMarks June 2017

MSU’s 2017 alumni of the year include three graduates from colleges in the Division of Agriculture, Forestry, and Veterinary Medicine. These distinguished graduates, selected from among the university’s more than 137,000 living alumni for their professional and community achievements, were honored in February by the university alumni association.

“Our division proudly salutes these alumni and the contributions they have made to their professions and society,” said Dr. Gregory Bohach, division vice president. “They are excellent role models for demonstrating how an education from one of our colleges can help prepare one for an outstanding and productive career anywhere in the world.”

With recognition as the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) alumnus of the year, William S. “Sledge” Taylor III celebrates more than four decades as a leader in agriculture. As president of the Como Consolidated Gin Company, Taylor relies on the agricultural engineering technology and business degree he earned in 1974. He also owns and operates Buckeye Farms, a thriving operation in the Como, Mississippi, area where he resides.

Taylor has been recognized as both the Mississippi Cattleman of the Year and the Sunbelt Southeastern Farmer of the Year. He has received Cotton Grower magazine’s Cotton Achievement Award. He has a long history with the National Cotton Council and recently served as chairman of the board. Taylor has also been president of the Mississippi Cattle Industry Board, president of the Southern Cotton Ginner Association, and vice president of the Delta Council. He currently serves as a member of the USDA Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Trade.

Ridgeland, Mississippi, resident Elizabeth “Liz” Rooks-Barber is alumna of the year for the College of Forest Resources (CFR). A 1987 forestry and wildlife management graduate, Rooks-Barber is president, co-owner, and cofounder of Barber and Mann Inc., a firm that helps landowners across the U.S. protect their properties from development through conservation easements.

Rooks-Barber, a highly respected natural-resources leader and certified wildlife biologist, is considered one of the premier conservationists in the Southeast. She specializes in conservation planning, land-use mitigation, naturalresource management, and wildlife consulting. She has extensive expertise in working with nongovernmental organizations in land and resource protection.

Earlier in her career, Rooks-Barber worked for the Mississippi Wildlife Federation, rising from a graduate intern to leading the organization as executive director. At MSU, she volunteers her time as a trusted adviser to The Bulldog Forest Program.

Dr. Robert A. Filgo Jr. of Madison, Mississippi, is alumnus of the year for the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM), from which he earned a 1988 Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. Early in his career, his peers selected him as the Young Veterinarian of the Year in Mississippi. Over time, his professional path has set an inspiring example for other veterinary graduates to follow.

A cofounder of All Creatures Animal Care Center, Filgo practices at the sixdoctor clinic. The clinic actively participates in the CVM externship program, which enables fourth-year veterinary students to do elective rotations under his guidance. Since 2005, the center has provided more than 30 CVM students with externship opportunities.

Filgo is past president of the Mississippi Veterinary Medical Association, for which he currently serves as legislative committee chairman. He is a member of the American Heartworm Society, the International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management, and the American Animal Hospital Association.

For more on the MSU Alumni Association and the 2017 awards banquet, visit alumni.msstate.edu.

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Choctaw County MSU in Choctaw County: P.O. Box 370 Ackerman, MS 39735 j.hughes@msstate.edu

This log cabin at French Camp Historic Village, which sits alongside the Natchez Trace, houses a gift shop and has a walkway attached to the Council House Cafe.

County seat:

Ackerman

Population:

8,299

Municipalities:

Ackerman, French Camp, Weir

Industries:

Mississippi Lignite Mining Company, Ackerman Combined Cycle Plant (TVA gasification plant), Southern Company-Red Hills Operations (coalfired power plant), Headwaters Resources (fly ash), Southeastern Timber Products, Chambers Delimbinator, Hardwire, NRG Energy, Menzner Lumber

Natural resources: Attractions:

History notes:

Choctaw County was formed in 1833 from land ceded to the U.S. by the Choctaw Nation. It was originally 1,080 square miles and contained all of what is now Webster County and parts of Montgomery, Grenada, and Calhoun Counties.

The first county seat was established at Greensboro, which is now in Webster County. In 1885, the Illinois Central Railroad was completed and ran east to west through the southern part of the county. That same year, Ackerman was established. A courthouse was erected in Ackerman in 1887, and it became the second county seat.

Did you know?

Choctaw County is home to Cheryl Prewitt, Miss America 1980, singer, author, and TV personality; Roy Oswalt, retired pitcher for the Houston Astros; at least five former NFL football players; and two Blues Trail markers and one Country Music marker. The Rainwater Observatory and Planetarium has the largest number of telescopes in the Southeast.

timber, coal Choctaw Lake, Natchez Trace Historic District, Colonel John Weir House, Colonel James Drane House, Jeff Busby Park and Campground, Rainwater Observatory and Planetarium

Whether it’s camping at Choctaw Lake, hiking trails at Little Mountain, traveling along the Natchez Trace, visiting an early French settlement, attending a sporting event, or worshiping in one of the many churches, Choctaw County is a great place to live.

Juli Hughes, MSU Extension County Coordinator

Editor’s note: 1/82 is a regular feature highlighting one of Mississippi’s 82 counties.

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NEWSNOTES Dr. Andrew Mackin is the new head of the Department of Clinical Sciences at the College of Veterinary Medicine. Mackin holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Murdoch University and the University of Melbourne, both in Australia. He earned a doctorate of veterinary science from the University of Guelph in Canada. Mackin is a fellow of Dr. Andrew Mackin the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists – Canine Medicine and a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine – Small Animal Internal Medicine. His research interests include smallanimal hematology and hemostasis. He has a strong interest in providing effective clinical training of veterinary students, interns, residents, and practicing veterinarians. Within his clinical specialty of internal medicine, Mackin focuses on small-animal hematology, hemostasis, and immunohematology.

Dr. David Buys, Extension health speciaist, was a panelist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Outlook Forum in Arlington, Virginia. Buys, also a researcher with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, was one of more than 100 speakers and moderators at the forum. A session featuring Buys focused on national security through Dr. David Buys agricultural production. He discussed consumer issues and food-choice behavior. The Agricultural Outlook Forum is a platform to facilitate conversation about important issues in agriculture. Government officials, policy makers, agricultural producers, and academic representatives attend. This year’s theme was A New Horizon: The Future of Agriculture. Buys chairs the chronic disease prevention and management action team with the Cooperative Extension Committee on Organization and Policy.

Dr. Lawrence Falconer, a professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics, earned a lifetime achievement award from the Southern Agricultural Economics Association, the organization’s highest award. Based at the Delta Research and Extension Center since 2012, Falconer has spent his career helping farmers develop management plans. He spent his early Dr. Lawrence Falconer career in private industry as a staff economist and then served 21 years as an Extension specialist for the Texas AgriLife Extension Service. Throughout his Extension Service career, Falconer has delivered topical programs and helped county agents and producer committees plan, implement, and evaluate educational programs. Falconer is best known for his work in farm and ranch management economics, including work on production estimates, costs of custom operations, leasing of agricultural assets, farm-level impacts of agricultural policy, and economic impact of alternative production technologies.

Dr. Scott Willard, associate dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), won a 2017 MSU Diversity Award during a ceremony hosted by the MSU President’s Commission on the Status of Minorities. Willard has been involved in efforts to engage underrepresented minorities and women in STEM subjects and was a program manager in the development of Dr. Scott Willard a USDA Higher Education Multicultural Scholars grant. Recently, he has worked to establish a Mississippi Youth Institute affiliated with the World Food Prize to create opportunities for young people to consider careers in agriculture and join the fight against global hunger and poverty. He is cosponsor of the MSU chapter of Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences and cochair of the Diversity Council for CALS and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station.

Mississippi livestock producers have a new resource for research-based information to help them manage their businesses. Dr. Josh Maples has joined the faculty of the Department of Agricultural Economics as an assistant professor with Extension responsibilities in livestock marketing and agribusiness.

Maples, an Alabama native, received his Dr. Josh Maples bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural economics from MSU and a doctorate from Oklahoma State University. Through his involvement on his family’s farm, Maples said he developed a love for agriculture at a young age, and he also learned the business aspect of livestock production on a registered Angus operation. He pursued an interest in agricultural economics because he wanted to help solve problems producers face. At MSU, Maples will help producers understand livestock markets and finances, and he plans to teach an undergraduate commodity marketing class.

28

Mississippi LandMarks June 2017

MSU agriculture and natural resources Extension agent Harvin Hudson received a 2017 Diversity Award during the Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning’s annual Diversity Awards recognition. The awards recognize campus and community leaders for the impact they have made in advancing diversity and encouraging Harvin Hudson understanding and respect. Hudson worked for the MSU Extension Service for 30 years and was based in Neshoba County at the time of his recent retirement.

Hudson plays an active role in his community, serving as a member of Neshoba County Community Development Partnership, Allies for Education, and the Neshoba County Parks Commission Board, among other volunteer activities. In September, he was named Philadelphia and Neshoba County Citizen of the Year by the Community Development Partnership.

NEWSNOTES Dr. Hal Schramm, a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) fisheries research biologist who also teaches at Mississippi State, has been designated a fellow of the American Fisheries Society (AFS) in tribute to his four decades of service. Specifically, he was cited for excellence in leadership, research, mentoring, resource management, and public outreach. In addition to Dr. Hal Schramm leading the USGS Mississippi Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Schramm is an adjunct professor in the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture.

His current research focuses on the shovelnose and pallid sturgeons, the latter of which is an endangered species. AFS is the world’s oldest and largest organization dedicated to strengthening the fisheries profession, advancing fisheries science, and conserving fisheries resources.

Dr. Lurleen M. Walters, an assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics, won the Patrick J. Byrne Emerging Leadership Award for significant contributions to the Food Distribution Research Society.

Representing academia, industry, and government, members of this national organization work to address ongoing Dr. Lurleen M. Walters challenges in food marketing and distribution. Walters, a scientist in the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, came to MSU in 2013 after earning a doctorate in food and resource economics from the University of Florida and working as an assistant professor at Florida A&M University. She currently serves as the research society’s vice president of student programs, which includes organizing and leading the annual Student Food Marketing Challenge. Walters also is serving a 3-year term as chair of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association’s Committee on Women in Agricultural Economics. She holds other committee assignments with the Southern Agricultural Economics Association.

Julie White, an Extension agricultural literacy specialist, has graduated from American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF) Partners in Advocacy Leadership, a 2-year program designed to enhance leadership skills and agricultural advocacy roles. White qualified to apply by being a National Top 10 Finalist in the AFBF Young Farmers and Ranchers Julie White Excellence in Agriculture Award contest in 2012, along with her husband, William. The Whites are fifth-generation farmers who grow hay and raise beef cattle. At MSU, White coordinates FARMtastic, a statewide agricultural literacy program for second-, third-, and fourth-graders. For her work in developing FARMtastic, White was honored with the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation’s Ambassador Award, which recognizes those who have done exceptional work to promote agriculture. The award is presented only when Farm Bureau seeks to award such outstanding service. She was an Extension agent for 15 years before her current assignment.

The Mississippi Cattlemen’s Association has selected Brad Jones, an Extension agent for Stone County, as the 2017 recipient of the Paul F. Newell Award, which recognizes outstanding leadership to Mississippi 4-H and FFA livestock programs. Jones, who completed bachelor’s and master’s degrees at MSU, has worked for the Extension Service since 2008. In Brad Jones addition to 4-H, he conducts programs in agriculture and natural resources. Jones has had livestockjudging and quiz-bowl teams compete on the state and national levels. He is active in a variety of livestock shows, including the Mississippi State Fair, Southeast District Livestock Show, Dixie National Junior Round-Up, and Dixie National Livestock Show and Rodeo. Jones has also been extensively involved in the Southern Producers Heifer Sale and Homeplace Feeder Calf Board Sale, for which he shared in an Extension Customer Outreach Team Award in 2013.

Lucas J. Ferguson, a senior biochemistry major in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology, and Plant Pathology, has been named the university’s first recipient of the prestigious Gates Cambridge Scholarship. He was among 36 selected to receive one of the most generous international scholarships awarded by Lucas J. Ferguson the University of Cambridge. Ferguson, whose studies concentrate on bioinformatics, was chosen based on academic excellence, leadership potential, commitment to improving the lives of others, and being a good academic fit with Cambridge. Ferguson is working to complete a computational biology certificate from the MSU Institute for Genomics, Biocomputing, and Biotechnology. He plans to devote his professional life to computational modeling of infectious disease.

Ferguson was also the recipient of the 2016 Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors College Outstanding Research Award.

An MSU graduate student is the Southern Weed Science Society’s selection for the Outstanding Graduate Student award for the state. John Buol, a master’s student in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, received the honor during the organization’s 70th annual meeting. This recognition is given to one master’s student each year across 15 states. Buol also placed John Buol second in the Master of Science oral presentation competition. Buol is the recipient of the 2015–2017 Will D. Carpenter Distinguished Field Scientist Graduate Assistantship in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the 2016 American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America Future Leaders in Sciences Award. Buol plans to finish his master’s degree with a concentration in weed science. He will begin doctoral work in the same department.

29

DEVELOPMENT

CORNER

cultivate estate Planning options and reap Benefits 30

Mississippi LandMarks June 2017

The business of farming requires considerable planning and carefully developed strategies. Farmers know that timely preparation is essential to optimizing outcomes.

However, as the time for retirement nears, few farmers realize the wealth of opportunities available to assist with financial plans for the future.

The Mississippi State University Foundation’s Jud Skelton team of professionals is ready to help farmers develop an advantageous financial plan that can also involve a specific charity. In fact, establishing a charitable remainder trust (CRT) can lead to a mutually beneficial result for a donor as well as the preferred charity. “For older farmers who are contemplating retirement, a CRT would be a viable option to provide them with certain tax advantages and great

benefits,” said Jud Skelton, director of development for the MSU College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and for real-estate giving university-wide.

“For many, financial planning is not a luxury but simply essential,” said Skelton, a Mississippi State graduate and Delta native who joined the MSU Foundation in 2001. “With MSU, farmers and landowners can obtain a lifetime income through a charitable gift while also avoiding certain taxes. Some sources for funding a CRT include real property—land, equipment, and grain—among other options.”

Capital gains taxes are often a concern for many farmers who own appreciated stock or real estate. Similarly, those who have recently sold appreciated property may be looking for a way to offset a current tax liability through a charitable deduction. As individuals approach their retirement years, it is crucial to evaluate available opportunities for securing and increasing income in the future. For all of these reasons, a CRT should be considered.

A CRT is a tax-exempt trust that can be used to unlock the appreciation in property that has increased in value and provide a retirement income to the donor or loved ones for life or a term of years. When the trust terminates, the remaining assets pass to a charity. Since a CRT avoids capital-gain tax on any property it sells, the property’s full value is preserved for use in making distributions.

Funding a CRT can often generate higher payments than if the property had simply been sold and reinvested. The donor also receives a partial, current charitable income-tax deduction since the trust assets will ultimately go to a charity such as the MSU Foundation.

A CRT pays either a fixed amount (an annuity trust) or a variable amount (a unitrust) each year to one or more individuals (the trust beneficiaries). Unitrusts have the potential to provide a stream of payments that grow over time if the underlying principal grows, and they are well suited to gifts of real property or other complex assets.

Unitrusts also offer greater planning flexibility. For example, property with little or no current income can be transferred to a unitrust and held until a future sale, after which payments to the beneficiaries increase to the full unitrust amount.

“Farmers and other individuals should always consult with their professional tax adviser or attorney for the latest information regarding estate planning and taxes,” Skelton said. “However, the Mississippi State University Foundation has professionals, like myself, who are available to work with land owners and their advisers to explore the benefits of charitable remainder trusts and other charitable planning options.”

There is no better time to consider charitable gift plans. More information on supporting Mississippi State University through the MSU Foundation is available at www.msugiftplanning.org. For a personal illustration regarding a CRT established through real estate, stock, or other means, contact Skelton at jud.skelton@foundation.msstate.edu or (662) 325-0643.

For More Information 鵻鵼 Jud Skelton College of Agriculture and Life Sciences/Real Estate Giving (662) 325-0643 jud.skelton@foundation.msstate.edu http://www.cals.msstate.edu/ Jeff Little College of Forest Resources and The Bulldog Forest (662) 325-8151 jlittle@foundation.msstate.edu http://www.cfr.msstate.edu/ Jimmy Kight College of Veterinary Medicine (662) 325-5893 jkight@foundation.msstate.edu http://www.cvm.msstate.edu Will Staggers College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and MSU Extension Service (662) 325-2837 wstaggers@foundation.msstate.edu http://www.cals.msstate.edu Charlie Weatherly Director of Development Emeritus for Agriculture, Forestry, and Veterinary Medicine (662) 325-3471 cweatherly@foundation.msstate.edu http://www.cals.msstate.edu/

By Amy Cagle • Photo by David Ammon

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Brian Utley, video producer with the MSU Extension Service Office of Agricultural Communications, tapes a publicservice announcement featuring former MSU football quarterback Dak Prescott. Prescott is the face of the 2017 campaign to promote the 70x2020 Colorectal Cancer Screening Initiative, an effort to encourage at least 70 percent of Mississippians aged 50 or older to be screened for the disease by 2020. (Photo by Kevin Hudson)