Preparing Producers for the Grass-fed Beef Industry
MISSISSIPPI STATE, Mississippi — Livestock producers in the Southeast are getting the educational resources and training they need to meet the consumer demand for grass-fed beef. In states like Mississippi and Alabama, where production and marketing materials, field events, enterprise budgets, and training programs in forage-finished beef are lacking, researchers at Mississippi State University, Auburn […]
Mississippi Crop Farmers Using Irrigation Management Tools to Save Water While Staying Profitable
STONEVILLE, Mississippi – Will Hart, a young 30-something farmer who produces corn and soybeans on 3,000 acres in the Mississippi Delta, remembers the “old way” his grandfather determined whether the crops needed water. “We’d go out in the field and kick the dirt,” said Hart. “If it was dry, then the crops got water.” Today, […]
Mississippi State University Leading Efforts to Help Landowners Implement Conservation Practices on the Farm
STARKVILLE, Mississippi – Mississippi State University is leading by example when it comes to adopting and implementing conservation land practices. Leslie Burger, a conservation education specialist with the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture, along with Extension professor Beth Baker, are part of a large team of university scientists who are leading efforts to improve […]
Low-external-input Sustainable Agriculture Provides Environmental Benefits and Economic Gains in Rice Production
STARKVILLE, Mississippi – Rice, for all of its importance as a global food staple, can have a number of environmental tradeoffs. Intensively managed, the crop can put a strain on natural resources, particularly soil and water. But a more sustainable production system may enhance environmental quality at an economic gain for the farmer, based on […]
Native Warm Season Grasses Diversify Livestock Grazing/Support Biodiversity
MISSISSIPPI STATE, Mississippi – Native warm season grasses excel over more traditional commercial grass varieties when it comes to grazing livestock and promoting wildlife conservation, based on the results of a two-year Mississippi State University agroecology study. The study, funded by a Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SSARE) Graduate Student grant, compared native warm […]
Native Grasses Good Food Sources for Livestock; Perform Best as Grazing Forages
IUKA, Mississippi – A Mississippi livestock producer has found that native warm-season grasses pack more of a nutritional punch than commercial non-native forages, but he recommends that the grasses be grown for grazing rather than for hay. Tulon McKee, Jr. of McKee Farms received a Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SSARE) Producer Grant to […]