Program Areas

The thrust of the Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR) Program is to improve farm income through increased production of alternative agricultural enterprises and reduced cost, and to enhance profitability of traditional agricultural enterprises by minimizing risk. The AGNR Program provides cutting-edge research and demonstrations of recommended practices at the Research/Extension Farm and Technology Transfer Center in Mound Bayou, the Fresh Vegetable Processing Plant in Marks, the Incubator Farm in Preston, and the Model Farm on the campus of Alcorn State University.

• Agronomy
• Livestock
• Farm and Financial Management
• Forestry
• Horticulture
• USDA Programs
• Alternative Enterprises
• Marketing
• Community Gardening

Community Resource Development (CRD) provides educational programs and technical assistance to strengthen the capacity of citizens and organizations throughout the state. It utilizes the latest research- based knowledge, strategies, and technologies. CRD is capable of helping people understand community change and identify opportunities to improve their social and economic wellbeing. Our efforts of finding practical and timely solutions are enhanced by working closely with local communities, organizations, and partnering agencies.

• Economic Development
• Leadership Development
• Community Capacity
• Community Asset
• Faith-Based Initiative
• Workforce Preparation
• Estate Planning (Adult)
• Small Business Development
• Cooperative Development

The demand for food, fiber, land and water increases as the population increases creating challenges for farmers and producers. More intensive and effective conservation strategies will be needed to ensure that we fulfill these increasing demands while sustaining our resources and maintaining the integrity of our environment and the ecosystems.

In addition to these challenges, climate change will intensify the obstacles for conservation and production. The planned program will focus on determining the best management practice(s) (BMPs) and best available technology(ies) (BATs) of crop production (using horticulture or alternative crops) to improve their economic values while minimizing adverse impact to the environment in Mississippi.

In the effort to identify the agronomic requirements for high-income generating crop cultivars, different treatments and methods will be utilized, including: different cropping systems (rotation or multi cropping); fertilizer treatments; irrigation sources and application methods; staking and pruning techniques; as well as other management practices affecting the plant density.

Excess nutrient will be observed through plant nutrient uptake and fate and transport of leachates in the soil subsurface. Studies in these areas will advance the understanding of Soil, Plant, Water, Nutrient Relationships. Simultaneously, the study of irrigation methods and applications that can be impacted by climate change will also address Conservation and Efficient Use of Water and its impact to Watershed Protection and Management.

The cost and benefit of combinations of treatments and technologies will be assessed to identify which management practice is the most cost effective method that will also protect the environment, addressing Economics of Agriculture and Farm Management.

Concurrent research will be conducted to evaluate the integration of production practices in an efficient and effective manner using application of remote sensing and/or geographic information systems or other technologies to help better understand ways of Pollution Prevention and Mitigation.

The results of these studies will be disseminated to communities so that they have accessibility to information and have a better understanding of available technologies and adopt best management practice(s) that will support and maximize their production while protecting the environment.

At the same time, agriculture productivity is highly sensitive to climate factors such as temperature and rainfall that can cause drought, severe storms, and floods. Changes in climate may impact soil moisture and the quantity and quality of water supply that creates obstacles for crop production.

Factors that affect climate change include changes in land use such as conversion of forest land into commercial or residential may alter the hydrologic cycle; thus, impacting the quality and quantity of water resources and the quality of soil. The changes in water and nutrient availability will be a limiting factor that may offset any potential beneficial yield.

To address this issue, dissemination of information about Forest Management and Sustainability of Forest Resources will be conducted as part of planning and implementation of conducting a holistic approach in watershed management and to achieve sustainable agriculture production while protecting the environment.

Knowledge Areas

• Soil, Plant, Water, Nutrient Relationships
• Conservation and Efficient Use of Water
• Watershed Protection and Management
• Management and Sustainability of Forest Resources
• Pollution Prevention and Mitigation
• Economics of Agricultural Production and Farm Management

Food safety program targets research on various scientific disciplines to ensure food safety. The program will encourage judicious use of chemicals on agricultural crops by measuring toxic residues. Analytical detection methods including sensors will be developed to detect and quantify pathogens and chemical residues in food. Improved methods for produce handling, processing activities and storage will be developed. New biopesticides will be discovered to ensure food crops free of toxic chemicals. Educational sessions will be conducted in food safety, good agricultural practices, good handling practices, quality control, hazard analysis and critical control points, fresh produce packaging and value-added production. New attractants and repellents will be tested against insects affecting food crops. Biology and distribution of such insect pests will be investigated and sampling protocols will be developed by using remote sensing and other automated sampling methodologies. Predictive models for natural enemies of insect pests and improved methods of control will be developed. Integrated pest management techniques will be applied in organic production system to minimize the dependency on synthetic chemical pesticides and to ensure production of farm products free of toxic chemical residue. Research will be conducted in collaboration with the U.S. Army to convert animal waste into a slow-release and environmentally-friendly manure.

Knowledge Areas

• Ensure Food Products Free of Harmful Chemicals, Including Residues from Agricultural and Other Sources
• Protect Food from Contamination by Pathogenic Microorganisms, Parasites, and Naturally Occurring Toxins

Decreasing the prevalence of obesity among adolescent children in Mississippi requires focusing on the key risk factors and correcting them through behavior modification, decreasing caloric intake, increasing physical activity, and educational programs.

There is a strong need for more prevention at a very young age, since an obese child will probably become an obese adolescent, and ultimately, an obese adult. However, if overweight/obesity or the risk of it is already present, then appropriate intervention should be readily available for the age group to prevent further weight gain as well as onset of hypertension, and dyslipidemia in adolescent population.

The Youth, Family, Nutrition and Health, Fitness and Wellness Planned Program will utilized a integrated approach to address relevant issues facing youth and families. Stakeholders from our environmental scanning processes led to the integration of three planned programs into one.

The identified a need for the Alcorn State University Extension Program (ASUEP) to aid youth in resisting risky behaviors such as: tobacco use, high rates of teen pregnancy and infection rate of sexually transmitted diseases, increase dropout rates and juvenile delinquency and lack of recreation activities as relevant issues facing youth in the state.

Also, other issues identified were the lack of skills that youth possess to enter in leadership roles and opportunities in schools and communities; lack of job preparedness/readiness and career and business development An area of the planned program with focus on youth at risk by exploring methods to provide support systems to aid youth in resisting risky behaviors such as teen pregnancy, STD’s and tobacco use, dropouts, alcohol and drug abuse, juvenile delinquency, etc.

Educational programs will develop negotiation, decision making and coping skills of youth to resist risky behaviors. Also, club development/volunteer management to facilitate the organizing and managing of community and school based clubs will be implemented.

First, volunteers will be trained to work with youth in clubs to provide variety of educational, cultural and citizenship opportunities. Youth leadership will be another emphasis of the program to enhance leadership competencies and the necessary personal, social and cognitive skills to become leaders in school and communities.

Second, an emphasis will be on increasing limited-resource youth participation in leadership opportunities. Another focused area of youth development is on career development/workforce preparedness to develop job readiness skills to assist youth in the job searches and increased awareness of career options and youth business opportunities.

Three, the planned program will emphasize many issues facing the “family”, educational programs will implemented on providing an understanding of the social, cognitive, emotional, and physical development of children and families. Providing educational programs on Sudden Infant Death, Shaking Baby Syndrome, and other educational program empower parents with the knowledge to provide quality learning environments for children. Creating healthy families will consist of developing parenting skills and quality child care and afterschool programs that promote quality learning environments.

Family Resource Management will, also, be emphasized exploring strategies to assist youth and adults in families to obtain and managing money and financial resources effectively to meet present needs and future goals. Our stakeholders also identified the lack of parenting and money management skills; the lack of child care training and facilities and high rate of obesity among children, youth and adults.

Another area of the planned program focuses on Nutrition, Health, Fitness Wellness and Obesity programs to provide information about nutrition, health lifestyles and physical fitness. Current trends in obesity among African-American children, youth and adults remains the highest among all ethnic groups in Mississippi. Since obesity starts early in childhood and extends into the adolescent years and possibly into adulthood, intervention and or prevention strategies are necessary to addressing this issue.

Nutrition behavior modification with healthy eating and increased physical activity are contributing factors to the prevention and management of obesity in all population groups. Also, research conducted will be translated into practical application and disseminating on nutrition, health, physical fitness, wellness and obesity for youth and families in communities.

Knowledge Areas

• Nutrition Education and Behavior
• Healthy Lifestyle
• Individual and Family Resource Management
• Human Development and Family Well-Being
• Youth Development