The Adams County Extension Service is always striving to meet the needs of all citizens in the Miss-Lou.

Each year we offer a wide range of programs to meet the needs of over 1,000 youth and thousands of adults in Adams and surrounding counties and parishes each year. The programs we offer reach out to all citizens from cattle producers and horse owners to childcare providers, nutrition educators, wildlife advocates, foresters, homemakers, gardeners, business leaders and many more.

The success of the Adams County Extension Service is due to the relentless efforts of dedicated volunteers that help carry out these programs as well as you the citizens that have been receptive of our programs and the information offered in them.

Friday night we had the pleasure of bringing more than 60 youth from Natchez to New Orleans to watch the New Orleans Hornets versus the Minnesota Timberwolves. This was the first ever MSU 4-H Hornets night for our state and the first NBA game for nearly all the 4-Hers attending. This trip would not have been possible without the support of David New Drilling, Sandy Creek Farms and Randy and Ann Tillman for sponsoring the trip and providing transportation and other expenses.

Q: Are there any upcoming extension programs for those of us that like the outdoors?

A: Yes, in fact next week we have two programs for our outdoorsmen next week. At 6 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 15 at the Adams County Extension Office we will have a wild hog management workshop. The southern part of Adams County and most of Wilkinson County have endured a tremendous spike in the wild hog population this year. This can have major implications on hunting camps. Therefore I strongly recommend hunters to attend this program to help better understand the problem.

We will discuss multiple topics including history, biology, reproduction, competition with other species, damage identification, diseases, and various control methods. We will have MSU biologist and a Mississippi game warden on hand to address problems and answer questions.

At 8 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 18 we will have a logger’s education training for all foresters, loggers, arborist or citizens interested. We will have MSU forestry specialist here to discuss the current market outlook, pine beetle programs, and other relevant topics.

For those of you that prefer a more subtle approach to the outdoors, we will once again be offering a Master Gardener training program staring on Tuesday, Feb. 23. The class will be every Tuesday and Thursday until March 25. This program is taught by MSU content area specialist and covers a wide range of topics from basic botany to propagation and includes other topics such as ornamentals, fruits and nuts, soil science, plant diseases, vegetables, invasive plants, and entomology to name some of the class. Adams County, without doubt, has the best Master Gardener program in the state, so come get involved and join the fun.

All these program will be taught at the Adams County Extension Service office at 75A Carthage Point Road. For more information on any of these programs call the Adams County Extension Service at 601-445-8201.

David Carter is the director of the Adams County Extension Service. He can be reached at 601-445-8201.