Cookout assists veteran horsemanship program

WEST POINT, Miss. -- Sometimes, supporting veterans can be as easy as showing up for dinner.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service is hosting a cookout benefitting members of its Veterans’ Horsemanship Program, one of several divisions in its Equine-Assisted Therapy Program. The cookout will take place April 20 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Elizabeth A. Howard Therapeutic Riding and Activity Center in West Point.

MSU Extension Associate Audrey Sheridan said the event, co-sponsored by the MSU Center for America’s Veterans, is an effort to build more connections between the university and the state’s veteran community and showcase the horsemanship program.

“We are hoping to get the word out across north Mississippi that this is a free program offered through the university for men and women who served in defense of our country,” Sheridan said.

Barbecue plates can be pre-purchased online or bought on site for $5 each. To pre-order, visit msuext.ms/vhpcookout24.

The event also includes a silent auction featuring various stable supplies. A complete rancher-style saddle package will be raffled off for $10 per ticket. Raffle tickets can be purchased at the event.

In addition to the Veterans’ Horsemanship Program, the Equine-Assisted Therapy Program offers therapeutic riding and hippotherapy. For more information, visit http://extension.msstate.edu/family/equine-assisted-therapy-programs.

Mississippi State University is an equal opportunity institution. For disability accommodation, please contact Sheridan at 662-325-2085.

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Dixie National sales surpass $9 million

JACKSON, Miss. -- Hinds County 4-H’er Mason Williams had already represented Mississippi in a national competition less than a year ago, so showing animals in a statewide event was no sweat.

“Those experiences make it a little bit easier to be in front of all those people,” Williams said. “It doesn’t take all the pressure away, but it makes it easier to manage, so when you walk out there and see everybody, you don’t get stage fright.”

Williams’ hard work paid off when he placed a goat in the Dixie National Sale of Junior Champions and the highest bid was $8,000. More than 2,500 animals across the state competed in the Dixie National Junior Round-Up leading up to the sale. Of those, only 53 advanced.

A high school sophomore, Williams has been showing animals since he was 8 years old. Last year, he was one of only four Mississippi 4-H’ers to compete in the National 4-H Livestock Skillathon Contest. He attributes his social development to the opportunities 4-H membership has given him.

“I think it’s helped me get out of my shell a little,” he said. “I’ve always been kind of an introvert, but I enjoy competing and the feeling of winning and all that hard work paying off.”

This year’s sale, the 55th consecutive one, marked several milestones. It surpassed the $9 million mark in total sales, broke the record for the total number of champion market animals featured with 53, and set a new record sale total, $484,010.

Another record was also set: the highest price paid for a steer in sale history. The grand champion steer shown by Tripp McGee of Jones 4-H was sold for $30,000 to the highest bidding group.

Held Feb. 8 at the Mississippi Trade Mart, the Sale of Junior Champions included eight steers, 17 hogs, 12 lambs, 12 goats, and four hair sheep. The shows featured 1,225 members of 4-H and FFA showing 2,084 animals.

Dean Jousan, 4-H livestock specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said events like Dixie National help young people build life skills that will serve them now and into adulthood.

“The exhibitors with champion market animals began a lengthy process of raising them many months ago,” he said. “Getting any animal show-ready is challenging, but having one reach the sale should be a source of pride for these young people because they’ve gone the extra mile.”

The Sale of Junior Champions Promotion Committee awarded 25 $1,500 scholarships to exhibitors who are high school seniors, six $2,000 scholarships to premier exhibitors and eight $1,500 scholarships to owners of supreme champion livestock. In total, the committee awarded $61,500 in scholarships.

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MSU Extension 4-H grant helps teach digital skills

RAYMOND, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service Center for 4-H Youth Development recently received a grant that will help close the digital divide in the state.

The one-year, $53,000 grant from the National 4-H Council and Verizon will help implement the 4-H Tech Changemakers program. The program enlists 4-H members to teach digital skills that can provide more opportunities, including better jobs, to adults in their communities.

The Center for 4-H Youth Development will partner with eight Extension agents in Choctaw, Noxubee, Attala, Coahoma, Humphreys, Newton, Pike and Harrison counties to train 40 young adults. Grant funding will provide technological devices, such as iPads and drones, for participants to use in the training.

“As Mississippi is preparing to expand broadband, this is the perfect time for the 4-H Tech Changemakers program in our state,” said Mariah Morgan, 4-H STEM specialist and associate Extension professor for the Center for 4-H Youth Development. “The training can help bridge the digital gap that exists in so many of our rural communities.”

Training through the program is free.

The 4-H Tech Changemakers program will reach 10,500 adults across the country with the current round of funding. For more information about the program, visit https://tinyurl.com/szzvfrac.

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