Panola County Extension Office

05/29/2026

It's that time of the year again! The Panola County Cattlemen's Association will be cooking their ribeye steak sandwiches next week, June 4-5. We hope to see you there!

05/29/2026

Hay season has started! The value of hay as a supplemental feed largely depends on different factors:

1. Applying the recommended fertilizer per cut of hay. One application of potash or nitrogen at the beginning of the season will not last the whole summer.

2. Cutting at the right stage of maturity to balance yield and nutritive value.

3. Controlling your w**ds. They can reduce your forage production and rob nutrients from your field.

4. Properly storing your hay to minimize hay losses. (Do you know that leaving your hay exposed to weather can result in 30-50% hay loses? That means that to make a ton of dry matter hay cost $100, you will be losing $30-50 per ton.)

5. Conducting a hay analysis in each cut of hay. This will allow to determine any necessary changes in your management practices but also will allow to match the nutritive value to specific livestock class.

Don't Guess, Hay Test! Follow Mississippi Forages for more content like this.

05/22/2026

Important update about our new soil testing procedures!

New Soil Testing Information! Soil testing is the first step to healthy soil and productive crops, pastures, turf and gardens.

Follow the steps below to submit your soil sample:

Order online. Visit soiltesting.extension.msstate.edu and follow the instructions to complete your order. Enter your contact info, sample names and crop or intended use.

Choose payment. Cost is $12 per sample. You may pay by cash or check sent with your soil sample or choose to receive an invoice to pay by credit card. Your payment options are cash, check or invoice.

Prepare and label your sample. Collect the soil to be tested. Fill the sample collection container to the fill line and close the container. Write the “sample name” (and your name, if desired) on the outside of the container. Clearly write your order number and sample name on each container. This information must match what was entered online.

Ship or drop off your sample. The new shipping address and drop off location is:
Southern Soil & Plant Lab, LLC.
117 Haley Barbour Parkway
Yazoo City, MS 39194

Receive results. Results will be sent to you and your county Extension office. You can contact your Extension agent for assistance with the sample report and recommendations.

Important Reminders

Cost is $12 per sample.

You may pick up your soil sample containers from your county Extension office.

You are responsible for shipping samples to the soil testing laboratory.

Contact your local Extension office for help with collecting soil samples, understanding crop codes, interpreting soil test reports and general soil fertility questions.

05/22/2026

04/30/2026

We get asked frequently if there are ways to help us expand our reach in programming, because a lot of people consider us the "best kept secret" out there. The simple answer is, absolutely! We don't want to be the best kept secret, because we love sharing what we offer with those in our community!

The best way you can help is by donating to our local office financially. The QR on the flyer below will direct you to a webpage for the MSU Foundation, which can take monetary donations and helps us build a pool of funds that we can use to operate. When filling it out, just make sure to include "Panola County" in the comments section. If you want it to go to any particular area within the county, such as Agriculture/Natural Resources, 4-H, or Family Health and Wellness, then make sure to include that information as well.

Thank you!

04/21/2026

Go ahead and screenshot this! Here's a cheat sheet graphic of insects that could impact your vegetable garden.

The average home vegetable gardener grows more than a dozen different types of vegetables, and each may be attacked by several different species of insects. Managing and controlling insect pests is one of the keys to successful vegetable gardening.

Our Extension publication shares control recommendations for traditional and organic gardeners. It includes pictures of 35+ insects that you are most likely to find in your garden.

Read the Insects of the Home Vegetable Garden Extension publication here: https://extension.msstate.edu/publications/insect-pests-the-home-vegetable-garden

04/18/2026

Deep cracks in the ground tell the story of drought, where only about half the normal rainfall has fallen so far in 2026, making it the 10th driest in Mississippi history.

Mike Brown, state climatologist with the Mississippi State University Department of Geosciences, said February was the driest on record for Mississippi and March was the third warmest and 11th driest.

“This is very early for a drought in Mississippi,” Brown said. “Most winter and spring months, we are normal to just above normal for rainfall. For us to develop this severe a drought this early is quite rare.”

Mississippi has an ideal climate to grow many crops and typically averages 56 to 66 inches of rain a year. To make up for gaps in rainfall, about 40% of the state’s farmland is irrigated.

Drew Gholson, Extension irrigation specialist, said the gradually expanding drought conditions displayed on the U.S. Drought Monitor map are raising increasing concerns.

“In most seasons, our primary challenge is identifying suitable planting windows between rainfall events,” Gholson said. “This year, we have been ahead of schedule on planting due to favorable dry field conditions. However, as drought intensifies, this early planting advantage may rapidly become a significant risk.”

Gholson said soil moisture levels below about 6 inches deep remain adequate, but the immediate concern is successful plant establishment -- ensuring germination and early root development to reach the available moisture.

Read our full crop report here: https://extension.msstate.edu/news/feature-story/2026/weeks-long-drought-hard-on-states-crops

04/15/2026

04/08/2026

It’s mulching season, and as I have driven around the county, I have been seeing a lot of future problems and diagnostic calls due to this very topic. If you love your trees, especially newly planted ones, do not volcano mulch them.

Mulch is important to the health of your landscape. When it is applied properly it helps hold moisture in the soil, prevents w**d growth, regulates soil temperature, and protects the trunks of trees and shrubs from lawn equipment.

❌But when mulch is applied incorrectly, it can harm your plants. A common example of harmful mulch application is the mulch volcanoes you see around trees.

✅When applying mulch around trees and shrubs in the lawn, don’t mound it up around the trunk. You want it to be 3 to 4 inches deep and extend from the trunk 3 to 6 feet around the entire tree. Don’t allow the mulch to touch the trunk. Pull the mulch 2 to 3 inches away from the trunk to prevent problems, including disease and rodent damage.

➡️This Extension publication provides more information about how to mulch, the different types of mulch and how to calculate the amount of mulch you need: http://ow.ly/oORS50Mua5V