BILOXI, Miss. -- Many cattle producers in Mississippi like Bobby Jones do not have access to a dedicated large-animal veterinarian.

This was one of the many needs voiced during the 2024 Producer Advisory Council meeting on Jan. 25 at the Mississippi State University Coastal Research and Extension Center in Biloxi. The annual meeting serves as a forum for agricultural producers to discuss their needs with university administrators, researchers, specialists and Extension agents.

“We need more large animal vets in the state,” said Jones, a Wayne County cattle producer. “If you have an emergency after hours in a lot of places in Mississippi, you don’t have a veterinarian to call. That is causing some of us (livestock producers) to have to make some hard decisions. When you’ve got a cow having problems with labor, and you can’t get any help right away, you’ve got a serious problem.”

Keith Coble, vice president of the MSU Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine, said he and other administrators at the university are working to help address the need in the state, noting that large-animal veterinarians are scarce nationwide.

“I was just with College of Veterinary Medicine Dean Nick Frank yesterday in Jackson visiting with legislators, and this is one of the issues we were discussing,” Coble explained during the listening session with livestock producers. “We are working on ways to get more veterinarians into rural areas. One idea we’ve looked at is assistance with student loan repayment for veterinarians who commit to working in rural mixed-animal practices.”

Livestock producers said the shortage of large-animal veterinarians also contributes to issues getting antibiotics that used to be available over the counter. Those antibiotics now require a prescription. Other requests by the group were more information on locating processing facilities for small ruminants and control of nutsedge on forages.

Other commodities represented were apiculture, coastal and marine issues, forestry, horticulture and poultry.

Apiculture producers discussed their concerns about food sources for bees once the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service begins control of the invasive Chinese tallow tree. The group also talked about Extension Bee Specialist Jeff Harris’ proposal of implementing a Master Beekeeping program like Extension’s Master Gardener program. The group would also like to compile a list of beekeepers who do beehive removal.

The coastal and marine issues group expressed a need for more research on the integration of beef production and conservation grazing, the effects of freshwater runoff, coastal upland habitat management and best management practices for multispecies restoration work. They also want to quantify the demand for native wetland species.

Eric Sparks, director of the Coastal Marine Extension Program, announced the creation of the Mississippi Sound Estuary Program, or MSEP. The program is focused on community-driven conservation, restoration, and stewardship of the Mississippi Sound. A major activity for this program will be to develop a Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan to help inform future activities that impact the Mississippi Sound. For more information about MSEP, visit http://www.mssoundep.com.

Forestry representatives discussed markets for thinning, pulpwood and small-diameter wood, logging for small areas of timber, erosion control in forest land, and options for county forestry associations with small membership.

Members of the horticulture group discussed recruitment of more commercial growers and involvement in the Southern Region Small Fruit Consortium.

Poultry group members said there is a need for increased education on biosecurity practices for commercial and backyard poultry producers, more research and education on best management practices for litter, more education on backyard poultry breed selection, more information for backyard producers on nutrition and updated information on capital investment to start a commercial operation.

James Henderson, head of the Coastal Research and Extension Center, thanked the crowd for their input.

“You are our advisors. We need to hear from you to make what we do for you better,” Henderson said. “We have listened to you today, and it is our job to make our programs serve you well. And we will do that.”

Extension Director Angus Catchot and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station Director Scott Willard also spoke to the crowd.

“Extension does a great job of bringing you the university’s research and helping you apply it to your daily life,” said Catchot, who is new to the role. “But we still have areas or communities in the state that do not know or understand what all Extension has to offer to every citizen of the state. I want to change that because Extension is one of the best resources Mississippians have. If you have a need, chances are that Extension can help you with it. If we don’t know the answer, we can help you find it.”

Willard assured attendees that their input is taken seriously, although solutions may take several years.

“I look forward to looking back in my notebook again next year to see what I’ve checked off this list,” he said. “I know we won’t solve everything because some problems are harder to address quickly or just need ongoing research. It takes a long time to truly solve some of the challenges that you have brought to us today. But we are dedicated to working on it.”

The annual meeting hosted 172 people in the southwest region of the state.

Producers in the northern region will meet on Feb. 15 in Verona, and central region producers will meet on Feb. 20 in Raymond.