Today’s column is meant to inform you of upcoming educational programs and events offered by the Extension Service. Hopefully, you will see something in this list that interests you. Let me begin with our computer training.

If you go

Gardening Accents: Monday, 5:30 p.m.-7

Putting color to work: Tuesday, 12-1

FSA rules and regulations: Thursday, 9-11:30 a.m.

Spring bull sale: Thursday at noon in Raymond

Nuts and Bolts: Tools for Today’s Economy: Thursday, 12-1

Data Mangement: Friday, 8:30-3:30

Snakes Alive: March 9, 5:30 p.m.-7

Fire ants: March 16, 5:30 p.m.-7

Gardening for All Seasons: March 23, 5:30 p.m.-7

My! What’s wrong with My Tomatoes?: March 30, 5:30 p.m.-7

Dr. John Giesemann, Extension computer specialist, will be in our office Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. teaching Data Management in Excel. Giesemann says, “Come learn how to manage all those lists of data you have to keep. Then sort them, add them up, or select different sets of the data to find out more about them.”  This class will be limited to the first 12 individuals who register and there is a $20 per person fee. The Extension Service plans to have Giesemann here once per month to teach computer lessons based on requested topics. With many businesses requiring their employees to have familiarity with Microsoft’s Excel software, Giesemann will devote several classes throughout the year to using many of Excel’s applications. 

Our Warren County Master Gardener volunteers have been busy planning for their March Mondays series, which begins Monday here in the Extension conference room from 5:30 p.m. until 7. Each Monday evening this month, the Master Gardeners will host an educational program sure to enhance your gardening and outdoor skills. Master Gardener Larry Strayer will pre-      sent Gardening Accents this week. I’ll bet you won’t sleep through Steven George’s program — Snakes Alive — next Monday evening, either! Retired County Agent Terry Rector will share his vast knowledge on fire ants on March 16. As one might expect from Rector, the title of his presentation is catchy — Fire Ants Don’t Eat Grits and Other Garden Stuff.

Jim Brannon will be teaching Gardening for All Seasons March 23, and the king of backyard tomato production, Al Hoxie, has a new presentation on tomato diseases called My! What’s wrong with My Tomatoes? That one is set for March 30.

Donna Beliech, Extension horticulture agent, will be at the Extension office on Tuesday from 12 until 1 p.m. for her monthly First Tuesday Gardening presentation. Beliech’s topic this month is Putting Color to Work.

Crop farmers are invited to drop by the Extension office Tuesday morning from 9 until 11:30 a.m. to attend the informational program on USDA Farm Service Agency’s Payment Eligibility Rules and Regulations. Gary Morrison, state FSA program director, will present the program and respond to farmers’ questions.

Cattle farmers needing to add to their battery of herd sires are urged to attend the Mississippi Beef Cattle Improvement Association’s spring bull sale at Hinds Community College’s bull test station in Raymond. The bulls will be available for viewing Wednesday afternoon, and the sale is scheduled for Thursday at noon. Sale catalogs are available from the Extension office.

In the Extension conference room from 12 until 1 p.m. Thursday, Dr. Bobbie Shaffett, Extension family resource management specialist, will facilitate Nuts and Bolts: Tools for Today’s Economy. Participants will learn to use tools provided by local agencies to avoid fraud and address consumer problems.

John C. Coccaro is county Extension director. Write to him at 1100-C Grove St., Vicksburg, MS 39180 or call 601-636-5442. E-mail him at jcoccaro@ext.msstate.edu