Mississippi university agriculture and extension leaders ask Senate for more funding to retain faculty, finish facilities and expand value‑added work

Keith Coble, vice president of the Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine at Mississippi State University, told the Senate Appropriations Committee the division generates a large economic footprint and needs state support to keep it competitive. “The division of agriculture forestry and veterinary medicine [is] generating a $1,700,000,000 total impact on the state of Mississippi,” Coble said, and added that state and local dollars did not keep pace with federal funds in 2024.

Coble described two related challenges: global competitors that “outinvest the United States in agriculture and forestry research and infrastructure,” and a long‑term outflow of value from Mississippi because much raw production leaves the state for processing. He cited a Vision 2030 value‑added leakage study that estimates about $10,000,000,000 in ag and forestry value leaves Mississippi annually for value‑added processing.

The hearing included separate presentations from Mississippi State units and Alcorn State outlining concrete funding requests and program needs. Nick Frank, dean of Mississippi State’s College of Veterinary Medicine, said state appropriations represent about 25% of the college’s operating budget and that additional funding is needed to maintain salaries, retain faculty and finish construction. “We graduate about a 110 to a 115 new veterinarians every year,” Frank said, and he warned that new veterinary schools across the country are recruiting faculty and staff with large investments in facilities. Frank described construction under way on a new farm animal hospital and said renovation estimates include roughly $12,000,000 for equine facilities and about $30,000,000 for small‑animal facilities; he told the committee the farm animal hospital phase is moving through bidding and that the college hopes to finish construction in about 18 months once contracts are awarded.

Wesberger, dean of the College of Forest Resources and director of the Forest and Wildlife Research Center, highlighted forestry’s statewide economic role and a 30,000‑square‑foot proposed mass‑timber annex intended to showcase mass‑timber construction and support industry recruitment; he cited a roughly $30,000,000 project estimate and requested an increase in FWRC funding to recruit and retain faculty. Wesberger said FWRC uses state funds as nonfederal match to leverage extramural dollars and noted FWRC’s work on early detection tools for pests and chronic wasting disease.

Agnes Angus Ketchott, director of the Mississippi State Extension Service, flagged operational strain in county extension staffing even as program reach expands. Angus said 4‑H enrollment grew from roughly 55,700 to 90,000 youth and that many counties remain single‑agent. She urged investment in additional FTEs so extension can sustain local, relationship‑based work. Angus also described a Walk Mississippi pilot where participants together logged more than 78,000 miles in six weeks.

Daryl Sparks, acting director of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, requested a 10% increase in the general fund (about $2,460,000) to meet salary and operational needs, citing $1,100,000 in retention packages for experiment‑station faculty since 2022 and deferred maintenance estimates for some facilities (for example, an estimated $350,000–$500,000 for repairs at the Beard and Dairy site). Sparks said state funding accounts for roughly 35% of FWRC research expenditures and is critical as nonfederal match.

Representatives from Alcorn State described an approved ag‑unit appropriation of $8,200,000 and requested an additional $3,100,000 for ag and extension programs. Dean Dexter Wakefield outlined five benchmarks for the request, including $550,000 for poultry research and outreach, $715,000 for animal science, $455,000 for environmental science and fisheries work, $430,000 for horticulture and $1,000,000 for a shiitake mushroom research and production expansion. Wakefield also noted a capital request of $3,570,000 to complete phase 2 of a poultry science academic and research center. Alcorn said the shiitake program uses an isolated strain that can colonize loblolly pine and that the university intends to consult legal services to protect state interests and intellectual property before broader commercialization.

Committee members asked detailed questions about enrollment and costs: Frank said the veterinary college admits about 118 students per class and typically graduates 110–115; he gave in‑state tuition this year as about $29,900 and out‑of‑state about $53,000. Wakefield reported about 640 students in Alcorn’s College of Agriculture and that roughly 725 students graduated across recent semesters (500 in May and about 270 in the fall).

No formal votes were recorded at the hearing. Presenters emphasized that proposed state investments would be leveraged to attract federal and private funds, retain high‑performing faculty and expand value‑added processing and outreach that could keep more economic activity — and jobs — in Mississippi. The committee thanked presenters for their testimony and materials and indicated continued consideration as the appropriations process proceeds.