| Thursday, August 20, 2026 |
| Disease pressure varies across Midsouth soybean crop as harvest nears | |
 | Soybean acres were up in the Delta in 2026, compared with years prior, and planting was relatively swift throughout the region, with 30% to 39% of the crop in the ground by April 12. Overall, disease pressure this season has been relatively normal and, at times, quiet. The primary disease concerns have been moderate-to-severe frogeye leaf spot or cercospora leaf blight affecting some fields. The instances and severity of disease depended largely on variety susceptibility, and cases varied by state. For the most part, disease was most prevalent in beans planted mid-April, likely due to wet weather patterns that followed at the end of the month into May. In Mississippi, Tom Allen observed light disease pressure overall. "I would say that septoria brown spot and frogeye leaf spot have been two of the most observed diseases," said Allen, associate professor and Extension plant pathologist at Mississippi State University. "Septoria is not normally an issue and generally does not benefit from a fungicide application. The instances of frogeye in Mississippi, for the most part, were not problematic. But we did have some situations where fungicides were applied." |
| First public hearing on Mississippi redistricting draws claims of racism, fascism | |
| Lawmakers serving on the Joint Committee on Redistricting and Reapportionment kicked off a series of public hearings Tuesday night in Itawamba County aimed at obtaining citizens' comments and suggestions on the redistricting efforts being considered by the Mississippi Legislature. The planned public meetings are being held as part of the Legislature's anticipated effort to redraw legislative, congressional, and judicial districts in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Callais v. Louisiana that determined racial gerrymandering to be unconstitutional as it had been practiced under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The first of the public hearings was held Tuesday evening at Itawamba Community College. State Senator Dean Kirby (R), chairman of the joint committee, opened the meeting clarifying that lawmakers are handling redistricting for state House and Senate electoral districts as well as congressional and judicial districts, not municipal or county districts. Those are done at the local level. Maps of the current legislative, congressional and judicial districts were displayed for public viewing at the hearing, along with population totals. "We're not here to debate. We're not here to answer questions. We're here to listen," Kirby told those in attendance. |
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