Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson has announced three new partnerships involving the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce (MDAC) and youth, agricultural and conservation organizations.

Gipson spotlighted a renewed partnership between the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks (MDWFP) and the Mississippi FFA Association that was facilitated by the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce. As a result of the partnership, FFA will have the opportunity to utilize hundreds of acres along Pickwick Lake on Yellow Creek to benefit FFA members as was done nearly 50 years ago. The MDWFP and the FFA recently signed a 20-year agreement which will provide access and use of the lake-front property, with plans to improve the property as an outdoor recreation and agricultural education retreat for FFA members from across the state.

In addition, Gipson announced the new Wild Hog Control Program (WHCP) Youth Trapping Corps. Created in 2020, MDAC’s Wild Hog Control Program provides “smart” wild hog traps to landowners and managers for the control of wild hogs on private agricultural and forestry lands in Mississippi. The Youth Trapping Corps is an expansion of WHCP and is designed to educate and professionally develop student members of agriculture-based organizations, such as FFA, on the impact of nuisance animals on agriculture and the importance of wild hog management.

The first-of-its-kind program will provide FFA students around the state the opportunity to offer wild hog trapping services while gaining valuable skills and work-based learning experiences. For this initiative, Wildlife Dominion Management, LLC is partnering with MDAC and the Mississippi FFA Association to educate, train and provide technical support for the implementation of wild hog population control. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, Wildlife Dominion Management, LLC and FFA to mark this innovative partnership.

Gipson also recognized the Mississippi Pork Producers Association for their support of MDAC’s Wild Hog Control Program. The Mississippi Pork Board and the National Pork Board donated two panel trap systems that include traps, HogEye Camera Systems, solar power components and custom trailers.

The donated trap systems will provide years of service to landowners and farmers through the WHCP to assist in protecting against the $60 million worth of damage caused by wild hogs in Mississippi annually.