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Features

Estimating deer populations on your property

Although landowners frequently want to know how many deer are on their land, knowing exact numbers is not realistic, nor is it necessary for successful deer management.

Sucker gigging: A 200-year-old Ozark tradition endures

Families go fishing at night. In December. With spears. Watch the video.

Venison is a healthy choice but should be handled with care

The deer-hunting season brings venison to the table in many households. From a nutritional perspective, it is a good choice.

WaterSense: Making every drop count

You can save water and energy, help the environment and keep money in your pocket if you use water more efficiently.

Energy programs

MU Extension programs on energy conservation and energy alternatives are available for your home, business, industry, farm and community.

Diversify farm income by growing chestnuts

From site selection and planting to harvesting and sales, the Center for Agroforestry’s four chestnut production workshops cover the entire growing season.

News

"Flash drought" hurts young corn plants, brace roots fail to grow without moisture
Thursday, May 24, 2012
COLUMBIA, Mo. – “Call it a flash drought,” said Pat Guinan, University of Missouri climatologist. The fast developing drought slows growing crops.
Dryness creeps north in Missouri
Friday, May 18, 2012
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Missouri’s spring is on track to be the warmest on record.
Media available: 1 photo
Turning food waste into energy
Thursday, May 10, 2012
COLUMBIA, Mo. – America is not only a land of big waistlines, but also of big waste when it comes to food.
Media available: 6 photos; 1 videos
Warm temperatures continue through April; May rainfall uncertain
Friday, May 4, 2012
COLUMBIA, Mo. – It’s too close to call yet, but April temperatures this year look to be cooler than March’s.
Media available: 1 photo
Quail, pollinators, farming featured at June 21 field day at MU Bradford Research Center
Thursday, May 3, 2012
COLUMBIA, Mo. – You can learn about the birds and the bees June 21 when University of Missouri’s Bradford Research Center hosts a field day on bobwhite quail and native pollinators.
'Ghosts' of storms past may haunt damaged homes
Friday, April 20, 2012
PERRYVILLE, Mo.—Homeowners who made repairs after last year’s floods and windstorms may now be finding ghostly shadows—dirty patches of mold and mildew—in parts of the home that got wet. This is a health hazard for people living in the home.
Media available: 1 photo
Return to the forest
Thursday, April 12, 2012
COLUMBIA, Mo. – A passion for the outdoors has guided Dusty Walter’s career—although it took him awhile to get there.
Media available: 3 photos
Field day schedule set for 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Droughts, floods, spring deluges, and late and early frosts are all possibilities that face Missouri farmers—sometimes in a matter of days. While no one can control the weather, you can learn the best ways to prepare for it and adapt to it at CAFNR’s Field Days across the state.
Media available: 3 photos
Feb.-March temperatures: More lamb than lion
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The budding trees and blooming flowers tell the story: This has been a particularly mild winter.
Switch your lighting for energy savings
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. – Switching to more efficient lighting is one of the fastest ways to cut your home energy costs, notes a University of Missouri Extension housing and environmental design specialist.
What are your trees worth?
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
COLUMBIA, Mo. – This time of year Larry Godsey gets a lot of calls from woodland owners asking for advice about taxes on timber they have sold.
USDA updates plant hardiness zone maps for first time since 1990
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
CLAYTON, Mo. – Gardeners are familiar with the ubiquitous map that graces the back of seed packages and care labels that accompany most perennials.
Media available: 1 photo
Keep the heat in your house, but keep out the radon
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
MARSHFIELD, Mo. –If you have made your home more energy efficient, or plan to do so, you might want to test for radon, says a University of Missouri Extension natural resource engineering specialist.
Don’t sell your timber short
Friday, January 20, 2012
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Too many landowners sell their timber for only a fraction of what it’s really worth, notes a University of Missouri Extension state forestry specialist.
A year of extremes
Thursday, December 29, 2011
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Missouri weather in 2011 was anything but boring.
Sucker gigging: A 200-year-old Ozark tradition endures
Monday, December 19, 2011
EMINENCE, Mo—Most fishermen call it a day when the sun goes down, but on this December evening Landon Howell and his friends are just getting started.
Media available: 4 photos; 1 videos
New series of MU guides explains managing white-tailed deer on private land
Friday, December 9, 2011
COLUMBIA, Mo. – As the 2011 deer season comes to a close, hunters and landowners can learn about managing white-tailed deer from a new series of publications currently being developed by University of Missouri Extension and the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC).
Media available: 1 photo
Missouri drought more than skin deep
Thursday, December 8, 2011
COLUMBIA, Mo. – It may not look it, but many Missouri fields are hiding a deep, dry secret.
Media available: 2 photos; 1 videos
Missourians urged to report drought information online
Thursday, October 27, 2011
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Has drought affected your farm, business or community? Missourians can help scientists and decision-makers assess, plan for and respond to droughts by using a simple online tool to report local conditions, said a University of Missouri Extension climatologist.
Alumni remember University Forest
Monday, October 24, 2011
COLUMBIA, Mo.—Since 1947, summer camp at the University Forest in Butler County has been a rite of passage for University of Missouri forestry students, who crammed a semester’s worth of class work coupled with real-world experience into just a few weeks.
Media available: 4 photos
Fighting moles is an uphill battle
Friday, October 21, 2011
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Moles have been extra busy this autumn, and you can almost see the resentment rise in homeowners as they survey their spoiled yards.
Battelle Institute report: Ag, bioscience make north-central U.S. an economic ‘powerhouse’
Monday, October 3, 2011
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Food, health, energy and the environment are among the most vital concerns when it comes to human survival and quality of life. A new report from the Battelle Institute says agriculture and agricultural bioscience (“agbioscience”) provide wide-ranging opportunities to address those concerns and serve as powerful engines for economic growth and job creation in the U.S.—especially the nation’s 12-state north-central region, which includes Missouri.
Media available: 1 photo
New computer models to help concentrated animal producers tone down the smell
Thursday, September 15, 2011
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Some call it the smell of money, but Teng Teeh Lim thinks that smell does not have to be so bad.
Media available: 1 photo
MU drought simulators stop the rain
Thursday, August 18, 2011
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Farmers face an age-old problem when rains fail to come.
Media available: 1 photo; 1 video
Remedies exist for trees wounded by storm
Thursday, August 18, 2011
GALENA, Mo. — Repair may be in order to keep storm-damaged trees healthy and less susceptible to disease and insects, says a University of Missouri Extension agronomy specialist.
Heat stress may cut calf crop next spring, MU specialist says at Greenley field day
Thursday, August 11, 2011
NOVELTY, Mo. – Summer heat stress in cow herds may not show up until much later—at calving time, a University of Missouri Extension specialist told the crowd at the MU Greenley Center field day, Aug. 9.
Snakes on a flood plain
Friday, July 22, 2011
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Floods and severe storms can leave more than just people homeless. Displaced snakes, rodents and other nuisance wildlife often will seek shelter and food in areas close to people, said Bob Pierce, MU Extension fisheries and wildlife specialist.
MU FAPRI reports economic impact of extending ethanol tax credit, tariff
Monday, June 27, 2011
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Extending the current ethanol tax credit and tariff would boost corn-based fuel production -- and corn prices, report University of Missouri economists.
Program offers incentives to reduce energy costs on small farms
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Small Missouri farms can take steps to reduce energy usage through a program that offers energy audits, loans and rebates to retrofit equipment and improve operations.

Websites

The following are general-interest natural resources Websites from the University of Missouri. Browse the menu on the left for sites on more specific natural resources topics.

Agricultural Experiment Station
CARES - Center for Applied Research and Environmental Systems
Aids interested public and private parties in learning about and managing our resources.
College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources
CPAC - Community Policy Analysis Center
Provides research, outreach and training to support improved policy decisions in Missouri communities.
Missouri Master Naturalist
A community-based natural resource education and volunteer service program sponsored jointly by the Missouri Department of Conservation and MU Extension.