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Veterans find peace, skills and income with Heroes to Hives
WARRENSBURG, Mo. – Few things bring calm to Larry Soles more than opening a hive and hearing the hum of the bees. Soles is one of a growing group of military veterans who take part in Heroes to Hives, a free program of University of Missouri Extension. The program seeks to address financial and personal wellness of veterans through professional training and community development centered around beekeeping.
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Preparing sheep and goats for fall breeding
OSCEOLA, Mo. – Fall is the natural mating season for sheep and goats, and University of Missouri Extension has a new publication for producers on Breeding Season Considerations for Sheep and Goats. MU Extension small-ruminant specialist David Brown said peak fertility for sheep and goats is late September through November, but some breeds will cycle in the spring and have lambs/kids in the fall.
New weather station benefits ag, aviation and public safety
GRAIN VALLEY, Mo. – Aviation, agriculture and public safety got a boost recently when a new weather station went online at East Kansas City Airport in Jackson County.
MU, MDA give online listings of hay for sale
COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri Extension and the Missouri Department of Agriculture are helping livestock producers find hay.Their websites are seeing increased interest from buyers and sellers post-drought, says Tony Hancock, MDA market news manager.
'MUkraine' partners work to restore farmland through education and technology
COLUMBIA, Mo. – In May of 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called American Association of Universities leaders for help to assist Ukrainian universities during the war with Russia.
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Halloween's little greenhouse of horrors
COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri Extension horticulturist Michele Warmund invites you to explore the weird world of plants with terrifying names and demonic smells.“Enter, if you dare, into the ghoulish side of the plant world,” she says.Some of Warmund’s wicked good greenies:
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Missouri Good Neighbor Week Gains Momentum in 2023, Blows Past Goal
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Missourians from all walks of life celebrated the first Missouri Good Neighbor Week (Sept. 28 to Oct. 4) by doing and reporting neighboring acts and nominating others as the most engaged neighbors in their respective counties. For the second year, University of Missouri Extension and The Hopeful Neighborhood Project teamed up to sponsor the week across Missouri.
Wanted: Missouri Digital Ambassadors
The University of Missouri Broadband Initiative is recruiting more volunteer Digital Ambassadors to help people in their communities take advantage of high-speed internet access.
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Halloween's Irish twist begins with 'Stingy Jack'
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Americans are projected to spend more than $800 million on Halloween pumpkins this year, said University of Missouri Extension horticulturist David Trinklein. The U.S. pumpkin industry can thank Irish immigrants and a mythical character named “Stingy Jack” for Americans’ rush to buy carving pumpkins in October.
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Archer tops Missouri 4-H Dairy Judging Contest
SEDALIA, Mo. – Molly Archer earned high individual honors at the State 4-H Dairy Judging Contest, Aug. 19 at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia. Archer, the daughter of Robert and Jamey Archer of Falcon, was the high individual in Ayrshires, Guernseys and Jerseys. She was also second in Holsteins and tied for first place in oral reasons.
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Missouri 4-H dairy judging team competes at All-American
HARRISBURG, Pa. – Missouri 4-H had a strong outing at the 2023 All-American Invitational Youth Dairy Cattle Judging Contest, Sept. 17 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The team finished seventh overall in the 13-team field, said Karla Deaver, University of Missouri Extension 4-H youth development specialist.
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Show-Me MO Success podcast: Platte County, MU Extension give Dorothy Day Cabin a new purpose
KANSAS CITY, Mo. –The Dorothy Day Cabin sits in the Green Hills of Platte Wildlife Preserve just a few minutes north of downtown Kansas City. Dorothy Day, an artist and conservationist, lived in the cabin until her death in 2011. Platte County spent $1 million to preserve the cabin and has looked for ways for the public to make use of it.
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Missouri 4-H celebrates National 4-H Week
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Gov. Mike Parson designated Oct. 1-7, 2023, as National 4-H Week in Missouri. During the week and beyond there will be events and activities promoting the values and principles of 4-H. These include community service projects, celebrations and achievement days highlighting positive impacts 4-H has had on young people and their communities, said Lupita Fabregas, senior program director for the University of…
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MTI celebrates 100th episode of ‘The Weekly Workplace’ podcast
SEDALIA, Mo. – Last month, the Missouri Training Institute celebrated the 100th episode its podcast, “The Weekly Workplace,” with a livestream from the Missouri State Fair.
MU Extension receives swine biosecurity grant
COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri Extension agricultural engineering specialist Teng Lim has been awarded a $179,933 grant to study new wean-to-harvest biosecurity projects to improve entry to swine operations.
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NE Missouri couple learns about forestry on 55th wedding anniversary
COLUMBIA, Mo. – A forestry field day might seem like an unlikely place to spend a wedding anniversary, says University of Missouri Extension natural resources specialist Brian Schweiss. But a northeastern Missouri couple thought it sounded like “a good outing to someplace we had never been before” to celebrate 55 years of a marriage as strong as the forest’s trees.
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Project helps reduce Missouri feral hog population by 65%
SALEM, Mo. – Kevin Crider knows a troublemaker when he sees one, whether it be two-legged or four-legged.
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Test for soybean cyst nematode this fall
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Oct. 2 is National Nematode Day and marks a good time to test fields for soybean cyst nematode (SCN), the No. 1 pathogen of soybean in the United States.“We anticipate the highest SCN levels to occur at the end of the season. Identifying problematic areas this fall can help with 2024 planting decisions,” said Mandy Bish, University of Missouri Extension plant pathologist and director of the SCN Diagnostics clinic.
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Average first frost about 2 weeks away in northern Missouri
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Missouri’s northernmost counties could soon see the first frost of fall, says University of Missouri Extension state climatologist Zack Leasor. Although near-freezing temperatures are not currently in the forecast, daily temperature normals are dropping about one-half degree daily, and daylight is dwindling at a rate of 2-3 minutes less per day.
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MU Extension studies loneliness in rural areas
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Montana State University is partnering with University of Missouri Extension and the MU Department of Psychological Sciences to research the connection between loneliness and mental health in agricultural workers and rural residents. The study will increase understanding of how isolation contributes to the mental health crisis in rural communities, with the goal of providing insights into targeting future interventions.
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Elevating Excellence: 2023 Missouri 4-H Hall of Fame inductees
SEDALIA, Mo. – The Missouri 4-H community honored the 2023 inductees into the Missouri 4-H Hall of Fame in August at State Fair Community College in Sedalia.
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Smoketree: A sizzling hot plant that's not just for summer
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Unlike most of Missouri’s native trees, the American smoketree displays spectacular colors throughout the growing season, says University of Missouri Extension state horticulturist Michele Warmund.American smoketree is a hardy and adaptable small tree or shrub that grows 15 to 30 feet at maturity. It thrives in full sun and in alkaline soils but tolerates slightly acidic and compacted soils.
Less is more: Time to divide and conquer perennials
COLUMBIA, Mo. – “Some perennials can suffer from too much of a good thing,” said University of Missouri Extension horticulturist David Trinklein. As it grows, year after year, a perennial’s growth clump, or crown, gets so big the plant begins to compete with itself for light, water and nutrients. Eventually this self-struggle leads to fewer and less showy flowers.
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Cattle producers urged to watch for prussic acid poisoning
COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri Extension specialists urge producers to closely watch cattle grazing pastures with Johnson grass and other sorghum species.Cattle producers in several drought-stressed parts of Missouri have recently reported cattle deaths from suspected prussic acid or hydrocyanic acid (cyanide) poisoning, says Tim Evans, an MU Extension state specialist in animal health and veterinary toxicology.
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Tar spot now confirmed in about a third of Missouri
COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri Extension state plant pathologist Mandy Bish says tar spot of corn has spread into many new counties in 2023. Bish recently confirmed tar spot in five more counties. This brings to 31 the number of Missouri counties in which tar spot has been confirmed between 2019 and 2023.