![Marine veteran Jeremy Beaver and his family make and sell maple syrup near Mark Twain Lake. Beaver is one of 300,000 post-9/11 veterans expected to return to Missouri in the next decade. Photo by Linda Geist](/sites/default/files/styles/flexslider_full_no_crop_300x200/public/wysiwyg/Extensiondata/NewsAdmin/Photos/bvr1304.jpg?itok=9wHtqk-9)
Tax refund advice: Save some, spend some
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Income tax refunds are ready to roll out. You might want to hold on to some of that cash.Refunds are wages you earn throughout the year and should be thought of as hard-earned money rather than found money, says Andrew Zumwalt, personal finance specialist with University of Missouri Extension.For the wise, a refund windfall is a chance to stash some of the cash in an emergency fund. Use some to pay down high-interest…
Go wild! Go green!
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Spring greens from the woods can add nutrition and flavor to your diet.
![Marine veteran Jeremy Beaver and his family make and sell maple syrup near Mark Twain Lake. Beaver is one of 300,000 post-9/11 veterans expected to return to Missouri in the next decade. Photo by Linda Geist](/sites/default/files/styles/flexslider_full_no_crop_300x200/public/wysiwyg/Extensiondata/NewsAdmin/Photos/bvr1304.jpg?itok=9wHtqk-9)
Returning veteran finds sweet success
MARK TWAIN LAKE, Mo. – Smoke billows from the sugar shack where U.S. Marine veteran Jeremy Beaver cooks maple syrup. It is a crisp Sunday morning. A sweet, smoky smell and the sound of children playing fill the woods. Beaver likes the quiet of the woods where he taps maple trees for syrup. Equally, he likes the sound of his sons playing with their tractors or the laughter of friends enjoying ATV rides and barbecue while he tends the…
Plant rhubarb, the pie plant, in March
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Fans of the public radio show “A Prairie Home Companion” know that rhubarb cures life’s ailments. When life cannot get any worse, “one little thing can revive a guy, and that is a piece of rhubarb pie,” according to the show’s creator, Garrison Keillor.
![Pat Miller and Dayton Shepherd are among the many Master Gardener and Grow Well Missouri partners who volunteer at the Mexico Help Center. MU Extension Master Gardeners and community volunteers sort and package bulk seeds to give to food pantry clients whPhoto by Linda Geist](/sites/default/files/styles/flexslider_full_no_crop_300x200/public/wysiwyg/Extensiondata/NewsAdmin/Photos/mckelvey1.jpg?itok=K9BMyBQh)
Growing seeds of hope for the hungry
MEXICO, Mo. – University of Missouri Extension Master Gardeners and Grow Well Missouri partner to plant seeds of hope in food pantry clients at Mexico’s Help Center.Food pantry recipients plant community garden plots with seeds bought in bulk and packaged by Master Gardeners and community volunteers. Master Gardeners also provide tools, supplies and advice.
Vitamin C and colds
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. – In 1970, the biochemist Linus Pauling published “Vitamin C and the Common Cold,” promoting the idea that large doses of the vitamin could reduce the severity and duration of a cold. “There have been several well-designed studies that tested vitamin C’s ability to reduce the risk of developing a cold or lessen the symptoms. The conclusion was that the vitamin does neither,” said Tammy Roberts, nutrition specialist…
High-quality, profitable beef made possible by genetic tests
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Making quality beef for more farm profits becomes predictable by using genetic testing.Meetings across Missouri will review current breeding technology and explain new genomic tools.University of Missouri Extension specialists plan meetings in Maryville, Kingsville, Macon, Springfield and Jackson.The five meetings are called “Beef Cattle ReproGene” sessions. That’s short for “Taking the next steps in beef cattle…
Farm safety specialist urges safe practices during Grain Bin Safety Week
COLUMBIA, Mo. – This is one of the most dangerous times of the year for farmers, says University of Missouri Extension safety specialist Karen Funkenbusch. Grain Bin Safety Week is Feb. 19-25. Farmers usually check and empty grain bins during late winter and early spring. This routine job is the source of many on-farm accidents and deaths, Funkenbusch says.
![Straw bale gardening offers gardeners options in many locations. The key to success is conditioning of the bales.Photo by Flickr user knitsteel/CC BY-SA 2.0](/sites/default/files/styles/flexslider_full_no_crop_300x200/public/wysiwyg/Extensiondata/NewsAdmin/Photos/StrawBaleGarden.jpg?itok=fOi_8_gV)
Straw bale gardening offers options for gardeners
COLUMBIA, Mo. – You can’t grow turkey in the straw. However, you can grow side dishes and floral centerpieces for a turkey dinner in the straw.Gardens using straw as a growing medium are becoming popular with growers who are plagued with poor soil or limited garden space, said University of Missouri Extension horticulturist David Trinklein. Straw bale gardening combines container gardening and raised-bed gardening into one green-thumb…
Pig disease on upswing in U.S.
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Pork producers need to know what to do if a vesicular disease strikes their operation.The Seneca Valley virus (SVV) disease is on the upswing in the United States, says Corinne Bromfield, University of Missouri Extension veterinarian.The Swine Health Information Center reported that diagnostics labs had seen more than 60 cases of SVV from January to June 2016. They reported only 20 cases in the previous 30 years.
Give your Valentine's Day flowers some TLC
COLUMBIA, Mo. –Valentine’s Day flowers, like love, can stand the test of time if given a little TLC. Call it flor-amore.
Lime doesn’t harm K-31 fescue but nitrogen adds to toxicosis
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Adding poultry litter or nitrogen to toxic fescue pastures grows more grass, but also boosts toxins in the grass.A three-year study at the University of Missouri shows liming helps grass but doesn’t increase ergovaline. That toxin harms grazing cattle many ways, mostly in lost production. In recent frigid cold, farmers reported cases of fescue foot caused by the toxin. Cattle losing their hooves must be put down.
Watch the weather to avoid atrazine runoff
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Atrazine, one of farmers’ least expensive and most effective chemicals for weed control, is under the magnifying glass.Atrazine is up for re-registration review by the Environmental Protection Agency, says Bob Broz, water quality specialist for University of Missouri Extension. Broz recently spoke to certified crop advisers at a meeting in St. Joseph.
![Photo by Tony Hisgett/CC BY 2.0. Attribution required.Photo by Tony Hisgett/CC BY 2.0](/sites/default/files/styles/flexslider_full_no_crop_300x200/public/wysiwyg/Extensiondata/NewsAdmin/Photos/cyclamen.jpg?itok=YQzj8Z68)
Cyclamen: the houseplant with an amorous history
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The cyclamen is Cupid’s flowering love child.For centuries, people have associated cyclamens with matters of the heart, making it a perfect Valentine’s Day choice, said University of Missouri Extension horticulturist David Trinklein.
Study shows cover crops help soils after flooding
ROCK PORT, Mo. – A four-year study by University of Missouri Extension seeks to find how cover crops can best benefit soils after flooding and prevented planting.MU Extension agronomist Wayne Flanary shared initial results at a recent crop advisers meeting in St. Joseph. The study looks at the impact of cover crops in the recovery of flooded soils.
Tightening profit margins means farmers must control costs
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Higher production costs and lower commodity prices mean farmers must control costs more carefully than ever, says University of Missouri Extension agricultural economist Ray Massey.Land, seed and fertilizer are the largest production costs for row crop operations. “If you can lower these costs by 10 percent, it is like lowering other production costs by 100 percent,” Massey told certified crop advisers recently in St.…
Freezing cows die from fescue foot; no known cure but prevention works
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Reports of “fescue foot” causing loss of cows are coming in, says Craig Roberts, University of Missouri Extension forage specialist.In severe cold weather, cows eating toxic fescue, a widely used pasture grass, suffer frozen feet with lost hooves. In one case a Missouri a producer lost five cows out of a herd of 30. Other cases, less severe, are being reported.
![Blake Naughton.](/sites/default/files/styles/flexslider_full_no_crop_300x200/public/wysiwyg/Extensiondata/NewsAdmin/Photos/BlakeNaughton.jpg?itok=pno1D75a)
Blake Naughton named MU Extension’s new associate vice chancellor
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Blake Naughton, executive director of University of Missouri’s Hook Center for Educational Renewal, will be MU Extension’s new associate vice chancellor for extension and engagement, effective Feb. 1.
More to mushrooms than morels
BETHANY, Mo. – Although many in Missouri think about mushrooms when the morels are at their peak in April, people who grow mushrooms at home or commercially need to be thinking about them much of the year, says a University of Missouri Extension nutrition and health education specialist.
Glycemic index: How useful is it for managing health?
BETHANY, Mo. – People looking to lose weight or eat healthier have sought to reduce calories, carbs and fats in their diets. In recent years, health-conscious consumers have been seeking out foods with a low glycemic index. But how effective is this for managing health?
![Karl Wilke, a fifth-generation dairy farmer, owns Dezi, a Holstein nominated for the Cow of the Year award. Photo courtesy of Reagan Bluel](/sites/default/files/styles/flexslider_full_no_crop_300x200/public/wysiwyg/Extensiondata/NewsAdmin/Photos/dezi02.jpg?itok=KQDqsrfE)
Missouri Holstein cow produces nearly 24 gallons of milk per day
MOUNT VERNON, Mo. – Missouri Holstein Dezi is a moo-ver and a milker.The Lawrence County cow outperforms most of her regional counterparts, producing just short of three times as much milk per day, says University of Missouri Extension dairy specialist Reagan Bluel.Dezi, owned by farmer Karl Wilke, churns out 201 pounds of milk per day. That’s the equivalent of about 24 gallons—15 gallons more than the average Holstein.
![Florist's kalanchoe.Photo by Hitro Milanese, licensed under CC-BY-SA-3.0](/sites/default/files/styles/flexslider_full_no_crop_300x200/public/wysiwyg/Extensiondata/NewsAdmin/Photos/kalanchoe.jpg?itok=62HknRQJ)
Kalanchoe’s hot, hot, hot colors warm winter days
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The little-known kalanchoe is the firecracker of houseplants.Kalanchoe’s colors burst with unexpected vibrancy in the dead of winter, said University of Missouri Extension horticulturist David Trinklein.“Kalanchoes are the Energizer Bunny of succulents,” said Trinklein. “Their flowers just keep going and going and going.”
![January-February is a good time for wheat growers to review management decisions.Photo courtesy of Tyler Mudd](/sites/default/files/styles/flexslider_full_no_crop_300x200/public/wysiwyg/Extensiondata/NewsAdmin/Photos/ohmes-wheat.jpg?itok=iAmPR1rT)
Now is good time to respond to wheat stages
JACKSON, Mo. – January and February are good months to make wheat management decisions, according to a University of Missouri Extension agronomist in southeastern Missouri.Wheat maturity does not follow a calendar. Instead, wheat development depends on weather and planting date, says Anthony Ohmes.
Terrariums: Nature in a bottle
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Terrariums are back in style for plant lovers, says University of Missouri Extension horticulturist David Trinklein.
Online resources for winter weather
Editors: University of Missouri Extension has compiled a list of websites, extension publications, news releases and other online resources for coping before, during and after winter storms. MU Extension news releases