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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.
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Show-Me MO Success podcast: Caring Hearts and Hands of Columbia
COLUMBIA, Mo. – As a palliative care nurse at Boone Hospital, Jackie Reed saw families dealing with the declining health of loved ones have to make difficult financial decisions.
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Garden flowers bloom all year when dried
COLUMBIA, Mo. – “The delicate, ephemeral nature of flowers undoubtedly adds to our appreciation of them,” said University of Missouri Extension horticulturist David Trinklein. “Many literally are ‘here today, gone tomorrow.’” But flowers can be enjoyed all year long by drying them, said Trinklein, and now is the perfect time to gather the excess from our gardens and preserve them for future enjoyment.
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MU Extension guide covers management of small ruminants during drought
OSCEOLA, Mo. – Producers of small ruminants have had to deal with drought in nearly every part of Missouri this year trying to keep their animals healthy.“The biggest concern in drought for sheep and goats is lack of feed for the animals,” said David Brown, the University of Missouri Extension’s new livestock field specialist in small ruminants. Drought conditions affect nutrient quality of forage, leading to weight loss in sheep and…
$1.7 billion award makes universal broadband a reality
Last winter, University of Missouri staff and faculty in 34 counties helped residents submit 186 challenges to the Federal Communications Commission›s broadband coverage maps. Counties in Missouri organized challenge events at MU Extension offices, sharing internet connections and walking community members through the online process.
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Missouri 4-H College and Career Pathways Conference
COLUMBIA, Mo. – In July, 49 high-school-aged youths representing the greater Kansas City area, St. Louis and Clay County experienced the 21st annual 4-H College and Career Pathways Conference at the University of Missouri in Columbia.
Cornstalks can fill forage gaps during drought
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Grazing cornstalks or drought-stricken corn can fill feed gaps during drought, says University of Missouri Extension beef nutritionist Eric Bailey. There are some nutritional concerns, and producers must commit to moving cattle to new pastures to successfully use cornstalks as feedstuff, but there are benefits.
Cool-season vegetables are hot choice for fall garden
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The recent shift to milder temperatures is a pleasant reminder that it is time for gardeners to plant cool-season vegetables, said University of Missouri Extension horticulture specialist David Trinklein.Warm days and cool nights make conditions ideal for a second round of cool-season vegetables, Trinklein said. They most often are more flavorful than a spring crop of the same species.
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VR enhances fire and rescue training
COLUMBIA, Mo. – This summer, University of Missouri Extension’s Fire and Rescue Training Institute brought in 25 instructors for a train-the-trainer class on the institute’s new virtual reality system.
Can Missouri livestock producers outlast the drought?
COLUMBIA, Mo. – It’s pretty simple math: Too little grass + too many cows = too little cash. Missouri livestock producers love their cows and never want to sell them, even when grass and water dry up, says University of Missouri Extension agricultural business specialist Wesley Tucker. Instead of culling cows, they will go to great lengths to find alternative feed sources, including growing and buying things they’ve never used before.
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More than 1,000 Missouri youths take part in 4-H Aerial Ag Challenge
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Across Missouri, 1,163 youths participated in the 2023 4-H Ag Innovators Experience Aerial Ag Challenge. Twenty-two 4-H teen leaders spent the summer teaching others to apply critical-thinking skills to solve a real-world agriculture challenge, using line-following robots to show how drones can aid in precision agriculture, said Maria Calvert, state 4-H agriculture educator.