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Tree trimming can cut your hearing
COLUMBIA, Mo. – One of spring’s routine home maintenance jobs—tree trimming—can quickly cut your ability to hear. It takes less than 30 minutes of operating a chain saw without hearing protection to cause permanent damage, says Bob Schultheis, University of Missouri Extension natural resource engineering specialist.
North America's nearly forgotten native vegetable
BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. — If you’re looking for low-maintenance perennials that can take the heat in the summer and the cold in the winter, native plants should be at the top of the list. Yet gardeners often don’t consider natives for the vegetable garden, says a University of Missouri Extension horticulturist.
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Deliver plant nutrients throughout the season with organic matter
BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. — Increasingly, gardeners are interested in finding out how to grow vegetables without using synthetic fertilizers.
MU receives national Conservation Innovation Grant
COLUMBIA, Mo.— The University of Missouri has received a Conservation Innovation Grant from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to fund a three-year study of nutrient management.
No farm bill leaves uncertainty for farmers
COLUMBIA, Mo.–Congress adjourned until after the November elections without action on a new farm bill. That presents farmers with a great deal of uncertainty moving forward. University of Missouri Extension agricultural economist Scott Brown says that after many months of negotiations and listening sessions, Congress failed to advance new farm policy.
Biomass crops benefit marginal soils
COLUMBIA, Mo.—Bioenergy crops can be a good match for areas of fields that have lost productivity. Crops such as switchgrass and miscanthus can help soil, improve water quality and provide alternative revenue, says Newell Kitchen, a soil scientist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service and adjunct professor at the University of Missouri..
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Tallying Tiger tailgate trash
COLUMBIA, Mo.— Mark Morgan’s work as an associate professor of parks, recreation and tourism at the University of Missouri has taken him places ranging from streams in the Ozarks to jungles in Vietnam. Early one Sunday morning in September, his work brought Morgan and some of his students to a line of dumpsters in the shadow of Memorial Stadium on the MU campus.
Is there clover in there? Getting the most out of your soil tests
BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. – If you’ve sent a pasture or hay soil test through your University of Missouri Extension Center, you’ve been asked what kind of forage you have. Next time, before you answer, think about whether you have a legume in there and how much of it there is, or if you want to add a legume, suggests a MU Extension agronomy specialist.“These things make quite a difference in the fertilizer and lime recommendation,” said Pat…
Shopping for feeds can cut cost of cow winter-hay supplements
COLUMBIA, Mo. – When drought boosted corn and soybean prices, beef-herd owners faced new challenges. They can’t rely on traditional feeds as low-cost supplements for winter forages.“Producers must look at every alternative this winter,” says a University of Missouri Extension beef nutritionist.
Supplement cuts cows' winter-feed cost 10 percent
COLUMBIA, Mo. – With high costs of feed for wintering cows, herd owners should consider adding monensin to grain supplements for winter forages. The additive, trade name Rumensin, controls coccidiosis, a disease caused by intestinal parasites.The additive improves beef-cow feed efficiency 10 to 15 percent, says Justin Sexten, University of Missouri Extension beef nutritionist.
Keep venison safe from field to table
COLUMBIA, Mo.–Despite outbreaks of hemorrhagic disease in deer across Missouri and concerns about chronic wasting disease, handling and eating venison poses very little risk if people observe common-sense safety precautions when harvesting, processing and preparing deer. Humans are not at risk from the viruses that cause hemorrhagic disease (HD) in deer, and currently there is no evidence that chronic wasting disease (CWD) can spread…
Chronic wasting disease in Missouri
Chronic wasting disease (CWD), a fatal degenerative brain disease of deer, moose and elk, has been found in a small number of deer in north central Missouri.Since 2010, CWD has been diagnosed in 11 captive white-tailed deer at two private hunting preserves in Macon and Linn counties. Another five cases have been detected in free-ranging deer in the same area.
Hunters and landowners can improve deer populations through Quality Deer Management
COLUMBIA, Mo.–During this year’s deer season, landowners and hunters can work together to improve the quality of the deer herd in their area by collecting important information once deer are harvested.Gathering data about the herd is the crucial first step in the practice of “Quality Deer Management” (QDM), said Bob Pierce, University of Missouri Extension wildlife specialist.
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Galls on oak trees unsightly but harmless
COLUMBIA, Mo.– Those unsightly round, brown growths seen on oaks this time of year won’t harm the tree, says a University of Missouri Extension fruit specialist.It has been a “banner year for galls” on oak, hickory, chestnut and walnut trees, says Michele Warmund, extension horticulturist and professor of plant sciences at the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.
Efficiency in hog production can offset higher feed costs
COLUMBIA, Mo.–With record prices for corn and soybean meal, many hog producers are looking at alternative feed sources. However, improving the efficiency of current feeds is where producers should look to cut costs, says a University of Missouri Extension swine nutritionist.
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MU hospitality management students adopt a Navy ship
COLUMBIA, Mo.–Students from the University of Missouri will spend Thanksgiving away from their families. Six students from the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources’ hospitality management program will be in San Diego aboard the USS Boxer, a Navy amphibious assault ship, preparing the holiday meal for the ship’s crew.
Vegetative buffers reduce herbicide runoff
COLUMBIA, Mo.– Research has shown that vegetative buffers are very good at controlling sediment and keeping it out of waterways. But what about reducing herbicides?“We have a major problem with that in the claypan soils in northeast Missouri,” said Bob Lerch, a soil scientist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service and an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Missouri.
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Microgreens pack big nutritional punch
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. –Tiny versions of edible greens are four to six times higher in nutrient value than their mature counterparts, according to new research presented at the recent Missouri Livestock Symposium in Kirksville.Microgreens are becoming popular at upscale restaurants because of their texture, colors and intense flavors, but it turns out they add more to meals than just visual appeal and palate-pleasing taste.
Leases help landowners and tenants know expectations
HANNIBAL, Mo. – University of Missouri Extension agribusiness specialist Karisha Devlin urged northeastern Missouri agriculture lenders to encourage written agreements between landowners and renters during a recent agricultural lender seminar at Fiddlestiks restaurant in Hannibal.The MU Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics sponsors the statewide seminar series in cooperation with regional MU Extension specialists.
Goat owners face fencing challenges
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – Goat producer John Kirchhoff of Moberly likened goats to a covey of scattering quail at the Missouri Livestock Symposium, Dec. 7-8 in Kirksville. University of Missouri Extension and the Missouri Livestock Symposium Committee organize the annual event.
Goats provide healthy, economical weed control
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – Goats are natural brush control agents, according to Charlotte Clifford-Rathert, assistant professor and state extension small ruminant specialist with Lincoln University Cooperative Extension and Research.The veterinarian spoke at the recent Missouri Livestock Symposium in Kirksville. University of Missouri Extension and the Missouri Livestock Symposium Committee organize the annual event.
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It’s tree pruning time
Related story: Proper pruning prevents problems COLUMBIA, Mo.– Now that the leaves have fallen, it’s time to think about pruning your trees.
Proper pruning prevents problems
Related story and video: It’s tree pruning time COLUMBIA, Mo.– Pruning trees when they’re young can prevent structural problems and the need to remove large limbs later, says a University of Missouri Extension state forestry specialist.
Deep roots help grass stay green in dry spell; grazing grass too short kills off root systems
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- In the prolonged summer drought, farmers noticed that grass stayed green longer in their hayfields than in their pastures.While hayfields kept growing, pastures turned brown. Cows ran out of grass to graze.The difference is in the length of the roots. Grass that is grazed every day doesn't develop roots as deep as grass of the same species allowed to grow uncut for a month.
Waterhemp control requires change in mindset
COLUMBIA, Mo.– In the war between waterhemp and producers, waterhemp is winning, says a University of Missouri Extension state weed scientist.“As I drive around, I’d have to say that we’re not there yet,” said Kevin Bradley, who discussed waterhemp at the recent MU Crop Management Conference in Columbia. “I think we are doing better, but waterhemp is our driver weed. We pretty much make every decision on that one weed.”