COLUMBIA, Mo. – Bees are a fruit tree owner’s friend and need special protection from pesticides, says University of Missouri Extension horticulturist Michele Warmund.
Bees are essential to pollinate many fruit crops, including apple, pear, Japanese plums, sweet cherries, blueberry and elderberry…
Conservation : article
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – There’s a new guard dog in town. And it’s more likely to bray than bark.A growing number of sheep and goat farmers are using donkeys to keep predators at bay, says Charlotte Clifford-Rathert, small-ruminant specialist at Lincoln University Cooperative Extension in Jefferson…
COLUMBIA, Mo.- Missourians may find unexpected visitors in their lawns and gardens this summer as armadillos become a more familiar sight in the southern half of the state, said a University of Missouri Extension wildlife specialist.
"They are now commonly seen in southern Missouri," said Bob…
BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. – One-third of Missouri’s 43 native amphibians have deteriorating populations, but you can help out by taking some steps to make your backyard more attractive to amphibians, said a University of Missouri Extension horticulturist.
An intensive, three-night survey of the bat population on public lands in southeastern Missouri netted more than 600 bats, including representatives of several endangered, vulnerable or seldom-seen species.
WARSAW, Mo.– These fish aren’t biting. Paddlefish never do. They eat by filtering plankton as water passes through their gills. But here on the Osage Arm of the Lake of the Ozarks, paddlefish do put up good fight after being hooked.
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Celebrate the beauty of butterflies at the eighth annual Butterfly Festival at the University of Missouri Jefferson Farm and Garden in Columbia.
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The woolly bear caterpillar (Pyrrharctia isabella), often called the “weather worm,” is said to predict what Old Man Winter has in store. Folklore says the narrower the reddish-brown band on the caterpillar, the more severe the winter.
KANSAS CITY, Mo.– Sometimes visitors at the Kansas City Zoo warn Kelsey Goens that there are kangaroos on the loose. She reassures them that no marsupials have escaped. Two dozen or so kangaroos roam the zoo’s Australia section at will during the day.
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.
The University of Missouri Center for Regenerative Agriculture has opened a third round of funding for fall cover crop planting in Missouri. About $3 million is available for Missouri producers interested in using cover crops on their cropland through the Missouri Conservation Crop and Livestock…
COLUMBIA, Mo. – A newly released study shows that planting cover crops and reduced tillage could substantially lower the number of prevent plant (PPL) acres and subsequent federal crop insurance payments.
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Weedy field borders and brushy fence lines may not be attractive to some people, but for many Missouri farm wildlife and game species, those places are prime real estate.
Controlling moles is challenging; effective methods include traps, baits, and repellents to mitigate lawn damage.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The first series of University of Missouri Extension Master Pollinator Steward classes begins mid-May in Jefferson City.
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Missouri has the first state chapter of Heroes to Hives, a program that supports veterans who want to learn beekeeping.
NEW BOSTON, Mo. – Tad and Kim Carnahan knew where one of their first stops would be after their move from Colorado to Missouri.
The lifelong learners turned to University of Missouri Extension livestock specialist Zac Erwin and agronomy specialist Valerie Tate for help in setting up their new…
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – With spring around the corner, University of Missouri Extension field horticulturist Kelly McGowan urges gardeners to consider how they can help monarch butterflies.
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.
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.
INDIAN CREEK, Mo. – Members of the Mississippi Hills Missouri Master Naturalist chapter, located in the Hannibal area, are excited about a growing population of an endangered bat species that inhabits two locations in northeastern Missouri.
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Many hunters consider Missouri the top state for spring turkey hunting, which this year begins April 12 with a two-day youth season, followed by the regular season, April 21 to May 11.
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Missouri Master Naturalists recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the program during a state conference in Columbia hosted by the Boone’s Lick Master Naturalist chapter.
COLUMBIA, Mo.– Across the state, volunteer master naturalists are monitoring water quality in streams, performing wildlife inventories, helping with prairie-restoration efforts and facilitating activities and educational programs at wildlife refuges, parks and conservation areas.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Thirteen-year-old Jack Murphy is out to make a difference in his Kansas City neighborhood.
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – University of Missouri Extension horticulturist Kelly McGowan is on the hunt for the elusive Ozark woodland swallowtail, a pollinator unique to the Ozark region of southern Missouri and northern Arkansas.
Using drone-based lidar, satellite imagery, and machine learning, specialists are mapping invasive weeds in Missouri's Prairie Fork Conservation Area.
WELLSVILLE, Mo. – Matthew Spiers wants to convert cropland to pastureland for grazing.Through a joint effort by University of Missouri Extension and USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Spiers plans to build a rotational grazing system so he won’t have to rent more pastureland to…
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).
COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri researchers, under the direction of MU Extension weed scientist Kevin Bradley, are finding that pigweed seed is popping up in birdseed in alarming numbers.
“It’s pretty shocking,” graduate student Eric Oseland told those attending the annual Integrated Pest…
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Students at Frederick Douglass High School in Columbia are learning about the Missouri River and its history through a series of field trips and activities developed by their teachers in collaboration with researchers from the University of Missouri School of Natural Resources.
NEW FRANKLIN, Mo. - Have you ever snapped a picture of a striking outdoor vista only to find that the image recorded by your camera is less than impressive? Taking good outdoor photographs doesn't necessarily require lots of expensive equipment or advanced technical skills, according to two of…
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Spring is just around the corner and, with the final doldrums of winter, many Missouri wildlife species are showing an abundance of activity, says University of Missouri Extension state wildlife and fisheries specialist Bob Pierce.
SALEM, Mo. – If anything is worse than a pasture rooted up by feral hogs, it’s a pasture that dries and hardens after hogs leave damaged areas the size of tractor tires.
Freddie Leroux’s damaged pastures need to be repaired and reseeded. He waits for soaking rains to soften the ground so he can…
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The past year hasn't been kind to the northern bobwhite quail in Missouri. Ice storms left many to freeze or starve and heavy rains washed away nests and drowned hatchlings.
PERRYVILLE, Mo. – A rare cave-dwelling fish is shedding new light on how farmers are improving water quality through cover crops and nutrient management.
University of Missouri Extension and the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) say new nests of grotto sculpin are growing in caves in…
COLUMBIA, Mo. – A new report from the University of Missouri School of Natural Resources outlines the critical role of forests in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it in plant material.
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.
Discover the 200-year-old Ozark tradition of sucker gigging—nighttime spearing of fish in clear waters, blending fishing, family, and food.
Overwatering and excessive care can harm your garden. Learn how to strike the right balance for healthy plants and a thriving landscape.
COLUMBIA, Mo. – This could be a noisy summer for southeastern and western Missouri. A brood of 17-year periodical cicadas will emerge in northwestern Missouri (Kansas City and St. Joseph), and a brood of 13-year periodical cicadas will surface in southeastern Missouri (Cape Girardeau).
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Mark Morgan has no desire to catch fish with his bare hands, but that hasn't stopped him from becoming an expert on the controversial sport of hand fishing, also known as "noodling."
BETHANY, Mo. – Deer hunters may come home with more than trophy antlers this hunting season. Adult deer ticks are most prevalent in the fall as they make a last-ditch effort to find a warm home before winter.
FORSYTH, Mo. – Despite the benefits of conservation practices on farmland, differing goals and expectations can create tension between landowners and tenants when talking about incorporating them into a land lease.
Manage oak woodlands for both acorn production and timber value with effective strategies to enhance wildlife habitat and economic returns.
COLUMBIA, Mo. – “If you get up in the morning and you hear quail singing and it doesn’t make your heart lift, you missed out on a big part of what life really is,” says farmer George Hobson.