The University of Missouri Extension confirmed the growing season’s first case of southern rust corn disease in the U.S. on July 10. The MU Plant Diagnostic Clinic confirmed that southern rust was present in a sample collected from west-central Missouri. This common corn disease usually shows up in neighboring southern states before appearing in Missouri […]
Farmers will get latest updates to control crop pests at Pest Management Field Day, July 10. The annual event once called Weed Day, now covers weeds, insects, diseases and more. Sign-in starts at 7:30 a.m. at University of Missouri Bradford Research Center, 8 miles east of Columbia. Kevin Bradley, an MU Extension weed specialist, explains […]
Shortage of cattle forage is forcing some Ozark herd owners to chop trees to feed leaves. That method was used in big droughts of the 1930s and 1950s. Damage comes from more than an intense drought, said Craig Roberts, University of Missouri forage specialist in a weekly teleconference. Regional extension specialists update state staff on […]
University of Missouri Extension health and safety specialist Karen Funkenbusch urges Missouri residents to take precautions to ward off mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas this summer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported in May that diseases from the bites of these insects tripled from 2004 to 2016. Also, CDC reported that nine new […]
The University of Missouri Extension offers cattlemen a bus tour of cattle operations in Kansas and Oklahoma Aug. 6-9. MU Extension livestock specialist Patrick Davis said the tour offers an opportunity to learn to manage herds better to make them healthier and more profitable. Registration deadline is July 15. Tour stops include: • Neosho Valley […]
The deadline for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2017 Census of Agriculture has been extended to July 30. Forms can be returned by mail or securely submitted online. University of Missouri Extension economist Ryan Milhollin says federal, state and local governments, as well as agribusinesses, researchers, trade associations and others, use the data to serve […]
Hot, dry weather with short grass growth slowed bidders at the spring sale of Show-Me-Select replacement heifers in northeastern Missouri, Saturday, June 2 with 134 calving-ease bred heifers averaging $1,598 in the final of four spring sales in the state. The heifers will calve this fall. “It was a tough but successful sale,” said Daniel […]
Missouri’s record-breaking May heat and lack of precipitation set the stage for two unusual conditions in the state’s top cash crops—soybean and corn, says University of Missouri Extension agronomist Bill Wiebold. He urges farmers to look for rootless corn syndrome and heat canker in soybean, conditions that result from drought and heat effects on seedlings […]
Cool-season grasses such as fescue that dominate pasture grass in Missouri need warm weather to grow. The coldest April since 1907 set back forage for Missouri’s beef cow herds. Now, warm weather with rain creates forage for grazing and haying, said forage specialist Craig Roberts in a weekly University of Missouri Extension teleconference. New grass […]
The Midwest Cover Crops Council (MCCC) recently reformatted its popular field guide as an app for smartphones and tablets. The Midwest Cover Crop Field Scout app lets farmers, crop adviser, and conservation professionals access vital cover crop information from mobile devices. The app improves on the printed guide by providing additional photos and links to […]
A new milk price safety net for dairy producers is in place. To take part farmers must rush to their local USDA farm service center. Milk producers must sign up for the first time or re-enroll by June 1, say University of Missouri Extension dairy economists. Most dairy farmers don’t like the original USDA Margin […]
The Missouri College Advising Corps, headquartered at the University of Missouri, has helped more than 20,000 students enroll in college since 2008. As it begins its second decade, MCAC is poised to help even more students. MCAC’s trained advisers, themselves recent college graduates, commit to two years of full-time, on-site service at one of 43 […]
Changing jobs from the director of enterprise server technology at Kansas State to regional director for the University of Missouri Extension might sound like an odd career move, but Joe Lear is not new to extension nor to northwestern Missouri. Lear, who became director of MU Extension’s Northwest Region in February, is a native of […]
University of Missouri Extension presents a free play in Chillicothe tonight (Friday night) in efforts to help farmers talk about succession planning. The play, entitled “Map of My Kingdom”, will give members of farming communities a look at the difficult process of transferring farmland from one generation to the next. The 1 hour play, written […]
The University of Missouri Extension recently released an update for its free ID Weeds app for iPhones, iPads, and Android devices to help people easily identify weeds in the field, lawn, or garden. Kevin Bradley, an MU Extension weed scientist, says the update includes new graphics and is more user-friendly than the initial version. The app […]
Soybean planting is just weeks away, and it is important to test your fields for (SCN) now before planting. SCN is a major concern to growers throughout the state. These plant-parasitic round worms invade the plant roots and suck nutrients from the plants, decreasing their ability to produce adequate yields. The challenge with preventing SCN […]
