Farmers dealing with flooding in Missouri can find reliable, up-to-date information on many flood-related topics from the University of Missouri Extension at extension.missouri.edu. “Our specialists in MU Extension have assembled information on flooded fields, crops, forages, livestock, and property, as well as information on how to navigate an array of government agencies and entities prepared […]
Early breeding allows lactating cows to be put on grass at peak quality and quantity when the nutritional need of cows is highest. Researchers at the University of Missouri’s Foremost Dairy Research Center near Columbia are the first to use the Double Ovsynch timed artificial insemination (AI) protocol with a grazing dairy herd. This year […]
High-moisture grass baled above 24% moisture can cause spontaneous combustion. Overheated bales can burn down a hay barn. Craig Roberts, University of Missouri forage specialist, said frequent rains this year help grass growth, but it’s been bad for making hay. He’s part of the team on a weekly MU Extension teleconference between state and regional […]
Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifers averaged $1,891 at Fruitland on May 3rd during the second of four spring sales. This price topped last year by $100, said Erin Larimore, sale coordinator and University of Missouri Extension regional specialist, Jackson. The 117 heifers came from 16 herd owners in the MU program that improves beef herd replacements. The […]
The wet and cold start to this year’s corn planting season bodes poorly for yields, based on research from the University of Missouri Extension. But MU Extension agronomist Bill Wiebold says farmers should not switch from corn to other crops or early maturing corn varieties because of rain-delayed planting. There is still time to get […]
Cost-share funding is available to help produce growers pay for USDA Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certification. “These funds are available for Missouri farmers who are applying for USDA GAP certification for the first time or for farms who are reapplying for USDA GAP certification,” said Londa Nwadike, state food safety specialist for the University of […]
On Thursday, April 25, the University of Missouri Extension in Mercer County in cooperation with the Princeton Rotary Club will be offering Mental Health First Aid training in Princeton. This groundbreaking eight-hour training course gives people the tools to identify when someone might be struggling with mental health or substance use problem and to connect […]
They say it takes a village to raise a child. A village of the University of Missouri Extension Master Gardener volunteers grow gardens to help feed the hungry and homeless across the state. Last year, volunteers for the Laura Miller George Help Center of Mexico, Mo., gardened and grew for the local food pantry and […]
Spring sales of Show-Me-Select replacement heifers are set in four auction barns across the state in April, May, and June. Spring sales offer bred replacement heifers for fall-calving herds, says Dave Patterson, University of Missouri Extension livestock specialist. All heifers sold meet strict standards taught in MU Extension’s Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer Program. Only owners enrolled […]
Technology in the form of “big data” may guide farmers’ selection of soybean varieties best-suited for their fields. Data may come from drones overhead or in-depth analysis of soil. Data may include climate impact. Big numbers are topics for talks April 10 at the U.S. Soybean Symposium on the University of Missouri campus, Columbia. Speakers […]
The Missouri Strip Trial Program continues to seek farmers for the upcoming growing season, says University of Missouri Extension nutrient management specialist John Lory. MU Extension works with farmers to use their equipment to compare treatments on their fields using aerial imagery and GPS-referenced yield monitor data. The MU team works with the farmers so […]
Cattle producers see more profit when they add legumes to fescue pastures and manage grazing systems properly, says Patrick Davis, University of Missouri Extension livestock specialist. Fescue remains the hardy mainstay of southwestern Missouri pastures. Adding legumes gives fescue fields more nutritional punch and profit, Davis says. Proper management is key to making grasses and […]
Thompson Farm, Spickard, makes a home for beef reproduction research from the University of Missouri. That doesn’t protect it from harsh weather of hot droughts and frigid calving season faced by all beef farms recently. Weather cut beef herd size and boosted costs for labor and feed, farm manager Jon Schreffler told a meeting of […]
Weed problems may explode this year thanks to the drought of 2018 and residual problems associated with overgrazing in parched pastures, says University of Missouri Extension agronomist Valerie Tate. Last year’s extreme weather conditions created a forage shortage. As a result, many pastures were overgrazed. When pastures are overgrazed, there is little green leaf material […]
Two years of abnormal weather changed plant growth, which changes livestock digestion and in the end, cows die. The words “it’s very complex” kept popping up in a University of Missouri emergency teleconference of state and regional MU Extension specialists. This winter farmers find groups of cows dead, often falling on newly unrolled baled hay. […]
Like farm machinery and methods, hiring farmworkers has changed in recent years, says University of Missouri Extension agricultural economist Ryan Milhollin. MU Extension’s Missouri Farm Labor Guide can help. The guide, available for free download at extension.missouri.edu/p/M199, lets farmers know the right practices to identify, hire and retain the right workers. It explains ways to […]
On top of dealing with harsh winter weather in feeding cows, cattle farmers must guard against too much nitrate in poor-quality hay. “Just from cases we’ve confirmed, I know of 150 cows dying in the last month,” says Tim Evans, head toxicologist at the University of Missouri Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory. High nitrate, mostly concentrated in […]
University Extension presents a dairy day program Monday at the MU farm in Linn County. The program begins at 10 o’clock, February 18th at the Forage Systems Research Center on Genoa Road, east of Linneus. MU extension specialist Valerie Tate talks about Monday’s speakers. Reservations are to be made with MU dairy specialist Reagen […]
This February, Missouri 4-H is partnering with Feeding Missouri in a first-of-its-kind statewide food drive. All of the state’s more than 1,600 4-H clubs, serving youth ages 5 to 18, are invited to participate. Throughout February, 4-H’ers across Missouri will engage in a friendly service competition to see which clubs can contribute the greatest amount […]
A program meant to educate landowners and tenants on Missouri Farm Leases will be held February 12, 2019, at the Harrison County Extension Office, located at 1505 Main, Courthouse Basement, in Bethany. The course will be instructed by a team of MU Extension Agricultural Business Specialists via live-stream and will be held from 6:00 to […]
