On Saturday, Sept. 23, 4-H’ers from across Missouri participated in one of Missouri 4-H’s oldest and most popular competitions, the 4-H State Public Speaking Contest. Held on MU’s campus, 45 youth from 27 counties participated. more

It’s time to consider what we need to do to get our pastures back into a sustainable grazing condition. The past two years of excessive heat and lack of rainfall along with over grazing has severely damaged our pastures and hayfields. The questions now are how we get them back into a grazable condition with the least number of inputs while retaining our current herd sizes. We will look at the options still yet available while beginning to look towards next year’s potential. How do we begin to better prepare for the next spring’s hay and pasture situations. more

“Are you a cattle producer that has a small number of cattle but wants to experience feeding cattle in the feedyard, evaluate your cattle’s feedyard performance, and determine whether your cattle meet certain targets at slaughter that influence their profitability? Then consider enrolling steers in the Missouri Steer Feedout,” says Patrick Davis, MU Extension Livestock Field Specialist. This program is a cooperation between MU Extension, Southwest Missouri Cattlemen’s Association, Missouri Department of Agriculture and Tri-County Steer Carcass Futurity in Iowa that began in 1981. Over the 40 plus year history this program has enrolled over 7,900 head of steers from over 372 farms. more

“Are you a cattle producer that has a small number of cattle but wants to experience feeding cattle in the feedyard, evaluate your cattle’s feedyard performance, and determine whether your cattle meet certain targets at slaughter that influence their profitability? Then consider enrolling steers in the Missouri Steer Feedout,” says Patrick Davis, MU Extension Livestock Field Specialist. This program is a cooperation between MU Extension, Southwest Missouri Cattlemen’s Association, Missouri Department of Agriculture and Tri-County Steer Carcass Futurity in Iowa that began in 1981. Over the 40 plus year history this program has enrolled over 7,900 head of steers from over 372 farms. more

Sam and Liz Schuber and family, of Flemington, were among the families honored during the 66th annual Missouri Farm Family Day, Aug. 14, at the Missouri State Fair. The Schuber family was selected as the Polk County Missouri Farm Family by University of Missouri Extension in Polk County and the Polk County Farm Bureau. The family includes sons Jackson and Jacob. more

Blackberry (Rubus sp.) is a warm season, native, perennial, woody shrub, or bramble. They are members of the Rosaceae, or rose family, which includes over 600 species and developed varieties of blackberries, raspberries, and dewberries in the Rubus genus. Just another sticker plant found in abandoned fields, pastures, hayfields, and along roadsides which greatly reduces the grazing potential and hay quality on our farms. There are least 16 species of blackberries found in Missouri. Here we are addressing the upright, cane–type blackberry varieties, whose canes can reach heights of over 6 feet and develop into quite a thicket if left to grow. Along with this is another plant which closely resembles blackberries but is not. more

COLUMBIA, Mo. – “Some perennials can suffer from too much of a good thing,” said University of Missouri Extension horticulturist David Trinklein. more

“If there was ever a year to focus on stockpiled tall fescue, this is it,” says Tim Schnakenberg, University of Missouri Extension agronomy specialist in Galena. more

This is the time of year when cattle producers need to pay extra attention to heat stress in their operations, says University of Missouri Extension beef specialist Eric Bailey. more

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Livestock producers are sweating, and it’s more than just the heat of summer, says Katie Neuner, University of Missouri Extension field specialist in agricultural business. more