Story by Joni Harper Joni Harper joined the University of Missouri Extension as an agronomy specialist in 2007 and transitioned into a natural resources field specialist role in 2022, serving 26 counties in Missouri. She earnedRead More…
There is still time to register for the Regional Conservation Finance Ag Educator Training coming up in just two and a half weeks in Arlington, Wisconsin. Hosted by the Soil Health Nexus, UW-Madison Division of Extension,Read More…
Seven teams of farmers and farm advisors have been awarded funding from Good Idea Mini-Grants, a program to encourage the implementation of edge-of-field conservation practices on farming operations in the Mississippi River Basin. Selected from amongRead More…
This summer, the North Central Agriculture and Climate Conference will unite Extension and agricultural professionals from across the region to spotlight climate adaptation and mitigation research, outreach, and Extension programs. The conference is being hosted by the North Central Climate Collaborative, USDA Midwest Climate Hub, Extension Foundation, North Central Regional Water Network, and partners. The event – which will be July 31st – August 1st at the Peoria Civic Center – will provide ample opportunity for Extension professionals and technical service providers to share their work and gain valuable knowledge on the climate-related work happening across the region. It will also provide a much-needed opportunity to network with other extension professionals from your own institution and connect with extension colleagues from other land-grant institutions across the region.
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Save water. Renew Soils. Support Farms. This is Dr. Mallika Nocco’s vision for the Conservation Irrigation Lab, her research and extension program that recently moved from California (UC-Davis) to Wisconsin (UW-Madison). Dr. Nocco’s mission is to provide science-based information for growers, managers, and policy makers to navigate the ever-changing terrain of sustainable agricultural practices and implement water-saving measures that advance production goals. Her group collaborates across disciplines and believes deeply in the power of applied research and cooperative extension.
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Michigan’s agricultural landscape, while fertile and diverse, grapples with unique challenges including climate variability and evolving concerns around irrigation water use. Irrigation plays an important role in Michigan agriculture. Given the impacts of climate change such as temperature variability and erratic precipitation, it is more important than ever that farmers have the tools to make informed decisions about irrigation water use.
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Cross-posted with The Human Capital blog on The Confluence for Watershed Leaders Agricultural lenders are often farmers’ closest financial partners, and they have significant influence on a farmer’s financial decisions, including whether to invest in conservationRead More…
Few people would accuse Dr. Linda Stalker Prokopy of Purdue University of thinking small. As project director of the Diverse Corn Belt (DCB) project, the professor of natural resources social sciences is combining her lab’s research on motivation and persuasion with the work of more than 30 other investigators who bring their expertise in agronomy, entomology, soil science, economics, computer modeling, marketing, Extension, education and policy. Their goal for the five-year, USDA NIFA-funded project: nothing less than creating concrete, viable, evidence-based frameworks that can guide America’s Corn Belt toward a more diverse, resilient, prosperous future.
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The bread-and-butter approach many Extension professionals take to outreach, particularly with agricultural producers, is relationship building – and for good reason. Relationships tend to play a strong role in motivating someone’s decisions, such as deciding toRead More…
On October 1st, Brad Carlson begins his 30th year working for the University of Minnesota Extension. The Extension Educator, who works statewide from the Mankato Regional Office, focuses on water quality issues related to agriculture, and more specifically, nitrates.
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