1/8/2009 - Ask the ISU Extension Garden Experts: Gardening Containers, Holly and Catalogs
This week's answers discuss starting seeds indoors, holly varieties for Iowa and where to get garden catalogs.

1/8/2009 - Applications Due Feb. 2 for Iowa’s Promise Youth Grants
Program sponsored by the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service and Iowa State University Extension 4-H Youth Development offers awards for community service projects.

1/6/2009 - 4-H Club Service Project Assists Disabled, Provides Learning Opportunity
Raised bed garden installation provides new experiences for residents of an Ames home for disabled young adults.

1/6/2009 - Money Talk Offers Three Ways for Women to Learn about Finances
Iowa State University Extension program offered on the Web, by mail, or in face-to-face classes in February and March.

1/6/2009 - Worst Diet Promotions Get Slim Chance Awards, ISU Extension Nutrition Specialist Says
ISU Extension nutrition specialist says develop healthy habits rather than trying diets and supplements that don't work -- like those that have received Slim Chance Awards from the Healthy Weight Network.

1/6/2009 - Iowans: Take the Challenge to Live Healthy
Lighten Up Iowa has become Live Healthy Iowa. Sign up now for the team-based weight loss and physical activity program.

1/5/2009 - Iowa Pork Industry Center Seeks Participants for PQA Plus™ Advisor Training Program
Those interested in becoming Pork Quality Assurance Plus Advisors should register soon for the training session offered by Iowa Pork Industry Center on Jan. 22.

1/5/2009 - 4-H’ers Become Future Scientists with Robots and FIRST LEGO League
4-H kids are building robots and competing in climate missions as FIRST LEGO League helps create future scientists.

1/5/2009 - Color in the Winter Landscape
An excellent way to brighten Iowa's drab winter landscape is to plant evergreens (pine, spruce, fir, etc.) and trees and shrubs that possess colorful fruit or bark.

1/2/2009 - Ask the ISU Extension Garden Experts: Pruning Shears and Moth Orchids
This week's answers provide tips for selecting pruning shears and caring for moth orchids.

12/31/2008 - Emerald Ash Borer: A Menace Not Needed In Iowa!
The surveillance for Emerald Ash Borer in Iowa found none. That’s the good news. The bad news is the insects have been found just 85 miles east in Illinois. ISU Extension entomologist Mark Shour provides tips on how to scout for the insects and prevention tips.

12/30/2008 - Techniques to Improve Your Success at Farmers’ Market
A farmers’ market is a place where farmers must be marketers, creating an appealing, professional image for themselves and their farms and providing consistent, high-quality products and service that satisfy customers.

12/30/2008 - Blade? Loader? Blower? What’s the Best Option for Acreage Snow Removal?
The cost of front end loader equipment may be in between those of blades and blowers. Often a loader can be used for tasks other than snow removal.

12/29/2008 - Prepare Healthy Meals in a Hurry with ISU Extension
Prepare meals in a hurry and on a tight budget with tips and recipes in Iowa State University Extension booklet.

12/29/2008 - Integrating Immigrant Population Revitalizes Downtown Planning
Iowa State University community and regional planning students experience integrating immigrant populations in community planning as part of ISU studio course with assistance from Extension.

12/29/2008 - Tiny Spider Mites Can Hurt Big Plants
Mite infestations feed on plant sap, causing a gradual weakening of the plant that can eventually result in leaf loss and death.

12/23/2008 - Ask the ISU Extension Garden Experts: Christmas Tree Bugs, Sprouting Potatoes and Poinsettias
This week's answers provide tips for managing Christmas trees and poinsettias, and explain why you should not store seed potatoes in the same area as apples or other fruit.

12/23/2008 - Farm Credit Grants $20,000 to Annie’s Project
Farm Credit Council has granted $20,000 to ISU Extension to expand the delivery of Annie's Project - a program that helps women farm business partners build management skills.

12/22/2008 - Experts Provide Resources to Manage Finances in Times of Economic Crisis
Extension experts from across the country answer questions and offer free resources for personal finances during tough times.

12/22/2008 - Planning a Vegetable Garden
Feeling trapped inside during winter weather? Now is the time to open the seed catalogs and begin planning your garden for next spring.

12/19/2008 - Register by Dec. 29 for Partnering with Parents ONLINE Course for Parenting Educators
Professionals who work with parents have until Dec. 29 to register for Partnering with Parents ONLINE, an ISU Extension online course in designing, delivering and evaluating parenting education. A face-to-face version of the course will be offered in Fort Dodge.

12/18/2008 - Comment on Proposed Changes to Iowa Bee Rule and Commercial Pesticide Applications
Iowa crop producers, agribusiness interests and apiarists have until Jan. 7 to comment on proposed changes to commercial pesticide application recordkeeping and the Iowa Bee Rule.

12/18/2008 - The Power’s Out: What to Do with Refrigerated, Frozen Food
Iowa State University Extension food safety specialist Sam Beattie answers questions about what to do with refrigerated and frozen food during and after a power outage.

12/18/2008 - Ask the ISU Extension Garden Experts: Succulents, Perennials, and Burning Your Christmas Tree
Answers this week provide examples of succlents, a list of perennials that will survive in your landscape for many years and a discussion of the hazards of burnining your Christmas tree in your fireplace.

12/17/2008 - Have a Plan for Winter Power Outages
Snow, freezing rain and extreme cold conditions often contribute or cause winter power outages. These same conditions must also be handled in your personal disaster plan.

12/16/2008 - Keeping the Weight Off – What Works?
New research suggests it is possible to maintain large weight losses by changing your approach to eating and exercise.One opportunity in 2009: the Live Healthy Iowa program.

12/16/2008 - Average Value of Iowa Farmland Nears $4,500 an Acre in 2008 Survey
$560 an acre increase over 2007 is the second-highest ever recorded during 67 years of ISU survey.

12/15/2008 - 2008 Corn Growing Season Likened to Shakespearean Tragicomedy
2008 Iowa corn yields may end up being the third highest on record. This high yielding crop also broke several "rules of thumb."

12/15/2008 - Honey, I Shrunk the Greenhouse
Research at Iowa State University points the way to new methods for protecting cucumbers and muskmelons from beetles.

12/12/2008 - More Iowans Are Food Insecure; ISU Extension Researchers Look for Answers
Every day, more than 400,000 Iowans go without the food they need to be healthy. They are food insecure, and Iowa State University Extension researchers are trying to understand why.

12/11/2008 - Ask the ISU Extension Garden Experts: Geraniums, Spider Mites and Mistletoe
This week's questions address hardy geraniums in Iowa gardens, spider mites on houseplants, and the origins of mistletoe.

12/10/2008 - Add Window Layers to Save Money
Housing experts say that 25 to 35 percent of home heat can be lost through doors and windows. ISU Extension specialist Shawn Shouse provides suggestions on how to be more comfortable in your home and save money.

12/8/2008 - This Little Product Went to Market — with Help from Buy Iowa Online
Buy Iowa Online, a fully automated e-commerce Web site, offers Iowa-made products from more than 30 local crafters, artisans and manufacturers.

12/8/2008 - 4-State Beef Conference Scheduled Jan. 14-15 in Four Locations
The conference gives beef cattle producers in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska an annual update on current cow-calf and stocker topics. It will be held in four locations so cattle producers can attend the location most convenient for them. The program will be the same at each location. The Iowa session begins at 10 a.m. Jan. 15 in Lewis, Iowa, at the ISU Armstrong Research Farm.

12/8/2008 - Contract Status Still Uncertain for VeraSun Corn Suppliers
Hearing held Dec. 2 does not resolve issues surrounding corn contracted for sale to ethanol producer before bankruptcy filing.

12/8/2008 - Good Health Is Habit-forming with New ISU Extension Nutrition Program
Never met a trans fat you didn’t like? Before your blood pressure and cholesterol levels go off the charts, create some Habits for Healthy Hearts with this new ISU Extension program,

12/8/2008 - Farmland Values News Conference on Dec. 16
Results of 2008 survey conducted by Iowa State University Extension to be announced at news conference held on ISU campus.

12/8/2008 - Attend Spring Master Gardener Training
Sixteen counties to participate in 2009 Spring Master Gardener Training sessions sponsored by Iowa State University Extension.