Articles

Storm damage comes in many forms. Will insurance cover the damage? It depends on what caused the damage and it depends on the insurance. Timothy Griesdorn, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach specialist, suggests reviewing insurance coverage every year to make sure it meets your needs.

High tunnels are inexpensive, simple, passive-solar greenhouses that allow growers to extend the season and produce high yields of quality produce earlier and later than field-grown crops. However, soil around a high tunnel can erode or become saturated after rainfall. This potential problem has been turned into an asset, thanks to a one-year research project conducted by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

Iowa State University Research and Demonstration Farms and ISU Extension have hired two agricultural specialists to expand the ISU Farmer Assisted Research and Management, or ISU FARM, project.

Current Issues in Nutrition, a two-part online conference from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, takes a closer look at why and how nutrition professionals can get involved with regional food systems.

The GIS Mapping Replication and Expansion Project, a unique partnership between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and 4-H, was honored by the FWS and 4-H National Headquarters with the 2012 Connecting Youth with Nature through Natural Resources Conservation Education Award. Two Iowa youth, Jennifer and Benjamin Akers of Oskaloosa, were presented the award and spoke about the project within Iowa.

Iowa State University Natural Resource Ecology and Management (NREM) specialists and faculty talked about physical, chemical and biological conditions of urban streams and the implications of daily actions by individuals with respect to stream health and sustainability during the Science Center of Iowa Cafe Scientifique. The program was recorded and is available online.

Friday, April 13 is the evening to celebrate the “Year of the Bat.” Youngsters and adults can explore Iowa’s incredibly fascinating and delightfully likeable masters of the night skies – bats – from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Pioneer Columbus Community Center, 2100 S.E. 5th Street in Des Moines.

Perennials can be grown in nearly any garden location – sunny, shady, wet, dry, border or background. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach horticulture specialists recommend perennials to meet specifications of many gardeners.

The Risk Management Agency (USDA) has some specific rules about early planted crops with regard to crop insurance coverage. For each insurable crop RMA has set an “early planting date.” Acres planted before these dates are no longer eligible for replant coverage payments should it be necessary to replant them.