Eastern Iowa Hay Producers Association Annual Meeting & Conference

Area hay and forage producers are invited to attend the 32nd Annual Eastern Iowa Hay Producers Association (EIHPA) Annual Meeting and Conference on Thursday, March 19, 2015 at Buzzy's in Welton.  Registration will begin at 10:00 a.m. with the program scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m.

This year's conference will focus on forage rotation and cover crops. Dr.  Matt Liebman, ISU Professor of Agronomy, will speak on forages as part of a crop rotation. Liebman's research focuses on diversified cropping systems, weed ecology and management, and the use of native perennial species for soil and water conservation and biofuel production, including crop rotations, cover crops, green manures, intercrops, reconstructed prairies, conservation strips, animal manures, composts, and insects and rodents.   Mark Carlton, ISU Extension Field Agronomist, will speak on utilizing cover crops as a forage.  He will be followed by a panel of producers who are using cover crops as a forage source for their livestock operation.  Following
lunch and a brief annual meeting to elect officers and directors, will be regional updates from Virgil Schmitt, ISU Extension Field Agronomist, and Denise Schwab, ISU Extension Beef Specialist.  Specific regional topics to be addressed include information on the newly released low lignin alfalfa and concerns about molds and mycotoxins in corn stover.

Registration for the conference is $30 and includes a memBership to EIHPA and meal.  Tickets can be purchased at the door.  Certified crop advisor credits have been applied for.  This conference is sponsored by EIHPA, Iowa State University Extension & Outreach, and the Iowa Beef Center.

The Eastern Iowa Hay Producers Association provides educational workshops and field days for forage producers in Jackson, Jones, Clinton, Cedar, Scott and Muscatine counties. However, forage producers from other counties are also welcome to participate.  For more information contact Denise Schwab at dschwab@iastate.edu or Kevin Brown at brofarm@windstream.net  or 563-872-4475.

Scott County Extension Master Gardeners Offer Trip to Chicago Botanical Gardens

Join the Scott County Master Gardeners on a fun and educational bus trip to the Chicago Botanical Antiques, Garden, & Design Show on April 17th! The price of $50 includes cost of the bus, your ticket in to the event, and coffee & muffins on the trip to Chicago. Send your registrations to Scott County Extension Office, 875 Tanglefoot Lane, Bettendorf, Iowa by March 20, 2015.

Eco Family Project Starts March 19

Iowans will learn how to maximize their resources and share their extras during the 2015 Eco Family Project from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. Registration is now open for the project, which begins March 19 and runs through June 11.

"People who care about healthy environments and green living will be interested in the 2015 Eco Family Project," said Kristi Cooper, a human sciences specialist in family life with ISU Extension and Outreach. "It's designed to connect people who value learning about the environment and provide an opportunity to take action in their community."

The 2015 Eco Family Project has three parts - TED-Ed lessons, online chats with other eco families and local community focused activities, said Brenda Schmitt, a human sciences specialist in family finance. Schmitt and Cooper are leading the project.

 The 2015 Eco Family Project will cover several topics:

• Learn to live green. Participants will discover ways to minimize their impact on the environment in everyday practices. They'll calculate their ecological footprint and create green cleaning products.

• Explore local food systems. Participants will examine their food footprint and find ways to source local products. Learn how to prevent food waste and start home composting.

• Evaluate priorities about "stuff." Learn about barter, trade and other ways to share goods and services. Discover and advocate for new sharing opportunities with others in the community.

• Explore where energy comes from. Participants will examine their energy consumption and find ways to conserve and share resources. Become an advocate to encourage diversity in the energy supply.

• Learn how to conserve water at home and in the community. Become an advocate for clean water.

• Find new ways to connect with nature.

Participating in the Eco Family Project tends to get people motivated to develop a greener lifestyle, Schmitt said. One participant used reclaimed building materials for a remodeling project. Another installed rain gardens and rain barrels to handle extra storm water in her yard.

"People are decluttering their homes and turning that extra stuff into cash at consignment shops, or donating it to help a charitable organizations and even get a tax deduction," Schmitt said.

"Because of what we learned from the Eco Family Project, my father-in-law designed a Little Free Library and my husband and daughter installed it on the corner of our lot. Neighbors are using it, donating books and borrowing books," Cooper said.

"It's practical and fun to do things that help the Earth and help people at the same time," Cooper said.

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Tipton, Iowa -- The Iowa Pork Industry Center and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach are teaming up to provide training for pork producers and others who need certification in the Pork Quality Assurance Plus^© (PQA Plus^©) program. One certification session has been set for Tuesday, March 3rd in Cedar County.

Cedar County Office Manager, Joyce Coppes said the session will be held at the Cedar County Extension office, 107 Cedar Street, Tipton, Iowa 52772 and will be taught by ISU Extension and Outreach swine program specialist Tom Miller.

"The PQA Plus^© session is set for 1:30?3:30p.m.," she said. "Anyone who plans to attend should let us know as soon as possible to ensure that we have adequate materials for everyone."

Cost for this certification program is $25 per person and is payable at the door. To preregister, contact the Cedar County Extension office at 563-886-6157.

To learn more about PQA Plus^© please see the National Pork Board Web site at http://www.pork.org/certification/default.aspx

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We all want to be the parents of successful children!  Iowa State University Extension of Scott County with support from Scott County Kids, is sponsoring a parenting support and education program called, Parenting Successful Kids.  This is a year-long parent education effort for Scott County residents, that offers monthly programs designed specifically to offer research-based information about common questions and struggles of families with children kindergarten through fifth grade. Many topics are applicable to families with younger and older children.

Certified Family Life Educator and course instructor, Jennifer Best says "Parenting is the most important job we will ever have.  It is also the toughest!  Our society sends parents the message that when we have a child, we will magically know the right things to do. Then when parents have questions or challenges, they feel as if they are doing something wrong, or are bad parents. This is very unfortunate! Nobody knows how to parent just because they have a child, just like nobody knows how to drive just because they get a car. We all have to learn. Parenting is hard and our kids go through stages that are not always very much fun. The good news is, we can help each other. There is great research available that helps us make good parenting decisions."

Each parent session will begin with a free meal. To help parents attend, their babysitter for the evening will be reimbursed $25.00. In addition, parents will leave each session with an implementation material to help them put what they learned into action. Parents who attend five of the ten sessions within the year, will receive $50 worth of items of their choice!

To find out more about this series, including topics, dates, times and locations, visit the Iowa State University Extension, Scott County office online at www.extension.iastate.edu/scott. For more information or to register, call 563-359-7577 or e-mail themasa@iastate.edu.

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Dec. 25, 2014 Extension Office Closed for Holiday

Dec. 26, 2014 Extension Office Closed for Holiday

Jan. 1, 2015 Extension Office Closed for Holiday

Jan. 13, 2015 Manure Applicator Certification, Scott County Extension Office, 7 pm

Jan. 26, 2015 Private Pesticide Applicator Training, Scott County Extension Office, 9:30 am and 1:30 pm

Jan. 27, 2015 Scott County Extension Council Meeting, Scott County Extension Office, 7 pm-9 pm

Visit our events calendar at our web site: http://dbs.extension.iastate.edu/calendar/