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Announcements and Highlights

Trash Blast

Join us at Tower Rock in Hardin County on June 6 from 1:00-3:00pm for an opportunity to put your stewardship skills to work and help keep our forest areas beautiful. Click the photo for more details and to register!

Dixon Springs Plant Sale

University of Illinois Extension invites the public to a plant sale at the Dixon Springs Agricultural Center on May 3rd, 2025. The sale will be located under the pavilion near the administration building. Sales will begin no earlier than 9:00 a.m. and run until sold out or until 1:00 p.m. Extension staff and Illinois Master Gardener volunteers will be available to answer questions and hand out information about certain topics.

Sustainable Living Series

Join us on March 28 at the White County Illinois Extension office for a live canning demonstration to help you get started on your canning journey. We will also discuss different types of canning, canning safety, and what can be canned. Before and after the program, you will have an opportunity to get your pressure canner tested.

Dixon Springs Agricultural Center

The Dixon Springs Agricultural Center was established in 1934 near Simpson in Pope County. It is the largest experiment station of its kind east of the Mississippi River. DSAC links the laboratories and classrooms of University of Illinois and the USDA with the farms in Southern Illinois. Researchers at DSAC coordinate their programs to meet the needs of area farmers.

Learn more about Dixon Springs Ag Center and information about ongoing Ag research in Southern Illinois here: https://extension.illinois.edu/dsac

Dixon Springs Agricultural Center

Events

Nature’s Uninvited Guests: The Impact of Invasive Plants

April 29, 2025

4-H Reel Adventure Family Fishing Camp

May 2, 2025 - May 4, 2025

4-H State Robotics Competition

May 3, 2025

Plant Sale

May 3, 2025

County

Pope

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News Releases

White fuzzy appearing specs that are mealybugs on a houseplant stem.

April 28, 2025

Keeping outside pests off indoor plants
URBANA, Ill. — Keeping houseplants is a hobby that has recently seen a huge resurgence. Now, nurseries that were all but shuttered for the winter are hosting houseplant parties and other events to help people keep their hands dirty all year.Tending to houseplants is a way to maintain our...

A gas analyzer measures carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide from fields.

April 25, 2025

Illinois leads most rigorous agricultural greenhouse gas emissions study to date
URBANA, Ill. — Farmers apply nitrogen fertilizers to crops to boost yields, feeding more people and livestock. But when there’s more fertilizer than the crop can take up, some of the excess can be converted into gaseous forms, including nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that traps nearly 300 times...

A large agriculture-related dust cloud over a farm field

April 22, 2025

Dust storms in Illinois: Identifying farm solutions
URBANA, Ill. — Dust storms have become an increasing concern in Illinois, prompting investigations into their causes and potential solutions. These weather events have resulted in fatalities, including a 2023...

A group of Extension staff and volunteers visiting and conversing at an outdoor event

April 22, 2025

Immeasurable impact gained through dedication of Illinois Extension volunteers
URBANA, Ill. — They are friends, neighbors, family members, or someone we run into at local community events. More than 5,000 of these individuals are University of Illinois Extension volunteers.These volunteers make a difference in their...

Janella Neary addresses audience at Illinois Agriculture Legislative Day

April 21, 2025

Illinois Agriculture Legislative Day unites diverse stakeholders to advocate for state's largest industry
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — "Agriculture unites us all" was the resounding message as representatives from University of Illinois Extension, the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences,...

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Programs We Offer

Local Foods and Small Farms