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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

Stewardship Week 2025

April 23, 2025 - April 25, 2025

County

Pope

State 4-H Public Speaking Contest

April 26, 2025

4-H National Day of Service

April 26, 2025

Nature’s Uninvited Guests: The Impact of Invasive Plants

April 29, 2025

More Events

News Releases

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...

A tractor pulling equipment tilling across a farm field causing dust

April 16, 2025

Dust storms in Illinois: Examining roles of weather and farming practices
URBANA, Ill. — Recent dust storms in Illinois have raised the question of the cause of these events. In the last few years, these dust events have caused fatal accidents among traveling motorists. Another public concern is the drop in air quality during these storms.Some of the emerging...

View of a layered landscape all green in bloom with flowers, trees, and shrubs in the woods.

April 14, 2025

A layered landscape provides space for wildlife all year
URBANA, Ill. — There are many ways to support pollinators and other wildlife in home landscapes, such as providing floral resources throughout the season, planting host plants, and planting native plants. In addition, consider creating a space for them to live out their life cycles by creating...

a person gives a box of food items to another person

April 11, 2025

Illinois Extension 2024 metrics demonstrate the value of land-grant universities
URBANA, Ill. — Illinois residents, businesses, and communities are gaining transformational knowledge and experiencing quantifiable impact through the efforts of University of Illinois Extension, a unit of the ...

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Programs We Offer

Local Foods and Small Farms