Blogs

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counting dollars

Preventative care for financial wellness goals

Improving financial wellness takes some effort. Keeping your bills organized can help get a better understanding of where you are spending money. Do you know where all your money goes each month? Are the majority of your expenses fixed or variable? When occasional expenses come around, is your budget ready?According to the...
Two tornadoes touch down over plains

Watch out for Twisters! (Not the movie)

At the time I’m writing this, Twisters, the sequel to the cow-flying film Twister released in 1996, just hit the movie theatres. Luckily, I didn’t make a spectacle of myself during the original, shouting out about all the scientific inaccuracies. While I have not yet seen the new movie, I do want to talk about the weather of twisters, as in multiple funnels. Multiple vortex...
Recent Blog Articles

Welcome to IEAFCS!

Welcome to the IEAFCS website and blog! As current president, I am committed to strengthening our organization and providing the opportunity for all members to grow in their profession in order to improve the quality of life for Illinois individuals, families, and communities. We have exciting...
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Illinois Performance Tested Bull Sale Results

The Illinois Performance Tested (IPT) Bull Sale was the lead-off event of the 2018 Illinois Beef Expo held on Feb. 22 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Ill. The sale averaged $3,875 on 50 lots. "This sale continues to be one of the best sources for total performance genetics in...
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Food Rescue at Home

As we head into the month of March, let's all pause and reflect on our eating habits because after all, March is National Nutrition Month and a great time to reevaluate what is on our plates. More importantly let's pay special attention to what we are scraping off our plates into the trash...
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New download location for Soybean Seeding Calculator

The Soybean Seeding Calculator that Emerson Nafziger and I put together has moved to a new server. The old links went through a Dropbox folder. Unfortunately, Dropbox changed their sharing protocol and the links would no longer work and the links could not be changed. The University of Illinois...
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Cauliflower Rice Craze

It's always interesting to hear about the latest craze in the food industry. One that exploded in 2017, is cauliflower rice, and its popularity isn't slowing down. Cauliflower rice isn't truly rice at all. In fact, the label of "rice" is understandably upsetting for rice farmers. However, it has a...
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Vicious Vines

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator Vines add vertical beauty to a garden. Although most vines are desirable, some can viciously choke out other plants with their aggressive behavior. Let's look at four examples. The first two examples are annual plants, meaning that...
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Healthy Habits for Teen Athletes

Today's post was written by Terri Rupkey. Terri is a certified health coach and certified personal trainer, and a weight loss coordinator at Kirby Medical Center. She is pursuing her bachelors in health and wellness management through University of Wisconsin, and completing fieldwork with...
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Bee Friendly To Pollinators

Usually when people think of pollinators, the first thing that comes to mind is the honey bee (Apis mellifera). As important as honey bees are to pollination, there are a lot of other pollinators that are just as important. Native bees, Moths, butterflies, flies, bats, beetles, and wasps...
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Sorting out your saved seeds

It is early to be starting any flower or vegetables seeds. However, it is not too early to round up those saved seeds and determine just how good they are. As a rule, smaller seeds do not last as long as larger seeds, as there is more stored energy in the big ones. This "rule" is especially true...
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Gardening with Natives

Native plants are typically defined as vegetation growing wild in an undisturbed area at the time that scientific records began.  Specific climate, soils and other environmental factors, define a plants native range.  Our area is fortunate enough to have a large diversity of both prairie...
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We Have Blogs on Many Different Topics

Personal Finances

Illinois Extension can guide your family through all of life's stages.
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Great retirements don't happen by accident. Tips for saving and investing your money.

Plan Well. Retire Well.

university of illinois graduate

Money talk by college students, for college students.

Be Centsible

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Develop and maintain thoughtful and effective financial behaviors using these trusted methods.

Fearless Financial Future

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Find the financial balance that fits your personal budget and financial planning goals.

Finding Financial Balance

Family

In today's hectic lives, families find themselves raising children, caring for elders, and working.
family

Read these timely resources for wellness across the lifespan.

Family Files

Health

Living well means taking time for ourselves so we can be healthy for others who need us. 
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Take steps to living a healthier life.

To Your Health

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Genuine, sustained self-care is an art.

Refill Your Cup with Self-Care

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A journey of wellness dedicated to awareness and the power of knowledge to help you on your health and wellness journey.

Walking the Line to Wellness

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Empowering people to make healthy, respectful and responsible choices.

Community Health: Empowering People

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Working together to address social and structural health inequities

Health Insights Illinois

Nutrition and Wellness

Eating healthy shouldn't be this hard.
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Healthy information for better living

Live Well. Eat Well.

healthy food on table

Nutrition information you can use.

Be Smart, Eat Well, Get Healthy

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Highlighting food, recipes, and ideas for a healthy lifestyle.

Healthy Eats and Repeat

healthy food on table

Helpful tips to make meals easy, healthy and tasty!

Simply Nutritious, Quick and Delicious

Community and Economic Development

Illinois Extension helps communities develop strategies to thrive.
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Strategies for strengthening local economies.

Building Entrepreneurial Communities

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Participants in Illinois Extension Illini Science Scholars Program share their experiences in this unique opportunity. 

Scholars Speak

Natural Resources

We have one planet. Let's work together to ensure its future and ours.
grass

Dig deep into the types of grasses and their uses in our world.

Grasses at a Glance

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Read the latest news in natural resources.

Naturalist News

field buffer

The Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy guides efforts to improve water quality at home and downstream.

Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy

tornado

Weather impacts food production, transportation, homes, and lives.

All About Weather

Horticulture

From the flowers you enjoy to the produce you eat to the plants that add value to our life, we offer help for growing strong.
mums

Keeping you (and your garden) growing with good ideas.

Good Growing

garden shed

Gardening in Illinois including everything from vegetable gardening to native plants.

The Garden Scoop

garden path

Where northern Illinois gardeners come to find out what's happening out in the yard.

Over the Garden Fence

flower

Local and statewide information on a variety of current topics for home gardeners and market growers.

Flowers, Fruits, and Frass

garden path

Helping new and experienced gardeners develop their skills and knowledge while encouraging everyone to enjoy the outdoors.

Illinois River Horticulture

flower

Archive of the most popular blog articles from Illinois Extension

Our Greatest Horticulture Hit Blogs

Local Food Systems and Specialty Crops

Growers are diverse, from urban agriculture and beginning small farmers to farmers markets and organic agriculture.
farmers market

Learn new resources for urban growers.

Local Foods | Local Farms | Local People

strawberries

The "Jungle" refers to Elizabeth Wahle's personal St. Louis Metro East garden and it provides the backdrop for her writings about building and sustaining viable food webs and ecosystems within the home landscape.

Welcome to My Jungle

squash soup

A blog for growers, consumers, and backyard gardeners to grow, eat, and connect in the local food system.

Raise, Grow, Harvest, Eat, Repeat

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Connecting you with your food, farmers and community.

Know How. Know More. Connecting Food, Farmers, and Community

carrots in the ground

Ramping up local food production in the second-most populous county in the US.

Cultivate Cook County

vegetables in basket for sale

Conditions can change quickly. As a commercial fruit and vegetable grower, get the latest information as it is available.

Commercial Fruit and Vegetable Growers

 

Agriculture

angus bull

The cattlemen's connection to timely topics, current research, and profitable management strategies.

The Cattle Connection

wheat field

Whether you're a farmer or landowner, trust the advice from Extension's farm coach.

Farm Coach

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Emerging news and best practices for pesticide use and testing.

Pesticide News

corn

All issues concerning Small Farms, Agriculture, Local Food Systems, and the Natural Resources.

Acres of Knowledge

crops

Current topics about crop production in Western Illinois, including field crops research at the NWIARDC in Monmouth.

Hill and Furrow

Youth Development

We're the friend you've been looking for.
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4-H’s learning opportunities are intentionally designed around four essential concepts necessary for positive youth development: a sense of belonging with a positive group, independence and self-determination, a spirit of generosity toward others, and a wide variety of opportunities to master life challenges.

Our Stories from Illinois 4-H

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Timely information, activities, and resources to help you stay connected to loved ones, the world around you, and yourself.

Connection Corner: Activities for Families