Blogs

Highlight Blog Posts

State of U.S. agriculture 2024: Key findings and future trends, part two

This post is the second in a two-part series analyzing a United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service (USDA-ERS) report on the state of farms and ranches across the United States. Part One began by discussing the way farms are classified by the USDA, farm financial performance, and the use of credit and loans. You can read Part One by visiting this link:...
Recent Blog Articles

Be an Intentional Family

Most of us say that family is most important to us and that we put them first – but do we? 99% of families have at least one television and a 2012 Nielsen report stated that the average American watches 34 hours of live television per week – along with four to six hours of taped programming....
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Master Gardeners Provide Gardening Tips at Various Events

Written by Rhonda Ferree, retired horticulture educator In 2017, 167 Master Gardener volunteers contributed over 10,000 hours in the Fulton, Mason, Peoria, and Tazewell Counties. The value of their volunteer service is $263,000 (as calculated by Independent Sector). Master Gardeners have...
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Be a Super Speedy Shopper

According to the website, Foodimentary™ February is "National Return Shopping Carts to the Supermarket" month. Laugh now, but you will be thankful when you have a flurry of carts to choose from, especially when they are lined up in the cart corral and not rolling down the parking lot with the wind...
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Teen Athletes, Carbs, and Protein

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 UI...
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Thank You: Cook County Horticulture Team

During my many years in Extension, I have had the opportunity to work with many dedicated Extension staff. Last night our Cook County Horticulture team presented a first in a series of school and community garden workshops at our Westchester office. As the team developed this training, I was...
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FOUR SEASONS GARDENING PROGRAM OFFERS 2018 WINTER SERIES

The Winter series of University of Illinois Extension's Four Seasons Gardening program, which focuses on environmental stewardship, home gardening, and backyard food production, gets underway this month. The first session of the series is titled, The Green Pathway to Invasion: Ornamental Invasive...
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Keep an Eye Out for These Winter-Blooming Plants

You have to hand it to those Olympic athletes; they sure do make it look easy. Watching the 2018 Olympics with my family has inspired us to take to the slopes, that is, our small sledding hill. We took advantage of a snowy weekend and got in some much overdue sled riding. In the joyful moments of...
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Lenten Rose

This February, the ice and chill have me dreaming of spring. I have buried my desk beneath a foot high stack of seed catalogs and scribbled garden plans on sticky notes. I can officially say that plant fever has set in. In this unique month, when Valentine's Day coincides with Ash Wednesday and the...
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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.

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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.
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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.

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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

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

Grasses at a Glance

Read the latest news in natural resources.

Everyday Environment

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

Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy

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

Good Growing

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

The Garden Scoop

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

Over the Garden Fence

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

Flowers, Fruits, and Frass

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

Illinois River Horticulture

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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.
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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

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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

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

Cultivate Cook County

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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

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

The Cattle Connection

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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