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Black, yellow, and brown wasp in a clear container

Huge Wasps on My Tree! No, Those Still Aren’t Murder Hornets.

Another insect that has been mistaken for the Asian giant hornet (also known by its media-popularized name of ‘murder hornet’) is the horntail wasp. Horntail wasps are wood-boring insects that are harmless to humans, as they do not have venom and cannot sting.

One-month precipitation outlook map for September 2020. South Dakota has a 40-50% chance of below-normal precipitation.

September 2020 Climate & Drought Outlook

Summer has its last hurrah the first week of September before we see potential for our state’s first freeze of the fall season, according to NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.

child and an older man planting flowers in a raised garden bed

Conversations that Matter: Advance Care Planning for Rural Families

Advance care planning is an important topic and is often discussed in small group settings. We have provided the tools to help you successfully lead a small group event to help teach others about advance care planning.

Two young girls in winter clothing riding on a sled.

Let Them Play During Christmas Break

As we are quickly approaching Christmas break and kids will have time off and will be acquiring new toys and activities during this Christmas season, I want to encourage parents and providers to let children play.

Left: Soil from long-term no-till field, exhibiting good soil aggregation through clumping and smaller pieces of soil. Right: Soil from conventionally managed field that included tillage and crop residue removal. Notice the soil is lighter brown, indicating lower organic matter, and the pieces of soil are in larger chunks with no visible indication of clumping or structure.

Organic Agronomy Starting to Impact

For decades scientists have known that a handful of soil contained more micro-biological organisms than the number of humans on earth. Science is just beginning to discover these organisms and learn about their functions and contribution to their soil ecosystem.

two black beetles rolling a ball of dung

An identification guide to common Dung Beetles of South Dakota

A guide of common dung beetles of South Dakota.

A young girl playing with colored wooden blocks.

Playing With Blocks

Who remembers building glorious structures and towers with wooden blocks? And then having a sibling knock them down and having to rebuild it over again? There are so many learning experiences with building and making mistakes in block play.

A red angus cow with two unweaned calves attempting to suckle from it.

Alternative Calving Considerations

Structuring a calving program that best suites farm and ranch operations can be challenging. Of primary concern are: weather, labor, market timing, and animal health considerations, with weather possibly being the most volatile factor, as it ranges from challenging to catastrophic in some years.

Frost-covered grass in a winter pasture.

SWOT Analysis for Your Ranch (And Don’t Forget About Yourself)

Completing a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis allows you to evaluate your operation's current position and decide on management strategies to achieve your goals for the next year. Learn how to get started today!

Portrait of schoolchildren with teacher performing daily physical exercises in classroom during break on lesson

Brain Breaks in the Classroom

Do your students struggle with behavior or staying on task? Boost your classroom productivity with Brain Breaks!