Purdue Extension has given the green light to allow counties the option to host in-person events for July, including participation at county fairs.

ELKHART — Despite COVID-19, life must go on. Area cornfields were stricken with tar spot hard in 2019. Corn growers commonly said they lost 20% of their yield, with a few fields nearing 50% by some estimates. With all meetings being shut down because of social distancing, Purdue Extension Elkhart County will try something a …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS Extension Educator Health & Human Sciences, Purdue Extension Elkhart County GOSHEN — It has been hot and humid for several days, but I am not going to complain because I know the weather will change – we live in the Midwest. I think it is extra hot and humid in Indiana …read more.

By JEFF BURBRINK Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County GOSHEN — Last week, I wrote about the tassel of a corn plant. This week, the subject is the silk, which part of the female reproductive organs of a corn plant. Bob Nielsen, Purdue Extension’s corn specialist, provided much of this information in his frequently updated Corny News …read more.

By NANCY BORKHOLDER Purdue Extension Elkhart County Just a few days ago, it seemed the rain was not going to stop.  The talk is about how quickly our soils have dried out.  We are approximately 1.5 to 2 inches behind the normal rainfall for the growing season at this point. We learned back in 2012 …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS Extension Educator-Health and Human Sciences, Purdue Extension Elkhart County GOSHEN — Last week I wrote about the health concerns of drinking too much pop because of all the sugar and acid and the negative effects on the body. From the emails and phone calls I know many of you were shocked …read more.

By JEFF BURBINK Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County GOSHEN — It’s that time of the year. Many farmers, nursery owners and homeowners will soon be spraying fields and yards with burndown products to reduce early season weed pressure before planting. One of the more popular herbicides for burndown is glyphosate, which is the active ingredient …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director, Extension Educator Health and Human Sciences, Purdue Extension Elkhart County GOSHEN — Spring has been long in arriving. The cold of spring has a different feel than the cold of winter, I have often been told it is the dampness, but the bottom line is if you …read more.

By JEFF BURBINK Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County GOSHEN — The warm weather triggered a flurry of calls last week about lawn care. Here are a few tips to help your lawn get off to a good start this spring. Moss In The Yard The lack of snow encouraged moss growth this spring. Moss tends …read more.

By JEFF BURBRINK Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County GOSHEN — Most of the original legislation to improve air quality was adopted in the early to mid-1960s in Midwestern states. Much of the emphasis of those laws was aimed at smokestack pollution, in particular the emission of sulfur from power plants, which was blamed for …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director, Extension Educator Health & Human Sciences, Purdue Extension Elkhart County GOSHEN — Each year I choose to write my column on dandelion greens for a number of reasons. I will begin that part of the reason is out of respect for my grandparents. I remember them sharing …read more.

JEFF BURBRINK Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County GOSHEN — A time-tested technique to improve pastures is frost seeding. Typically, frost seeding is done in February in our area in pastures that are less than 30 percent legumes. Frost seeding is also common in small grain fields such as wheat or oats, to produce some …read more.

by MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS Extension Director, Extention Educator, Health and Human Sciences, Purdue Extension Elkhart County ELKHART COUNTY — Simple chair exercises can help improve your mood, reduce stress and depression. It is found to help slow the decline in memory and protect against dementia. This program focuses on improving cognitive function through exercise. …read more.

By JEFF BURBRINK Purdue Extension Educator – Ag/Natural Resources, Purdue Extension – Elkhart County GOSHEN — Sixteen people have completed the first phase of the Purdue Master Gardener program in Elkhart County. Jeff Burbrink, extension educator with the Purdue Extension Service, Elkhart County, and coordinator of the local Master Gardener program, explained that Master Gardeners …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS Extension Educator, Health and Human Sciences Purdue Extension Elkhart County September has been national food safety month for a long time. Each year, a special topic is chosen to focus on and this year it is refrigeration. So, the first question I ask you, “Do you know how cold your refrigerator …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director, Extension Educator-Health & Human Sciences, Purdue Extension Elkhart County May was National Osteoporosis Month followed by June as National Dairy Month and they could really be celebrated together. I am sure your mother told you to do many good things like, eat your vegetables and fruits, drink …read more.

By NANCY BORKHOLDER Purdue Extension Elkhart County Applications for the 2015 fall Elkhart County Master Gardener program are now available. Since 1996, over 500 people have participated in the Master Gardener program in Elkhart County. This will be the 20th year of the program in Elkhart County, with 21 programs being offered over that time …read more.

By JEFF BURBRINK Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County I have received reports of ticks showing up in large numbers this week. Reports range from numerous ticks on a single dog to several found crawling on people after taking a walk around the property. Most of these ticks have been the American Dog Tick, or …read more.

By STHELE GREYBAR Extension Educator, 4-H Youth Development, Purdue Extension Elkhart County The 4-H Cake Decorating workshops will be held from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. Thursday, May 14 and Thursday, June 25 at the Ag Hall Building on the Elkhart County Fairgrounds, Goshen. Members can learn and practice skills needed for their 4-H Cake …read more.

By JEFF BURBRINK Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County A lot happens in your lawn in late April and early May in Michiana. As the turf begins to wake up from its winter slumber, you will first notice it greens up. This is a response to nitrogen deposited by the winter snow and rain. At …read more.

By STHELE GREYBAR Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County, 4-H Youth Development The Elkhart County 4-H performing arts contest was held on Thursday, April 23, at Northridge High School, Middlebury. Livviya Haarer, Goshen, was the grand champion act with her singing performance of “Popular” from the musical “Wicked.” Haarer was awarded the traveling trophy sponsored …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director, Purdue Extension Elkhart County For many of you, warmer weather means grilling. Nowadays, there are so many varieties of grills to choose from, including wood pellet, gas grills, and charcoal grills. We all have our favorite method of grilling, but no matter the preference, food safety is …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS Extension Director, Purdue Extension Elkhart County With spring we begin to think more about locally grown foods. The first food of spring that I see and enjoy is dandelion greens. The last few days I was out walking, enjoying the spring flowers, and picking up the trash from fall and …read more.

By JEFF BURBRINK Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County If you raise specialty crops or bees, you should consider signing up on driftwatch.org. Think of DriftWatch as a communication tool designed to help growers of sensitive specialty crops communicate with pesticide applicators. Specialty “crops” can include a wide variety of plants and animal operations also. …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director, Purdue Extension Elkhart County Eggs are probably one of the simplest foods to prepare and most importantly enjoy. There is no other food that can be enjoyed all by itself yet helps to create so many other foods. Although the eggs of ducks, geese, and other poultry …read more.

By JEFF BURBRINK Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County Over time, an alfalfa stand will gradually go downhill. Since much of the stress that kills the plants occurs in the winter, April is a good time to assess the quality of your stand. The University of Wisconsin has a three-tier recommendation for assessing alfalfa stands. …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director, Purdue Extension Elkhart County Alzheimer’s is a brain disease that causes a slow decline in memory, thinking and reasoning skills. It is the eighth leading cause of death in the United States. There are 10 warning signs and symptoms of the disease that people may experience to …read more.

By JEFF BURBRINK Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County Every year, there are fewer acres of wheat planted in the county, it seems. That may be why I am getting more questions about wheat recently, because people are forgetting how to grow it. Many people raise wheat simply for the straw. In fact, there have …read more.

By JEFF BURBRINK Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County The twilight fruit growers meeting, held every other year at Kercher’s Sunrise Orchard, is always a popular program. At 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 16, the Kercher family will once again host Purdue Extension at their business, located at 19498 CR 38, Goshen. The evening begins when …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director, Purdue Extension Elkhart County When I teach nutrition I often encourage people to eat a rainbow of colors and to eat more foods of color. You know that vegetables and fruits are where you are going to find the colors. The colors make for flavor, texture, and …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director, Purdue Extension Elkhart County The 2015 Elkhart County 4-H Fair President, Rich Utley, Middlebury, has announced the President’s Baked Item this year will be Custard Pie. The President’s Baked Item is an open class contest in which anyone over the age of 8 years of age in …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County The Purduettes choral group will be the entertainment for the 15th Annual Dinner Meeting of the Purdue Alumni Club of Elkhart County. The event will be Saturday, April 18, at Greencroft Community Center, 1820 Greencroft Boulevard in Goshen. Goshen’s own Abby Wieczorek, a Purduette, …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County Elkhart and LaGrange County students who will be attending Purdue University as a full time undergraduate student in the fall are encouraged to apply for the Purdue Alumni Club of Elkhart County Scholarships. Students attending a Purdue or IU-PU regional campus are eligible to …read more.

By STHELE GREYBAR Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County The Mini 4-H Workshop will be held from 8:30 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. Saturday, April 25, on the Elkhart County fairgrounds in Goshen. All first and second grade members are invited to attend. From 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. there will be a brief welcome event …read more.

By JEFF BURBRINK Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County If you grow fruit or vegetables for sale, chances are you have heard of GAPS, or the Good Agricultural Practices program. But if you have not, here is a heads up! GAPS is a workshop designed to teach growers and processors how to reduce microbial contamination …read more.

By JEFF BURBRINK Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County With grain prices down, farmers are looking for ways to cut back on expenses. Last week I talked to a farmer who was considering planting soybeans without a fungicide seed treatment to save a few dollars per acre. In researching this question, I found a very …read more.

By JEFF BURBRINK Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County It is funny how things work. As the price of corn went up the last few years, the price of inputs such as seed, fertilizer and pesticides went up too. Now that corn prices are dropping, prices of inputs are not dropping significantly. To those who …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS Extension Director, Purdue Extension Elkhart County I really like soup and my favorite has to be beef vegetable. Both of my grandmothers and my parents were soup makers so I have had many soup making experiences without recipes. I can recall seeing my Grandmother Van den Brocke making beef vegetable …read more.

By JEFF BURBRINK Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County Purdue Extension will be holding a vegetable growers meeting from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, at the Wakarusa Produce Auction, located at 65460 CR 9. The cost of the program is $10 per person, which includes lunch. To help us plan for lunch …read more.

By ROBERT KELLY Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County Would you like to learn about tractor and lawn tractor safety? If so, the 4-H Farm Tractor and Garden Tractor clubs are for you. You don’t have to live on a farm or even own a farm or garden tractor to be a member of the …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director, Purdue Extension Elkhart County February is National Potato Month. The potato is versatile, economical, and loaded with important nutrients. For you to make the most of your food dollars you have to prepare potatoes in their raw form, which means that you buy them in the produce …read more.

By ROBERT KELLY Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County The Elkhart County 4-H Beef Club has set the Animal ID date for the 2015 4-H year on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015 at the Shipshewana Auction Barn located on SR 5. Animals will be ID’d between 9 a.m. and noon. In order for animals to be …read more.

By JEFF BURBRINK Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County Growing up on a southern Indiana farm, I learned a lot about weed identification from my Dad. He would point out features of various plants, and by the time I was 12 years old, I could identify many of the more common broadleaf plants. Two weeds …read more.

By Mary Ann Lienhart Cross County Extension Director, Purdue Extension Elkhart County I know that many of you like to prepare food and share your creations with family, friends and co-workers. We celebrate many events and I don’t think we ever celebrate without food, do we? As I type this the Super Bowl hasn’t happened …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS Extension Director, Purdue Extension Elkhart County With so many options in cookware, bake ware and appliances, how do you know which ones you spend your money on and which ones you should leave in the store? This program will cover information on pots and pans and the materials they are …read more.

By JEFF BURBRINK Extension Educator Purdue Extension Elkhart County Last week I read an article urging farmers to apply lime every year. That sort of recommendation may work in some communities, but in our area, more often than not, it could lead to some long-term problems because most of our soils are high in pH. …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director, Purdue Extension Elkhart County There is still time to register for the Elkhart County Extension Homemaker’s Heritage Skills Workshop. Many of these heritage skills are not being learned and passed on to others. In an effort to teach these heritage skills, hands-on workshops have been planned for …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director, Purdue Extension Elkhart County I believe soup making is a not practiced in many kitchens. I realize there are many factors that figure into not making soup like grandmother used to. There is the time factor involved, or having to purchase the raw ingredients if you don’t …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director and Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County I have written about homemade soups and I hope I have motivated you to make some soup. I want to encourage you to plan some kitchen time and make some real soup. You can be like the French and start with …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director and Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County Join the Elkhart County Extension Homemakers for a free, educational program titled “Kitchen Gadget Savvy” presented by Mary Ann Lienhart Cross. Through this lesson you will learn about new kitchen gadgets, utensils, knives, cutting boards and so much more. Participants are …read more.

By ROBERT KELLY Extension Educator, 4-H Youth Development and Agriculture-Natural Resources-Livestock Purdue Extension in Kosciusko and Elkhart Counties will be working together to host the 2015 Ohio Beef Cattle School. The programs will address some of the most important issues currently facing the beef industry. Rapidly changing forces are constantly shaping the beef industry’s landscape …read more.

By STHELE GREYBAR Extension Educator, 4-H Youth Development, Purdue Extension Elkhart County The Elkhart County 4-H Beekeeping Club plans to hold its first meeting of the year at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 19 at Peoples Bible Church, located at 68074 U.S. 33, Goshen. The club is beginning its eleventh year as a county 4-H club, …read more.

By JEFF BURBRINK Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County Without much fanfare, the USDA Census of Agriculture will be surveying two important groups of agricultural producers in the next few weeks, horticulture and organic growers. Some local growers may have already received surveys in the mail. More than likely, many may not receive a survey. …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director and Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County A special part of the holiday foods are the beverages. Beverages, whether hot or cold, can provide lots of color and can be full of food value. Unfortunately, they can also be high in sugar and fat. One of my favorites …read more.

By JEFF BURBRINK Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County Fourteen local people have completed the first phase of the Purdue Master Gardener program in Elkhart County. Jeff Burbrink, Extension Educator with the Purdue Extension Service in Elkhart County and coordinator of the local Master Gardener program, explained that Master Gardeners is a volunteer training program, …read more.

By STHELE GREYBAR Extension Educator, 4-H Youth Development, Purdue Extension Elkhart County The Elkhart County 4-H program will be having it’s second Discover 4-H event of the year from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10. The event will be held at Concord Mall in Elkhart, located at 3701 S. Main St., Dunlap. Every …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director, Extension Educator – Health & Human sciences, Purdue Extension Elkhart County Last week I wrote about holiday traditions and how many of them are connected to food. This week my thoughts are on planning breakfast so everyone can be a part of the activities and all enjoy …read more.

By JEFF BURBRINK Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County The official start of winter this year is Sunday, Dec. 21, bringing along with it the potential for snow and cold weather. When the weather gets nasty, most people retreat to the warmth and safety of their home. Farmers and others who work outdoors cannot avoid …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director, Purdue Extension Elkhart County The holidays are all about entertaining and that means food! It’s so easy to get caught up in the festivities that we become careless and/or forget about safety. It is important to think about and practice basic kitchen safety. We are all susceptible …read more.

By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS County Extension Director, Purdue Extension Elkhart County To many of us the holidays are all about traditions. Among these traditions are special foods only prepared this time of the year. There are many traditions beyond the food such as decorating, church and community services, music, lights, family gatherings, and of …read more.

By ROBERT KELLY Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County The Purdue Extension office in Elkhart County will be serving as a host site for an upcoming webinar aimed towards preparing sheep and goat producers for their lambing and kidding seasons. The educational series will take place from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 10, …read more.

By JEFF BURBRINK Extension Educator, Purdue Extension Elkhart County Private applicators that hold a license for either pesticide or fertilizer use have an opportunity to attend two classes in Elkhart County, which will give one credit each towards the renewal of their Private Applicator Recertification Program license. From 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 18, …read more.

By NANCY BORKHOLDER Ag/NR Secretary, Purdue Extension Elkhart County Nutrition is always a hot topic when it comes to dairy cattle farmers. With the fluctuation in feed prices, the weather, and the newly harvested crop it can be a task for dairy cattle farms to find that right ration balance for their operations. Purdue Extension …read more.

The Purdue Elkhart County Extension Board Annual meeting was held on Nov. 18, at the 4-H Fairgrounds in Goshen. The annual meeting honors the “Friends of Extension,” recognizes retiring board members, elects new board members by the Extension Council, and highlights program impact and accomplishments from the Purdue Extension Educators. The annual meeting began with …read more.

By ROBERT KELLY Purdue Extension Educator, 4-H Youth Development & Ag and Natural Resources-Livestock It’s never too early to be thinking about college scholarships! Purdue Extension Elkhart County is inviting all our 4-H members who are in 10th-grade through 12th-grade to a scholarship workshop. The workshops will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 8 and …read more.

By BRANDY CAVANAGH Purdue Extension Elkhart County Purdue University Elkhart County Extension Service and the Extension Homemakers are hosting their annual Holiday Program. This year’s theme is “Fall and Winter Holiday Ideas.” The program includes recipes and easy craft ideas – aprons made nine different ways, a pumpkin face door greeter, a gratitude tree, pumpkin …read more.