Programs
Our Horticulture team of Extension professionals has developed and implemented a wide variety of successful programs for both commercial and consumer audiences:
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2008 ISU Shade Tree Short Course Was a Huge Success The 52nd Annual ISU Shade Tree Short Course (March 11-12, 2008) featured great weather (for a change), an excellent menu of topics and speakers, and a robust audience of approximately 550. The topic of global climate change took center stage during the opening general session. Dr. Bert Drake from the Smithsonian Institution and ISU’s resident climate expert Dr. Elwynn Taylor presented somewhat opposing explanations for the recent warming trend, but reasoned debate and respectful discourse is what the STSC is all about. As always, there was a workshop for every imaginable interest, from plant pathology and entomology to landscape design and photography. There even was a presentation on the rebuilding efforts following Hurricane Katrina.
Next year, the STSC will be teaming-up with the Iowa Nursery & Landscape Association in a joint conference and trade show (February 25-27, 2009). This exciting and mutually beneficial partnership will bring additional participants and a broader range of workshop topics to this grand old extension program.
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The Iowa Turfgrass Conference: This conference began in 1978 and is currently co-produced by the Iowa Turfgrass Institute and the Department of Horticulture at Iowa State University. Dr. Minner has been the conference Education Committee Chairman since 1996 and is responsible for arranging the sessions and speakers for this 3-day event. Each year approximately 16 ISU faculty and staff support the conference through educational and organizational assistance. Since 1996 over 11,000 Iowans have benefited from turfgrass education and promotion of related products associated with the annual conference and trade show. It is an integral part of Iowa's turfgrass industry and is the primary source of income for the Iowa Turfgrass Institute.
Toro Booth at the 2006 Iowa Turfgrass Conference.
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The Iowa Turfgrass Field Day:
July 20, 2006
Horticulture Station, Ames, IA
This event also is co-produced by Iowa State University Extension and the Iowa Turfgrass Institute. Dr. Minner and Dr. Christians co-chair this one day event and approximately 5,500 participants have attended since 1996. Iowa State University specialists from the Departments of Entomology, Plant Pathology, Agronomy, Natural Resource Ecology and Management, and Mechanical Engineering provide a broad base of expertise at the field day. -
Iowa's Turfgrass Industry – an economic impact survey:
In 1995, the value of Iowa's turfgrass industry was estimated at $500,000. Iowa State University and the Iowa Turfgrass Institute lead the initiative for an economic impact assessment of Iowa's turfgrass industry. The survey was compiled by the Iowa Agricultural Statistics Service and the reported value of Iowa's turfgrass industry in 2001 was 1.1 billion dollars. - Iowa Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association: The ISU Departments of Horticulture, Plant Pathology, Entomology, and Food Science and Human Nutrition have had a long history of working closely with the Iowa Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association and the industry it represents. Major efforts with this organization include co-sponsoring the mid-winter Fruit and Vegetable Growers Conference which attracts about 150 participants annually; and summer field days which rotate between member and ISU farms, and attracts over 100 participants. In recent years, the Iowa Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association has assisted the department in obtaining $45,000 in USDA specialty crop grants, and contributed over $23,000 to the department to support research on fruits and vegetables. Drs. Domoto, Nonnecke, and Taber from the Department of Horticulture, and Dr. Mark Gleason (Plant Pathology & Horticulture) work closely with the organization.
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Reestablishing Iowa's Grape Industry: Beginning in 2000, Iowa has seen a dramatic rise in interest in growing grapes for wine. In 2001, to meet the demand for grape growing information, ISU Extension, with a grant from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, presented a grape growing workshop to 210 registered participants. The workshop stimulated the formation of the Iowa Grape Growers Association (now the Iowa Wine Growers Association), and the development of a state-wide annual conference that annually draws over 200 participants. Also in 2001, a viticulture web site (http://viticulture.hort.iastate.edu) was developed to make available materials from workshops, conferences and regional meetings, provide research updates, links to other web sites, listings of resources, and an events calendar. These efforts have assisted the industry as it has grown from less than 30 reported acres in 2000 to over 230 vineyards encompassing over 500 estimated acres in 2004, and the establishment of 22 recently bonded wineries. Drs. Domoto and Nonnecke, and Mr. Mike White (Ext. crop specialist) provide leadership from ISU and work closely with regional USDA-RC&D's around the state. Drs. Domoto and Nonnecke also are cooperating with the ISU Agricultural Marketing Resource Center (AgMRC) to develop a web-based interactive decision model for determining economic feasibility of growing grapes and establishing a small winery for wine and grape juice. - Great Plains Vegetable Growers Conference: A four-state mid-winter conference held annually in St. Joseph, Missouri consistently attracts over 375 participants within the region. The ISU Department of Horticulture was one of the co-founders and leaders in program development. The conference consists of a two-day program with four daily concurrent sessions. Dr. Taber represents ISU in this program.
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Organic Ag Program (OAP): The Organic Ag Program (OAP) is a joint program in the Departments of Horticulture and Agronomy and was the first in the U.S. land-grant system. In the first six years of the program, 360 presentations were given to more than 20,000 citizens; twenty-six 3-6 hour Workshops and Field Days were organized; four conferences; and two ICN courses were held on organic production. In the evaluation of the program, clientele noted that the organic industry continues to expand in Iowa and the U.S., with growers obtaining a 50 – 300% premium price for crops produced without synthetic inputs, increasing the economic base of Iowa's farm families. Dr. Delate started the OAP in 1997. - Hortline: a telephone and e-mail service provides assistance to Iowans with gardening questions. The telephone number is 1-515-294-3108. Assistance is available from 10:00 to noon and 1:00 to 4:30, Monday through Friday. The e-mail address is . From 2002 through 2007, an average of 3510 individuals received assistance to their gardening questions from Mr. Jauron and undergraduate summer interns via the Hortline. They also received and responded to an average of 825 e-mail questions per year during the same period. Mr. Jauron, along with other specialists from Horticulture, Entomology, Plant Pathology, and Natural Resource Ecology and Management, participates in a weekly 50-minute call-in program on WOI-AM.
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The Iowa Master Gardener Program: During the past five
years, over 2,500 Master Gardener interns have received
horticultural training in 14 subject matter areas. Classes are
taught via webcasts (Adobe Connect), local presentations, and a
one day Class-on-Campus. In calendar year 2007, Iowa's Master
Gardeners reported over 70,000 hours of volunteer educational
service to their communities. Assuming a value of $19.51 per
hour for volunteer time, the Iowa Master Gardener program
provided over $1,560800.00 of education and service to local
communities. In the past year, Master Gardeners have been
trained in 39 of Iowa's 99 counties. The program is
administered by Dr. Haynes and coordinated by Mr. Romer.
- Horticulture & Home Pest Newsletter (HHPN): The HHPN started as, and has remained an interdisciplinary effort involving the departments of Horticulture, Entomology, and Plant Pathology. It provides 21 issues per year on a wide range of subject matter to update subscribers of current horticultural events and activities and serve as a reference resource. Early on, newsletters were saved in county offices for later use. More recently, newsletters have been archived on line with a key-word search capability. Beginning in January 2005, HHPN became a free, web-based newsletter. Readers can read the newsletter on-line or download and print a text-based version. Paper-By-Mail subscriptions remain available. The HHPN is published by the Department of Entomology.
- Yard and Garden Column: The Yard and Garden column has been an interdisciplinary effort since 1991 involving the departments of Entomology, Horticulture, Natural Resource Ecology and Management, and Plant Pathology. Articles are written weekly by Extension faculty and staff and then edited for distribution to over 110 newspapers throughout Iowa. Subject matter includes a wide variety of topics from the participating departments. Richard Jauron from the Horticulture Department coordinates this effort.
- Gardening in the Zone: Iowa State University Extension and Iowa Gardening Magazine have teamed up to produce more than 30, 2-minute gardening segments for Iowa television stations. These video segments appeared weekly during the 2004-2007 growing seasons. Video segments are downloadable from either the ISU Extension website (http://www.extension.iastate.edu) or the Yard and Garden Website (www.yardandgarden.extension.iastate.edu). Drs. Haynes and VanDerZanden serve as content specialists for this endeavor. http://emms-ws12.exnet.iastate.edu/gardening/
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Home Demonstration Garden Field Days: Dr. Cindy Haynes, Associate Professor of Horticulture, coordinates the Home Demonstration Gardens (HDG) located at 7 ISU Research farms across the state. Each garden hosts a field day to display and discuss different cultivars of annual flowers and vegetables and maintenance techniques for the home garden. The themes for the 2008 HDG are Hybrid & Heirloom tomatoes, Herbs, Personal or Icebox watermelons, green flowers, and a cutting garden. For dates, times and location of this year.s field days visit http://www.ag.iastate.edu/farms/fielddays.php
Emilie Justen, Horticulture Graduate Student, speaking to the crowd about growing and tasting greens like spinach, mustard and lettuce at the 2007 Home Demonstration Garden Field Day at the Armstrong Farm.
Richard Jauron, Extension Program Specialist and Emilie Justen, Graduate Student sampling different strawberry varieties at the 2007 Home Demonstration Garden Field Day at the Armstrong Farm.
