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The state of Iowa has specific laws and regulations related to food that is prepared at home and sold directly to consumers. This online course will guide you through record-keeping, regulations, and the best food safety practices to ensure safe handling of your product from the kitchen to the point of sale.

This short course walks participants through how to order, care for and protect your new flock. The course covers brooding chicks, appropriate feeders and waterers and coop construction tips.

Financial Decision Making improves student's understanding of financial management techniques. The course enables students to better analyze and manage their farming operations. Exercises cover the creation and analysis of financial statements. Quizzes test comprehension of materials provided in the course.

Farmers make many decisions about the use of capital and credit. Making good financial decisions is often the difference between a prosperous, growing farm business and one that is constantly wondering how to pay the next bill. The Financial Decision Making course helps students build their capacity to answer the following questions about their farm businesses.

• How much to invest?
• Where to obtain capital?
• What mix of equity and debt to use?
• What credit rates and terms to negotiate?
• How much financial risk to take?

Course questions can be sent to Patrick Hatting at: fdmcourse@iastate.edu

FDM satisfies Iowa Farm Service Agency mandatory borrower education requirements.

This course prepares individuals for the Iowa Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) Examination.

The course is divided into the four major exam competency areas. Within each competency area are modules that cover the subject matter. In total, there are 26 modules with nearly 8 hours of recorded programming. For individuals preferring text over audio, scripts are provided as an alternative.

Each module includes a practice quiz of up to 10 questions randomly selected from a pool of questions for that module. Users may take each quiz up to three times. A practice exam covering information from all the modules is also available. It consists of 100 randomly selected questions. The practice exam may be taken a maximum of three times.


Registration for the Iowa CCA examination is not included in the purchase price of this course. For examination information please visit the International Crop Adviser website.

STEM-Lit to Go! is an innovative program that supports the development of STEM and literacy skills for K-3 youth.

This program utilizes a unique instructional framework that integrates inquiry-based STEM activities and carefully selected children's literature. Through a variety of engaging topics including coding, space, and ice cream. Children explore key STEM concepts such as the engineering design process and how to plan and conduct investigations.

Each lesson provides youth with a hands-on STEM experience and multiple opportunities to read, write, speak and listen about that experience. This exciting research-based program is designed to support the Next Generation Science Standards and the Common Core English Language Arts Standards.

STEM-Lit to Go! has been successfully implemented in both out-of-school time settings and in K-3 classrooms. This complete curriculum can be purchased in full or as individual lessons. Please review our Introduction and enjoy a complimentary lesson, A Chair for Bear, below.

Youth-serving organizations in Iowa are encouraged to contact their local Iowa State University Extension and Outreach county office to explore partnership opportunities in administering this program. Additional information on this program is available on the STEM-Lit to Go! webpage.

Art-Lit to Go! is an innovative Iowa 4-H program that supports the development of art and literacy skills for K-3 children.

This informal education program utilizes a range of process-focused and product-focused art experiences to teach children a basic understanding of the foundational art elements of line, shape, color, form, and texture through integrated art-literacy activities. In addition, this exciting researched-based program is designed to support the National Core Arts Standards and the Common Core English Language Arts Standards.

This product is a downloadable PDF that includes six lessons.

Youth-serving organizations in Iowa are encouraged to contact their local Iowa State University Extension and Outreach county office to explore partnership opportunities in administering this program.

Additional information is available on the Iowa 4-H Clover Kids K-3 Literary Series webpage.

This certification manual is intended to provide the "core" or basic understanding of safe and responsible pesticide use needed to successfully pass the Iowa Core examination for commercial pesticide applicators. This manual serves as a study guide for the core exam which covers subjects relating to applicable state and federal laws and regulations; pest management; label comprehension; pesticides; safety; the environment; and equipment and application techniques.

Also available to assist you in understanding the material covered in this manual is the Core Companion. This companion provides both review and practice quizzes based on information needed to pass the Iowa Core examination for commercial pesticide applicators.

(Previously known as IC 0445)

Corn Growth and Development is an updated and expanded publication and includes whole plant photography, detailed descriptions of vegetative and reproductive development, and dry matter and nutrient accumulation figures.

Corn Growth and Development replaces the long-standing publication, How A Corn Plant Develops (SR 0048). Content related questions can be sent to the current Extension Agronomy point of contact Dr. Mark Licht at: lichtma@iastate.edu

Large quantity discounts (100 copies+) are available. To inquire, please contact us by email (extstore@iastate.edu) or calling (515)294-5247.

All images from this publication can be purchased by visiting our Digital Media section.

Requests for permission to repost, reprint or use content of ISU Extension and Outreach publications.

This publication can help soybean producers achieve better yields. It includes photos of soybean vegetative and reproductive stages and updated information about soybean plant growth and management.

All images from this publication can be purchased by visiting our Digital Media section

This publication replaced SR 0053 - How a Soybean Plant Develops.