It was a snowy, cold Thursday in Missouri, but for recently retired University of Missouri Extension agronomist Peter Scharf, it was a mild summer Friday morning in Australia. He and his wife, Jane, moved there last year, following through on a long-term plan.

“My wife’s Australian,” Scharf says. “We met in the States and got married. … She always wanted to come back, which I agreed to years ago.”

Dan Loy’s roots may be in western Illinois, but over the past 40 years, they have found their way to central Iowa.

Loy came to Iowa State University in 1982 to work as an Extension beef specialist. He added more words to the business card as the years went by, including professor of animal science and director of the Iowa Beef Center.

Grain farmers with questions about soil health and herbicide applications have a plethora of sources for answers. Fruit and vegetable growers in Illinois are more limited.

One person they often go to is Elizabeth Wahle. Wahle is in her 20th year as a horticulture educator with University of Illinois Extension. Based in Edwardsville, she fields questions about all aspects of commercial orchards and vegetable operations as well as backyard plots tended by homeowners.

Over the years spanning two careers, Ruth Hambleton has been asked lots of questions about economics on the farm. And she has provided lots of answers.

Hambleton is winding down her “second career,” now teaching at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. She has been at SIU for 12 years following a 31-year stint with University of Illinois Extension. Her educational work has allowed her to communicate personally with those who need help with the mundane but important elements on the farm.

Pat Miller grew up in Arkansas, and when she moved to Missouri more than 30 years ago to work as a University of Missouri Extension agronomy specialist based in Vernon County, the Missouri winter provided a cold welcome.

“The first winter we moved here, it got down to minus 23 one night,” she says. “My husband and I are from Arkansas, and we said we didn’t think we moved that far north.”

AMES, Iowa — Kristine Tidgren is precise about her job.

“We don’t give advice. We call it education,” she says when talking about her work as executive director of the Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation at Iowa State University.

Farming has always been Rebecca Vittetoe’s way of life.

She grew up on her family’s farm near Le Mars, Iowa. From there, she wanted to learn more about farming, going to Iowa State University and becoming a field agronomist for Iowa State Extension. Now, she uses her expertise to help other farmers and her own farm.

A little thing like retirement doesn’t make a trusted source less valuable.

Mike Hutjens, who retired from the University of Illinois Animal Science department in 2010, has used his extra time over the past decade learning, writing, going on speaking engagements and interacting with farmers. The professor emeritus attends at least one webinar every week on the latest research and information and still makes presentations, often getting feedback from producers to stay current.

LINNEUS, Mo. — For Valerie Tate, her work with MU Extension is a fitting career given what her parents did while she was growing up on her family farm.

“My dad was a farmer and my mom was a teacher,” Tate says. “I got to have the best of both worlds. I got to teach people about agriculture.”