LILA - MSU Extension | Montana State University

Featuring practical articles full of easy-to-apply information, Lives and Landscapes is the magazine of Montana State University Extension. Stories will cover subjects such as improving nutrition, growing lawns and gardens, being good stewards of land, both small and large acreages, improving knowledge of family financial tools and more. Lives and Landscapes helps newcomers and longtime Montanans to live well and be stewards of treasured resources while enjoying the last best place.

MSU Extension publishes Lives and Landscapes three times annually and is pleased to offer these free digital versions in HTML. The magazine is also available in print and in PDF format.

Current Issue: Fall 2024

Fall 2024 Issue

Autumn's Harvest: A Season for Gathering Crops and Information

Ask Steward: Sharing the Road with Snowplows

SB199: Montana's Local Food Choice Act

Featured Montanans: Blackfeet ECO Knowledge

Supporting Montana's Youth through 4-H and STEM

Suicide Prevention in Teens: Stigma No More

Fueling Young Athletes: Practical Tips for Caregivers

Resources for Learning to Knit and Crochet

Heat Pumps and Mini-Splits: New Options for Home Heating and Cooling

Landscaping to Reduce Water Use: Approaches and Benefits with Turf Reduction

Master Gardener Spotlight - CSI: Clever Squirrel Investigation

A green combine unloading grain into a silver semi in a dry field. The words at the top read: Lives and Landscapes Fall 2024, The Magazine of Montana State University Extension.

To order the print version or download the PDF, visit the Fall 2024 issue in our online store.

Spring/Summer 2024

Spring/Summer 2024 Issue

Outdoor Food Safety

How to Choose Beef

Montana’s Voter Review Process

Montana Property Taxes: Does my land qualify as agricultural land?

How Dry is It? Measuring drought in Montana

Invasive Ornamental: Baby’s Breath

Ask Steward: From sheep to sweater

Supporting Youth during Parental Separation or Divorce

Healing Young Minds and Bodies through Outdoor Adventures

Featured Montanan: Sarah Calhoun

Home Garden Soil Testing and Fertilizer Guidelines

Master Gardener Spotlight: The journey of Missoula’s Rocky Mountain Gardens

Woman cutting wood with a circular carpentry saw in a field of dead grass. Text at the top reads: Spring/Summer 2024 Lives & Landscapes the magazine of Montana State University Extension

To order the print version or download the PDF, visit the Spring/Summer 2024 issue in our online store.

Winter 2024 Issue

Winter 2024 Issue

Avalanche Safety: What to know before you go

Embracing an Active Lifestyle to Improve Sedentary Habits

Winter Care of Horses

Working Wild University Podcast

The Basics of Pruning Trees and Shrubs

Do’s and Don’ts of Dormant Oils

School Counselors: What is their role and how to access them

Winter in the Kitchen with Kids

Featured Montanan: Matt Pierson and The Producer Partnership

Working Well Together: Understanding yourself and others

Ask Steward: How do I repot a houseplant?

Master Gardener Spotlight: The need for seed

Two horses stand in a snowy corral. Text at the top reads: Winter 2024 Lives & Landscapes the magazine of Montana State University Extension

To order the print version or download the PDF, visit the Winter 2024 issue in our online store.

Fall 2023 Issue

Fall 2023 Issue

Proactive Strategies for Teaching Discipline

4-H & Agriculture at School: a Chick-tastic Opprotunity

Opioid Misuse, Counterfeit Pills and Naloxone: What to Know

How a Dynamic Hay Market Affects Livestock Hay Prices

Reasons Not to Feed Deer

Ask Steward: How can I Control Mice in my Home?

Build a Unique Reading List

Selecting and Growing Cold-hardy Vegetables in Montana

Featured Montanan: Megan Torgerson Rural Storyteller

Welcoming Newcomers to Montana

Fall Home Invaders

Master Gardener Spotlight: Watering Evergreens for Winter

Cover image of Lives and Landscapes Fall 2023 features a striking photo of a rainbow coming out of a dark, stormy sky. and appearing to touch down in the middle of a green hay field dotted with golden hay bales. A brown barn sits off to one side. Barn and fields are lit up by the sun, while jagged peaks with bits of snow sit in shadow beneath the dark clouds in the background.