Over the years, UW–Madison personnel have supported the organic ag sector through research, teaching and outreach, helping to develop knowledge and spread information to support organic systems, participating in the UW–Madison tradition known as the Wisconsin Idea.
Management decisions made now can impact how alfalfa stands do during winter. In spring 2018 there were a lot of reports of alfalfa surviving winter, but much alfalfa was weak and yields were less. Winter weather was to blame.
UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank said this project, however, is a unique one in that it has been six years in the making and includes one of the largest private/public partnerships in the university’s history. In eight months, almost 200 partners came together to donate $16 million toward the project.
Quoted: “It has been a long-term dream to transfer the ability to associate with nitrogen-fixing bacteria from legumes to cereals,” said Jean-Michel Ane, a professor of bacteriology and agronomy at UW-Madison and a co-author of the new study.
Wisconsin is practically synonymous with dairy for many people, and the title of “America’s Dairyland” is even enshrined on the state’s license plates. While Wisconsinites may take the prominence of cows for granted, though, it turns out Wisconsin wasn’t always the Dairy State — at one point in history, it might have even been called the Wheat State.
With renovation, Babcock Hall to increase business collaborative options, research opportunities.
A better understanding of the data and images gathered by the drone-borne instruments could lead to new ways for cranberry growers to detect insects and disease weeks sooner than traditional scouting forays on the ground.
Quoted: “The facility is going to be one of the premiere dairy education and research centers in the nation,” Blank said. “And most importantly, it’s going to be a hub for discovery and innovation for Wisconsin’s dairy industry, working closely with our faculty and our students.”
Quoted: “I think we have a very important mission for the state and for the university,” Poulsen says. “We are investing in our staff because they are the scientific minds and the people who get the testing in and done, and the customer service done.”
The launch of construction and renovation for UW-Madison’s Babcock Hall Dairy Plant and Center for Dairy Research was marked with a celebration in the Lake Mendota Room of Dejope Hall on Sept. 7.
For three years, Sanford has been honing an energy-miser, continuous flow method to remove mint oil from tons of mint plants. Today, the standard extraction procedure involves injecting steam through a tub-load of chopped mint, in a two-hour process.
The event focused largely on “news you can use” for Wisconsin farmers. Andrew Stammer, for example, director of the UW Soil and Forage Analysis Laboratory located at the Marshfield Agricultural Research Station, described soil-sampling protocols for farmers who apply fertilizer in strips along the crop row.
As for the apple, the custom was started among Ashkenazi Jews in medieval Europe, when the apple as we know it had become more accessible due to cultivation, said Jordan Rosenblum, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who studies food and Judaism.
Quoted: Farmers will face a learning curve in figuring out how to take advantage of the insurance with the changing markets, said Brian Gould, professor of agribusiness at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Noted: Nationwide, the number of CSA farms fell from more than 12,000 in 2012 to about 7,000 in 2015, said Lydia Zepeda, a consumer science professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Noted: Farmers will face a learning curve in figuring out how to take advantage of the insurance with the changing markets, said Brian Gould, professor of agribusiness at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
A research trial was initiated in fall 2017 at the UW-Arlington Agricultural Research Station. The research team assessed the impact of delayed grain harvest on the yield and test weight of soft red winter wheat.
The school announced it will present its Honorary Recognition Awards to Daphne & Lloyd Holterman, Anna Maenner and David Rhoda, and its Distinguished Alumni Award to Timothy Young. Each will be recognized during a special ceremony on October 25.
Dado is currently attending UW-Madison, where she’s majoring in dairy science and life communications. Her career goal is to work for the U.S. Department of Agriculture or other government agencies on trade policy.
At a towering 16’ tall, corn native to Oaxaca, Mexico grows up to 10 aerial roots [compared to two in a typical plant] that secrete gel to help nitrogen-fixing bacteria survive. If scientists find a way to make this commercially available, it could be a game-changer for corn grown for grain and silage.
Quoted: “We see over $1 billion in economic activity in these counties when we add up the infrastructure that’s out there and all the commerce that occurs between the production, the processing and the selling of the product,” said Jerry Clark, Chippewa County Agriculture Agent with UW-Extension.
Klondike Cheese Co. is expanding production as it enters its second century of cheesemaking, under the leadership of six Master Cheesemakers certified by UW–Madison’s Center for Dairy Research.
Mark Stephenson, director of UW-Madison’s Center for Dairy Profitability, told Wisconsin Public Radio that farmers had avoided making large purchases during the past few years of low commodity prices.
The Henry family has also produced J. Henry & Sons Wisconsin Straight Bourbon since 2009. Since it came to market in 2015, it has been an award-winning, nationally and internationally acclaimed bourbon. They use grains developed at UW-Madison, follow sustainable practices, and their entire family is in the business working to create a legacy of Wisconsin production and to keep it growing.
More than 20 plant breeders from UW-Madison, other universities, seed companies, non-profits and independent farms have contributed numerous varieties of 12 different crops to the project. Trials are conducted at UW-West Madison Agricultural Research Station and UW-Spooner Agricultural Research Station to compare crops for flavor, productivity, disease resistance and earliness.
The University of Wisconsin placed first at the 2018 North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge in April, beating out teams from 38 American and Canadian universities.
Brothers James and Robert Baerwolf are both UW-Madison Ag School graduates and are rather quiet individuals, not the bombastic, outgoing extroverts one often sees entrepreneurs portrayed as and they do things right on the farm and at the creamery.
Harsdorf will be joined by Dr. John Lucey, a food scientist at the UW-Madison who is director of the Center for Dairy Research on the Madison campus. He explained that they want to talk to the Food and Drug Administration about micro-filtration of milk, a process that is widely used in European dairy plants but can’t be used here because of regulations, putting our cheese makers and dairy processors at a distinct disadvantage.
Noted: The second-annual event is organized by the UW-Madison Department of Food Science. Enologist and outreach specialist Nick Smith is running the show with help from the Wisconsin Vintners Association, a Milwaukee-based organization for winemakers and enthusiasts that provided volunteers to serve as wine stewards for the competition. They’re busy backstage opening bottles, pouring flights and making sure that the nearly 500 glasses of wine are properly labeled before they’re delivered to the judges.
Bryan Jensen, Integrated Pest Management specialist for Cooperative Extension and UW Horticulture professor says he’s been getting plenty of emails and phone calls from farmers who describe damage ranging from moderate damage of leaf tissue to extreme defoliation in corn plants.
If you see Japanese beetles in your corn fields it could mean poor pollination is imminent. The pest loves to snack on corn’s delicate silks—and if they clip them to ½” or less the crop might not pollinate.
Consider a foliar insecticide treatment during tasseling and silking if there are three or more beetles per ear, silks are clipped to ½” and pollination is less than 50% complete, according to Eileen Cullen, University of Wisconsin Extension entomologist.
“[If applying an insecticide] beetles must be on the outside of the ear, which is normally the case,” Cullen says “The main concern with Japanese beetle feeding is to protect silks for pollination.”
Dr. Mark Stephenson, Director of Dairy Policy Analysis at UW-Madison, will chair the Wisconsin Dairy Task Force 2.0. The Task Force is working to schedule their first meeting in August.
Farm tours of the Sternweis’ dairy operation will also be held throughout the day, along with Virtual Tours of Weber’s Farm Store, Heiman Holsteins and Nasonville Dairy at the University of Wisconsin-Extension Tent.
Bob Cropp, dairy professor emeritus at UW-Madison, said in his June “Dairy Situation and Outlook” that the market has taken a hit lately from the retaliatory effects of the U.S. decision to place tariffs on Mexico steel and aluminum and on a number of Chinese goods and products.
Quoted: “We’re going to meet a certain amount of corn acres in terms of corn silage for our dairy industry. So, those are pretty firm and they don’t move a lot in Wisconsin,” said Shawn Conley, an agronomy professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “But we’re pulling acres from our small grains, and that could be either winter wheat or oats.”
Three UW-Madison/UW-Extension state specialists will be on hand to share the latest in research that will help ensure the decisions you make help reap a profitable harvest.
Innovative technologies that support Wisconsin’s agriculture will be on display throughout the University of Wisconsin – Extension’s Education Station.
We have observed a little Septoria leaf blotch in some fields in the lower canopy. However, this pathogen will not limit yield this season, as it has not reached the flag leaf yet.
Scott Walker spoke to media after he announced $700,000 in dairy industry development grants at the University of Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research (photo caption)
UW Chancellor Rebecca Blank discussed the importance of the CDR in collaborative research and how the grant will help with the CDR’s facility upgrade. And, CDR Director, John Lucey, highlighted the impact of the CDR’s TURBO program and the WEDC’s grant.
Governor Scott Walker today visited the Center for Dairy Research (CDR) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Great Lake Cheese to award $700,000 state grants to support and promote entrepreneurship within the state’s $43 billion dairy industry.
UW-Extension will feature several interactive displays, such as safe transportation of livestock, and a UW research project designed to help dairy farmers improve management decisions.
“It is an insurance-type product,” said Mark Stephenson, an agricultural economist and director of the Center for Dairy Profitability at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in a June 8, 2018 interview on Wisconsin Public Television’s Here & Now.
As they prepared for the contest, the teammates were also practicing skills they’d soon be using on a professional basis. All four graduated in May and now have jobs that involve troubleshooting dairy operations.
Quoted: Paul Mitchell, professor of agricultural and applied economics, extension state specialist and director of the Renk AgriBusiness Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, agreed. This research “doesn’t talk about the social adjustments at all. Farmers don’t care about variability of yields, they care about the variability of income. Crop insurance is already heavily subsidized, and there are mechanisms in place to mitigate the financial impacts. If yields go down, fine, we’ll plant more corn.”
“A lot of times when you hear that term task force, it’s really, it’s a group coming together identifying those problems and developing solutions,” Kaitlyn Lance, Agriculture Educator at UW-Extension La Crosse County, explains.
Walker has appointed UW-Madison Director of Dairy Policy Analysis Mark Stephenson to chair the committee. His first task will be to assemble the rest of the team. Walker says that will include stakeholders in the dairy industry from across the state.
Walker, a Republican who faces re-election in November, said the state agriculture department will join forces with the University of Wisconsin System to create the dairy industry task force. It is designed to bring industry experts together to create solutions to help farmers, processors and related industries.
“I think we’re in a good situation today because of what was done (by the first task force) back then. I sort of hope we can be half that good,” said Mark Stephenson, director of dairy policy analysis at UW-Madison, who will lead the new group of experts dubbed by Gov. Scott Walker as Wisconsin Dairy Task Force 2.0.
“I think we’re in a good situation today because of what was done (by the first task force) back then. I sort of hope we can be half that good,” said Mark Stephenson, director of dairy policy analysis at UW-Madison, who will lead the new group of experts dubbed by Gov. Scott Walker as Wisconsin Dairy Task Force 2.0.
The task force will be chaired by Mark Stephenson, director of Dairy Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He said he wants to listen to those in the dairy industry to better understand and prioritize the biggest concerns.
The Task Force will be chaired by Mark Stephenson, who is the director of dairy policy analysis at UW-Madison. It will seek to gain consensus on issues facing the dairy industry and release recommendations for the industry going forward.
Medical students and local emergency responders are teaming up to prepare for accidents on the farm.
UW-Madison research reveals how optimum plant populations for corn silage differ from those of corn grown for grain. In recent years farmers have increased corn-plant populations at the rate of 250 to 300 plants per acre per year, Lauer said.
Quoted: The USDA only just announced how they would require manufacturers to disclose GM ingredients, though the law was enacting back in 2016, and the new rules don’t use the term “GMO” or even “GM.” Instead, they opt for “BE” or “bioengineered,” perhaps to avoid using loaded terminology. “I’m not sure how much people will know that term,” says Dominique Brossard, a communications professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison specializing in life science issues like GMOs. “I don’t think it’s going to be very easy for people to find out [which foods are genetically modified].”
At UW-Madison’s College of Agricultural & Life Sciences (CALS), the department as a whole has seen an increase in enrolled female students, from 57.2 percent in 2008 to 61.6 percent in 2017.
Keynote speaker at this year’s Twilight meeting is Dr. Jennifer Van Os, UW-Madison Extension specialist on animal welfare, who will talk about “Why millennials care about animal production practices and what it means to you.”
Quoted: Bob Cropp, professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the slowdown in milk production is good for milk prices, which have remained at low levels for the last three years thanks to an abundance of milk on the market.
Quoted: “That surprised me,” said Arlin Brannstrom, associate professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “I thought there would be some dampening in that enthusiasm for land ownership given the weak prices we’ve seen for agricultural commodities, in particular milk. But I think there’s still a lot of demand.”
Just in time for summer, dairy producers are slowly starting to reap the benefits of good domestic sales and stronger exports. That’s the assessment of Dr. Bob Cropp with the University of Wisconsin-Extension.
