During the 56th annual UW-Extension Cow College’s second session, Dr. John Goeser and Dr. Randy Shaver, from the UW-Madison Dairy Science Department, reviewed lab results from 2017 forage and grain, and offered strategies to help producers get the most milk from their feed.
John Gaska, Senior Research Agronomist with the ‘Cool Bean’ project at UW-Madison, spoke about the benefits of including a small grain cover crop in your corn and bean rotation. Most of Gaska’s research has been conducted on winter wheat and oat cover crops, with some focus on barley and triticale as well.
The opening session featured Dr. Kent Weigel, head of the UW-Madison Dairy Science Department, and dairy specialist Dr. Victor Cabrera.
Weigel reported on recent studies that examined the benefits of using genomic (DNA) analysis as a tool to improve dairy herd health and productivity.
In the future, I suggest you only buy kiln-dried stickers, as they will be straight and the correct thickness. Many people today also get a profiled sticker that has grooves on the faces to help drying where the sticker contact the lumber.Gene Wengert, “The Wood Doctor” has been training people in efficient use of wood for 35 years. He is extension specialist emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Two years ago, employees with University of Wisconsin-Extension and UW-Madison created the Wisconsin Fruit Website (fruit.wisc.edu). Previously there were many fruit-related UW publications online, but they weren’t easy to find. This website brought together publications about growing fruit from UW-Extension as well as a number of other universities with similar climates.
The top three priorities on which the future University of Wisconsin-Extension communities educator in Jefferson County should focus were identified during a visioning session Thursday.
Jerry Clark, agriculture agent-department head for the Chippewa County UW-Extension office, said two major factors are related to this decline. One is that the industry is seeing a generational shift, he said, with the average age of a farmer climbing.
Karl Green, an assistant professor with the UW Extension service, studied assessments and found that the further the assessment ratio gets from 100 percent, the greater the variance among homes. So some homes might be assessed at 90 percent of their market rate while others at just 60 percent.
“Young adults aren’t necessarily moving to Wisconsin, they’re going to move to a particular community in Wisconsin,” said Randy Stoecker, a sociologist who works with the University of Wisconsin-Extension Center for Community and Economic Development. The questions become very local, he said.
Loretta Ortiz-Ribbing, Dodge and Fond du lac County’s UW-Extension soils and crops agent, says “Research dollars are important for developing better ways to do things but there also has to be an education arm that allows Extension agents to deliver it to the farmers.”
In a speech to the American Farm Bureau, President Trump touted his tax plan as being a boon to rural America and signed signed two bills aimed at providing high-speed broadband to these communities. But, internet access isn’t the only issue hindering rural communities. Our guest, Tessa Conroy of University of Wisconsin-Extension, joins us to talk about the policies that impact rural communities.
Agriculture agent Mark Hagedorn with UW-Extension in Eau Claire says since it’s not as profitable for dairy farms to operate on a small scale so the likelihood is they’ll continue to decline.
“We’ve got 8,839 dairies in the state versus a year ago we had 9,520. So you’re losing a herd or two a day on average,” Hagedorn explained.
The bit of extra downtime that winter brings provides an opportunity to focus on family, community and for the New Year’s resolution-makers, on healthy living and eating.
A big part of our nation’s food system rests on these aging shoulders, but young farmers are out there, some waiting to take over the family farm business and others working (or struggling) to gain a foothold in the industry.
The openings for both jobs are expected to be posted within days, and with luck and strong candidates, Hoffman said, the hope is to have someone in place for each position by April.
The first two sessions will be held at the FVTC Regional Center on Hwy 22/45 just south of Clintonville directly across the road from Fleet Farm. The final program includes several farm tours.
The Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance is sponsoring the initiative with support from UW-Madison, UW-Extension and the Department of Natural Resources.
A UW-Extension educator says an alternative for quality, mid-range housing could be come popular in the Northwoods where that type of housing isn’t in large supply.
Oneida County Extension’s Myles Alexander describes a growing trend called a Community Land Trust.
Oneida County UW-Extension Family Living educator Sara Richie says the best way to approach the spending season is to set aside money at other times to use at this time. But she says that isn’t always possible…
“Each of the 2017 Wisconsin 4-H Hall of Fame laureates has transformed the lives of children and families with whom they’ve worked and the communities in which they’ve lived,” says John de Montmollin, interim co-program director of Wisconsin 4-H Youth Development.
“I am deeply concerned that housing WPR and WPT in the Office of the President will inherently create a chilling effect of the free exchanges of ideas that we have come to expect in public broadcasting in Wisconsin,” Miller wrote to Cross in a Nov. 1 letter.
Over the last 100 years, Cooperative Extension has been a bridge between University of Wisconsin institutions and county residents. Educational programs have grown with the county and kept current in meeting public needs.
Breads and cakes baked in glass jars and then sealed with canning lids are not safe to eat.
Meyer is most proud of her work when she has been able to disseminate this information to the community, and then the public latches onto it and makes it their own like the Strengthening Families program.
For those with ash trees in their yards, there are pesticides available to deter the beetles from infesting them and mitigate damage for those that already have minor infections.
“There are some preventative treatments that can be done for ash trees,” said Erin LaFaive, horticulture educator for the UW-Extension office in Eau Claire County.
In June of 2008 the Wisconsin Dells and Baraboo area were hit with storms that destroyed homes, disrupted the area’s tourism industry and caused Lake Delton to empty out into the Wisconsin River.
Ballmer is a junior at UW-Madison, where she is majoring in dairy science with an agricultural education emphasis. She is a 2015 alumnus of Clinton High School and the Clinton FFA Chapter.
She said she hopes to earn a master’s degree in agricultural education after receiving her undergraduate degree in dairy science. She hopes to use her training to become an agriculture educator and FFA adviser or an Extension 4-H and youth development educator.
“Some people set aside a little money out of every paycheck or shop sales all year to get ready for the holidays,” said Karen Ehle-Traastad, UW-Extension Family Living Educator in Vernon County. “If the holidays have snuck up on you, there are steps to take now to prepare for the season and stay within budget.”
Doug Reinemann, chairman of the UW-Madison Department of Biological Systems Engineering, has been named College of Agricultural and Life Sciences associate dean for Extension and outreach.
In this role, Reinemann will be in charge of the organization, content and effectiveness of the college’s Extension and outreach programs, as well as aligning CALS programs with those of UW-Extension Cooperative Extension.
