Tag Agriculture

Protecting our Pollinators

July 12, 2013

Bees, so crucial to our food supply, are dying off at alarming rates. CALS researchers are taking a close look at everything from the microbes in their hives to the landscapes they live in to identify in what conditions bees thrive.

Diamond catalyst shows promise in breaching age-old barrier

June 30, 2013

In the world, there are a lot of small molecules people would like to get rid of, or at least convert to something useful, according to University of Wisconsin–Madison chemist Robert J. Hamers.

Industry helps create new potato breeding professorship

June 14, 2013

Advances in biotechnology such as DNA sequencing have helped speed the pace of plant breeding in many food crops, but applying these tools to the potato, which has an extra set of chromosomes, has been a bit more difficult.

Ride to Farm to support beginning dairy and livestock farmers

May 8, 2013

The Wisconsin School for Beginning Dairy and Livestock Farmers is recruiting cyclists and pledges for its 10th annual Ride to Farm fundraiser on Saturday, June 1 to support the next generation of Wisconsin farmers.

New project will adapt dairying to climate change

May 7, 2013

Agricultural scientists from across the nation are embarking on a new five-year, $10 million, USDA-funded effort to identify dairy production practices that minimize the emission of greenhouse gasses (GHG) and will be more resilient to the effects of a changing climate.

UW–Madison will dedicate refurbished Dairy Cattle Center March 9

February 22, 2013

The public is invited to help welcome the cows back to campus as the University of Wisconsin–Madison dedicates its refurbished Dairy Cattle Center on Saturday, March 9.

Value of modified corn is more in reducing losses than boosting yields

February 14, 2013

While there's no end of robust and heated conversation about genetically modified foods, there are strikingly few comprehensive studies that put a numeric value on the costs and benefits.

Isotopic Data Show Farming Arrived in Europe with Migrants

February 11, 2013

For decades, archaeologists have debated how farming spread to Stone Age Europe, setting the stage for the rise of Western civilization. Now, new data gleaned from the teeth of prehistoric farmers and the hunter-gatherers with whom they briefly overlapped shows that agriculture was introduced to Central Europe from the Near East by colonizers who brought farming technology with them.

Despite drought, heat and higher costs, state farm income was second highest ever

January 23, 2013

Despite the challenges brought on by prolonged drought and record-breaking heat, Wisconsin farmers earned $3 billion in net farm income in 2012, the second highest amount on record.

Wisconsin Agricultural Economic Outlook Forum takes place Jan. 23

January 8, 2013

Agricultural economists and commodity specialists from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and UW-Extension will talk about the financial health of Wisconsin agriculture and the outlook for the year to come at the sixth annual Wisconsin Agricultural Economic Outlook Forum in Madison on Jan. 23.

UW-led project will help growers and processors show sustainable production

October 12, 2012

UW-Madison researchers are leading a new $2.1 million, USDA-funded project designed to help vegetable producers and processors get rewarded in the marketplace for producing their products in a sustainable manner.

‘Class-grass’ concerts celebrate the culture of agriculture

October 8, 2012

The University of Wisconsin–Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems (CIAS) is cosponsoring a pair of concerts celebrating the culture of agriculture.

UW plant breeders develop an even heart-healthier oat

May 16, 2012

University of Wisconsin–Madison plant breeders have developed a new oat variety that's significantly higher in the compound that makes this grain so cardio-friendly.

Wisconsin farm income set a record last year, but high grain prices cut into dairy profits

January 25, 2012

Agriculture continued to be a bright spot in Wisconsin's economy in 2011.

Researchers outline food security, climate change road map

January 20, 2012

While last month's meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Durban, South Africa, made incremental progress toward helping farmers adapt to climate change and reduce agriculture's climate footprint, a group of international agriculture experts urges scientists to lay the groundwork for more decisive action on global food security in environmental negotiations in 2012.

Jahn to speak at White House for Morrill Act’s anniversary

January 9, 2012

The 150th anniversary of a law that changed the mission of the University of Wisconsin and gave rise to the Wisconsin Idea is being marked in 2012, and a UW–Madison faculty member and student will be participating in a White House event that coincides with the occasion.