1. Planting a tradition: UW-River Falls team wins National Forage Bowl Competition

    Photo of a team of UW-River Falls students and their coach who recently placed first in the National Forage Bowl Competition in Mobile, Ala. Left to right are Tucker Lundquist, Hannah Schull, Coach Yoana Newman, Ryan Bottema and Jace Heiman. UW-River Falls teams have won the last four Forage Bowl competitions they have competed in. Contributed photo.

    Victory marks fourth successive win, showcases strength of crop science, horticulture programs When it comes to all things big and small in forage production and management, University of Wisconsin-River Falls students definitely know their subject well. A team of four UW-River Falls students placed first in the National Forage Bowl Competition, an event in conjunction with […]

  2. UW-River Falls Institute Helps Students Hit the Ground Running

    Photo of El Bartho (right) and Myah Eliason documenting curly leaf pondweed, an invasive aquatic species.

    For UW-Stout senior El Bartho, interning at the UW-River Falls Ecological Restoration Institute (ERI) was the perfect way to determine what she wants to do after graduation. The Environmental Science major interned as a conservation technician in summer 2023, working on a pilot project with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) St. Croix Wetland […]

  3. UW-River Falls to host Science Olympiad competition on Jan. 20

    Photo: About 900 students from Wisconsin, Minnesota and other Midwestern states will compete in the Science Olympiad event at UW-River Falls on Saturday, Jan. 20. The event is affiliated with the national Science Olympiad organization and is designed to increase interest in science and recognize scientific achievement. UWRF file photo.

    Event to include about 900 high schoolers from across the Midwest When about 900 high school students on 58 teams from Wisconsin, Minnesota and elsewhere across the Midwest convene at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls on Saturday, Jan. 20, they will exhibit their knowledge of and affinity for all things science. Those students will take […]

  4. Finding his place: UW-River Falls student praises campus atmosphere for helping him find success

    Photo of UW-River Falls student Blake Zak performing at the Scholarship Recognition Event and Donor Social Oct 8, 2023. The event, organized by University Advancement, occurs annually and is designed to bring together scholarship donors and scholarship recipients

    Blake Zak never intended to go to college, never intended to make his way to the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. After graduating from high school in Hastings, Minn., Zak, a musician, was content to play music on weekends at bars and restaurants while working and leading worship services at his hometown Lutheran church. “I didn’t […]

  5. A call to service: UW-River Falls veterans reflect on their time in the military

    Photo of Gage McClean-Coyer, who works refueling aircraft and maintaining fuel storage facilities in the United Arab Emirates during a deployment in 2012. McClean-Coyer served in the U.S. Air Force from 2010-13. Today McClean-Coyer attends UW-River Falls, where he is set to graduate with a master’s degree in school counseling in December. Contributed photo.

    Military tenures helped prepare for life as students, afterward, veterans say As Gage McClean-Coyer reflects on the meaning of Veterans Day, he is struck by a mix of emotions. On Nov. 11 – Veterans Day – McClean-Coyer, who is set to graduate with a master’s degree in school counseling from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls […]

  6. UW-River Falls celebrates opening of remodeled campus dairy plant

    Photo of UW-River Falls officials and agriculture business leaders celebrating the grand opening Friday of the Wuethrich Family/Grassland Dairy Center of Excellence, a $9 million facility that will provide students and dairy employees high-tech, hands-on training opportunities. UWRF photo.

    Wuethrich Family/Grassland Dairy Center of Excellence will boost student learning, business opportunities During a celebratory ribbon cutting and with each tour of the rebuilt Wuethrich Family/Grassland Dairy Center of Excellence at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls on Oct. 20, Michelle Farner felt emotions welling inside her. Gratitude. Accomplishment. Relief. Emotions were to be expected after […]

  7. UW-River Falls students begin training assistance dogs

    Photo of UW-River Falls student Grace Johnson showing Copper, a dog she will help train to be an assistance animal, her open hand after feeding him a treat after Copper and other dogs were dropped off at UWRF Sept. 14. Johnson is one of 21 students who will work with 10 assistance dogs on campus as part of the new Falcon FETCH (Fostering Education Through Campus Hosting) program. UWRF photo.

    Program involves living with, caring for canines on campus The 21 University of Wisconsin-River Falls students gathered outside the Lydecker Living Learning Center on Sept. 14 come from different places and have diverse future plans. They had gathered because of one commonality: their affinity for dogs. In fact, these students like dogs so much that […]

  8. Rebuilding the UW-River Falls dairy pilot plant one piece at a time

    Photo of a worker helping finish moving a new pasteurizer into the dairy pilot plant at UW-River Falls. The new equipment is a key part of the remodeled Wuethrich Family/Grassland Dairy Center of Excellence that could open as soon as this fall. UWRF photo.

    Arrival of new pasteurizer latest sign that on-campus dairy plant is getting closer to completion Two forklifts slowly lowered a large, shiny metallic piece of equipment from a semi-truck trailer onto a dolly below before several workers pushed and pulled the item into a room in the Agricultural Science building at the University of Wisconsin-River […]

  9. Getting to the root of stress: UW-River Falls students win national award

    Photo of UW-River Falls students, from left, Rafael Larosiliere, Anna Euerle, Kate Petersen, Yihong Deng, and Ashley Gruman, who won first place in a national contest by developing a dairy-based product aimed at helping ease people’s anxiety. The group won the Dairy Management Inc. New Product Competition and received the award in Chicago. Contributed photo.

    A team of University of Wisconsin-River Falls students has turned a challenging project into a first-place national award by developing a dairy-based product aimed at helping ease people’s anxiety. Students Yihong Deng, Ashley Gruman, Rafael Larosiliere, Kate Petersen and Anna Euerle won the honor as part of the Dairy Management Inc. New Product Competition that challenged students […]

  10. Meat-ing a need: UW-River Falls program trains animal processors

    Photo of Humane Handling Institute Program Manager Ashlynn Kirk listening to Brandon Clare, owner of JM Watkins meat processing plant in Plum City, as they discuss details of ensuring compliance with federal regulations. Kirk helped Clare individualize a humane handling plan for his plant. UWRF photo.

    Students working in the University of Wisconsin-River Falls Meat Processing Plant had done everything they were supposed to do, had taken every step needed to ensure that animals awaiting processing were as calm as possible. Then the unexpected happened during the processing of beef cattle in the spring. A steer escaped its holding area after […]