1. UW-Stevens Point faculty awarded UW Innovation Grant for research on improving Wisconsin soils

    Photo of Associate Professors Brian Barringer and Ann Impullitti (left) working with UW-Stevens Point students on researching how hemp plants can be used to remove synthetic materials from soil.

    Five faculty members at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and a collaborator at UW-Madison were awarded one of three 2023 Universities of Wisconsin Innovation Grants for research on phytoremediation, the removal of synthetic materials from soil using living plants. The group’s proposal, Phytoremediation of PFAS in Wisconsin Soils using Hemp and Alfalfa, was funded $175,000, […]

  2. 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 […]

  3. UW-River Falls professor awarded federal grants to study animal welfare

    Photo of Barron County dairy farmer Cheyenne Christianson interacting with his dairy herd. Christianson’s farm has been a research site for federally funded work being conducted by UW-River Falls faculty member Kate Creutzinger to study cows and calves. UWRF photo.

    Research focuses on living conditions of calves and their health outcomes A Holstein calf just a few weeks old lay next to its mother on a late fall day in a pasture at Cheyenne Christianson’s Barron County farm, seemingly content and healthy. A moment later the young calf stood up and ambled a short distance. […]

  4. UWM: Storytelling as a research method offers insights into society’s needs

    Photo of Jessie Thompson (right) talking with a shopper as part of the Story Cart Project this summer. UW-Milwaukee graduate students traveled with a mobile "story cart" to 27 Milwaukee locations to question strangers about food to collect stories about how people connect through food. (Photo courtesy of the Center for 21st Century Studies)

    Buying or obtaining groceries and preparing food may sound like mundane tasks, but collecting information on how people seek and connect with food can actually foster understanding and help us communicate in a polarized world, said Nicole Welk-Joerger. Welk-Joerger, former deputy director of UWM’s Center for 21st Century Studies, directed the center’s Story Cart Project, in which UWM […]

  5. Mathematics in motion: UWL mathematical models answer farmers’ questions about infectious disease

    Photo of David Elzinga, UW-La Crosse assistant professor of mathematics and statistics, who combines approaches from Mathematics, Statistics, and Data Science to address scientific questions based on biological topics. (Jen Towner, UWL University Marketing & Communications)

    David Elzinga has a history of using math to help animals survive. From moose suffering from too many ticks to bats with fungal infections, Elzinga has developed mathematical models to answer a plethora of questions biologists have about the spread of disease. Elzinga, a UW-La Crosse assistant professor of Mathematics & Statistics, recently presented “Baa-ttling […]

  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. 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 […]

  8. Transformational gift to UW-River Falls for dairy plant renovation establishes Wuethrich Family/Grassland Dairy Center of Excellence

    Photo of Chancellor Maria Gallo sharing applause with Trevor Wuethrich, Grassland Dairy Products, Inc. president, during a special gathering Thursday morning in the UWRF Dairy Pilot Plant.

    Contribution brings total Wuethrich-Grassland commitment to $1 million Following a transformational gift, the University of Wisconsin-River Falls Dairy Pilot Plant will now be known as the Wuethrich Family/Grassland Dairy Center of Excellence. The Wuethrich Family Foundation and Grassland Dairy Products, Inc., of Greenwood, dairy industry leaders and longtime UWRF strategic partners, announced today an additional […]

  9. UW-Eau Claire research team works with Eau Claire Downtown Farmers Market to address food insecurity

    Photo of Eau Claire Farmers Market. A UW-Eau Claire research team working with the Eau Claire Downtown Farmers Market on a program that helps community members who are food insecure buy more fruits and vegetables. Dr. Eric Jamelske, professor of economics, leads the ongoing project, which has included dozens of Blugolds as researchers and/or volunteers. (Photo by Shane Opatz)

    As a college student living on his own for the first time, Luke Plagens already was figuring out that it’s hard to eat healthy on a small budget. However, it’s his work as a student researcher and community volunteer at a local farmers market that is helping the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire sophomore understand just […]

  10. A Research Network at the Nexus of Water and Agriculture

    Photo of students meeting with farmers during the Ag-Water Nexus field trip.

    Wisconsin’s abundant rivers, lakes and streams helped the state become an agricultural leader. Yet agricultural processes, including irrigation and pesticide use, also greatly impact our state’s water quality and quantity. One of the biggest challenges facing Wisconsin is determining how to maintain the state’s agricultural prominence while also ensuring plenty of safe water for drinking, […]