Tag College of Agricultural and Life Sciences

Street markets are this professor’s laboratory

October 28, 2009

Alfonso Morales didn’t sit in a library to do research for his graduate degrees. Instead, he worked as a vendor in Chicago’s famed Maxwell Street Market, where he saw firsthand that public markets serve as fertile ground for entrepreneurs and new businesses, gathering places for communities and an entry point into the economy and society for new arrivals to the United States.

UW fields and gardens help feed people in need

October 26, 2009

Food bank workers have been lining up for tons of potatoes produced at the University of Wisconsin–Madison's agricultural research stations at Rhinelander and Hancock this fall.

UW-Madison students, faculty part of community news project

October 26, 2009

The debate over health care reform has dominated national headlines for most of the summer and fall.

Project CRYSTAL brings middle-school students to UW–Madison lab

October 22, 2009

University of Wisconsin–Madison biochemistry professor Hazel Holden and Edgewood Campus School middle-school science teacher Daniel Toomey met for the first time because Holden's daughter was in Toomey's science class.

Working with companies to safeguard foods

October 21, 2009

Goldman named CALS interim dean

October 19, 2009

Irwin Goldman, vice dean and associate dean for research in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, has been named the college's interim dean by Chancellor Biddy Martin.

Virent Energy Systems CEO to speak at Bioenergy Summit

October 15, 2009

Lee Edwards, president and chief executive officer of Madison's Virent Energy Systems, will deliver the keynote address at the second annual Wisconsin Bioenergy Summit at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28, at the Pyle Center, 702 Langdon St.

Spooner research station marks centennial

October 14, 2009

On Tuesday, Oct. 20, the University of Wisconsin–Madison's Spooner Agricultural Research Station will celebrate its 100th birthday and commemorate a milestone in the history of Wisconsin agriculture.

CALS dean to serve in USDA post

October 12, 2009

Molly Jahn, dean of the University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS), has been appointed to a senior position in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), university officials announced today (Oct. 12).

Survey: Broad support for biofuels in Wisconsin, but clear partisan differences

October 7, 2009

Although almost two-thirds of Wisconsinites support the use and production of biofuels, less than half think the government should subsidize their development, according to a new study by University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers.

Ag industry views on food, farming and Michael Pollan to be discussed

September 23, 2009

Viewpoints from the Wisconsin Farm Bureau, Organic Valley Co-op and the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection board regarding food, farming and the work of author Michael Pollan will be presented in a panel discussion on Thursday, Oct. 1.

USDA chief economist to speak at department centennial

September 16, 2009

The USDA's chief economist will speak at UW–Madison on Thursday, Sept. 24.

UW-Madison entomologist helps farmers deal with tricky crop pest

September 15, 2009

Historically, crop rotation has worked to keep the western corn rootworm in check in Wisconsin.

Research aims to cool runoff to protect coldwater streams

September 10, 2009

The ocean of stormwater that flows off of the sun-baked urban landscape is packing heat, and trout are starting to feel it.

Potato blight reveals some secrets as genome is decoded

September 9, 2009

Late blight caused the 19th century famine that sparked a wave of emigration from Ireland to the United States, but the disease has also infected tomatoes and potatoes this year. Potatoes, the world's fourth-largest food crop, were raised on 65,500 acres in Wisconsin in 2007. If a potato field is not treated with pesticide, late blight can destroy the crop in a few days.

Science and media disconnect? Maybe not, says a new study

September 9, 2009

The prevailing wisdom among many scientists and scientific organizations is that, as a rule, scientists are press shy, and those who aren't are mavericks.

Chancellor’s lecture launches Year of the Humanities

September 8, 2009

A lecture that delves into the songs and sexuality of ancient Greek drinking parties and a talk on the 1989 German revolution that brought down the Berlin Wall are just two events that will mark the Year of the Humanities on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus.

Late blight won’t affect availability or quality of Wisconsin’s potato crop

September 8, 2009

News about late blight has raised concerns among retailers, processors and other users about the availability and quality of stored potatoes in Wisconsin this winter, reports A.J. Bussan, University of Wisconsin–Madison extension vegetable specialist. But Bussan doesn't think that either quality or quantity will be a problem.

Babcock Hall Dairy Store serves up a sweet job

September 3, 2009

Imagine receiving your undergraduate degree and then immediately being put in charge of an ice cream shop that serves more than 400 customers every day and employs two dozen workers during the peak season.

Late blight pathogen spreads to state’s potato crop

August 19, 2009

The plant pathogen best known for causing the Irish potato famine - Phytophthora infestans - was just discovered in two commercial potato fields in two separate Wisconsin counties. Before this, the outbreak of late blight, as the disease is known, had been confined to tomato plants.