Did your garden produce more than you could eat or give away last summer? Have you wondered what it would take to turn your vegetable-growing skills into a small business? The Wisconsin School for Beginning Market Gardeners, to be held Jan. 18 to Jan. 20 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, can provide some answers.

High school juniors and seniors (and their parents) who are curious about the educational opportunities at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences are invited to spend an afternoon on campus. The College is “Rolling Out the Red” Oct. 20, Oct. 26 and Oct. 27, and one Friday a month from November to July 2001.

A special cart-building workshop for market gardeners will be offered Dec. 2 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Workshop participants will each build and take home their own cart that can be used for a wide variety of tasks in the market garden or small farm, including transplanting, weeding, and harvesting. The workshop will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and costs $100. Lunch will be provided.

People interested in learning more about the Wisconsin School for Beginning Dairy Farmers, or applying for this year’s upcoming class, can visit with the coordinator, Dick Cates, at a series of public events this fall.

In survey responses, many private woodland owners say that scenery, wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities are more important to them than timber harvests. Now a University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher has come up with a method to estimate just how valuable those non-market goods are.

Whether you’re looking for winter-resistant finery for the front yard or fillings for next summer’s salad bowls, you’ll find ideas at Urban Horticulture Field Day, Saturday, Aug. 19 from noon to 5 p.m. at the West Madison Agricultural Research Station.

The red carpet will be out for Urban Horticulture Field Day Aug. 19, but wanderers are welcome all summer long at the West Madison Agricultural Research Station’s gardens. The gardens are open to the public from dawn to dusk, 7 days a week. Self-guided tour booklets are available at the mailbox near the entrance to the Trial Gardens or in the station headquarters office. Station staff are usually available weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to answer questions regarding the plants.

The 7th annual twilight tour for plant lovers will be held at the Hancock Agricultural Research Station Monday, Aug. 14.

The Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has announced the appointment of five people to its Citizens Advisory Council. The new members will help set the agenda for Wisconsin research on food production, marketing, and distribution systems that are profitable, environmentally friendly, and good for local communities.

Some Wisconsin farmers harvest red clover three times during the summer, as if it were alfalfa; others take two cuts that are often made too late for optimal forage quality. University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers say neither of those approaches is best.