Which is more difficult: growing a great crop of heirloom tomatoes, or pricing and selling them in order to make a profit? How do you control the flea beetles in the cabbage and the cucumber beetles in the melons? How do you build fertile soil using organic methods? How much can be earned from an acre of fresh vegetables, and how hard will you have to work to grow and sell them? These and many other issues will be front and center at the 2006 Wisconsin School for Beginning Market Growers.

The tree guard zipper is a hand tool that allows for quick and easy installation and removal of the corrugated plastic tree guards often used to protect young trees from deer and other types of trunk damage. In a field trial by the Healthy Farmers, Healthy Profits Project, the tree guard zipper was 37 percent faster at installing the guards and 27 percent faster at removing them than installing and removing by hand.

Scientists have obtained a detailed map of one of biology’s most important light detectors, a protein found in many species across life’s plant, fungal, and bacterial kingdoms.

Entries are due Jan. 10 for the 2006 Wisconsin 4-H Dairy Quiz Bowl competition. The event will be held Saturday, Feb. 4 at the Portage High School in Portage, Wis., starting at 9:45 a.m.

Too much phosphorus fed to dairy cows creates pollution, costs producers, and provides no benefit to cows. Likewise for too much protein in dairy diets, says a University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher. Keeping tabs on milk urea nitrogen can help farmers optimize the amount of protein they feed – with benefits for both the bottom line and the environment, says Michel Wattiaux, a dairy nutritionist at the UW-Madison’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison team placed first in Jerseys and third overall in the Intercollegiate Dairy Cattle Judging Contest at the 2005 North American International Livestock Exposition held Nov. 6 at Louisville, Ky.

The Wisconsin 4-H team was High Team Overall among the 23 4-H and FFA youth teams competing in the Youth Dairy Cattle Judging Contest at the 2005 North American International Livestock Exposition, held Nov. 6 at Louisville, Ky. The Wisconsin 4-Hers scored 1,777 points – 73 points ahead of second place Missouri 4-H. This is Wisconsin 4-H’s eighth contest win in the 23-year history of the event – more high team finishes than any other state.

Managerial projects are one way to match kids to calves, according to Ted Halbach, UW-Madison extension youth specialist. He sees managerial agreements as one of the keys to maintain youth involvement in the 4-H dairy project. To encourage managerial dairy projects, Wisconsin 4-H has released an updated Dairy Managerial Project Agreement, which spells out the responsibilities of those involved in the lease and manages liability issues related to the agreement.

Interim Farm and Industry Short Courses will be offered during the weeks of Jan. 3-6 and Jan. 9-13 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The application deadline is Dec. 20. Course fees include registration and instructional materials; lodging and meals are not included. For registration forms or information on parking and lodging, call CALS Outreach Services, (608) 263-1672. For more information on course content, call Rick Daluge, (608) 262-3127.

The College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison invites prospective students, including high school juniors and seniors, and their parents to preview what the Farm and Industry Short Course has to offer.