While developing a new agricultural industry for the dairy state, a University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher is working to address a major nutrition issue in the developing world: the scarcity of milk.

One of the isomers of conjugated linoleic acid, a group of fatty acids found in milk, is a natural regulator of the COX-2 protein, which plays a significant role in cancer and inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, according to a study published recently by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers.

A University of Wisconsin-Madison team scored 2,074 points to finish high team overall for the third year in a row at the Southern Intercollegiate Dairy […]

Richard Adamski and Valerie Dantoin of Seymour, Randall and Rosalie Geiger of Reedsville, David Heidel of Random Lake, Linda Hodorff of Eden, Roger Ripley of Briggsville, and Russell Schuler of Sheboygan Falls will receive Honorary Recognition awards Oct. 27 from the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The awards will be presented at a banquet in the Memorial Union on the UW-Madison campus.

Humans have cultivated potatoes for millennia, but there has been great controversy about the ubiquitous vegetable’s origins. This week a team led by a USDA potato taxonomist stationed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has for the first time demonstrated a single origin in southern Peru for the cultivated potato.

The strong grip and force needed to operate a manual pruner can strain arms, wrists, hands and fingers. Using an electronic pruner is more efficient than using a manual pruner, because it reduces hand fatigue and is faster. Workers who use a manual pruner hour after hour will make slower, more ragged cuts. An electronic pruner consistently produces clean cuts, and can reduce pruning time by 20 percent because it alleviates strain.

The Wisconsin 4-H team, represented by Polk County, took third place in the Youth Dairy Cattle Judging Contest – 4-H Division at the 37th All American Dairy Show Invitational, Sept. 19 at Harrisburg, Pa. Fourteen state 4-H teams competed; Minnesota 4-H won the contest.

Dairy cattle judges from the University of Wisconsin-Madison competed at the Accelerated Genetics 12th Annual Midwest Intercollegiate Dairy Cattle Judging Contest, Sept. 18 at Viroqua, Wis. The UW-Madison team placed third overall with 2,063 points, just 1 point behind second-place Iowa State University. The University of Minnesota won the contest.

Managed grazing is becoming increasingly popular with Wisconsin dairy farmers. Grazing systems reduce labor requirements and provide environmental benefits, as the cows harvest much of their own feed and spread their own manure. In addition to these benefits, a new report from UW-Madison shows that these grazing farms are economically competitive with confinement dairy operations.

One of the greatest agricultural and evolutionary puzzles is the origin of maize–and part of the answer may lie in a plot of corn on the western edge of Madison, where a hybrid crop gives new life to ancient genetic material.