Kent Weigel, a dairy geneticist and extension genetics specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has won the Agway, Inc. Young Scientist Award for 2003 and the 2003 ADSA Foundation Dairy Production Award. Weigel received the awards during the awards ceremony at the ADSA annual meeting in Phoenix.

A partnership between UW-Madison researchers, state potato growers, the World Wildlife Fund and the International Crane Foundation that has reduced industry reliance on toxic pesticides and enhanced farm profitability has been recognized with the United States Department of Agriculture’s prestigious Secretary’s Honor Award for Maintaining and Enhancing the Nation’s Natural Resources and Environment.

Scouring the genome of a wild Mexican potato, scientists have discovered a gene that protects potatoes against late blight, the devastating disease that caused the Irish potato famine.

Twelve senior dairy judging teams and nine individuals from across the state will travel to the Wisconsin State Fair Aug. 6 to compete for the State 4-H Dairy Judging Champion title and the opportunity to move on to national-level competition. The teams and individuals are selected from four statewide district judging contests as part of the 4-H Area Animal Science Days program. Youth judge eight classes of dairy cows and heifers at each contest; in addition, seniors give reasons and juniors answer conformation-related questions.

A pin-head-sized parasitic wasp can find, parasitize and kill the soybean aphid, College entomologists have found.

Larry Satter”s career in dairy research spans five decades – years that have seen cow performance skyrocket and dairy farm numbers crash. Wisconsin had more than 100,000 dairy farms when Satter arrived at the UW-Madison in 1960. Today fewer than 17,000 remain.

Larry D. Satter of the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison will retire July 3, 2003, following a 39-year career in dairy cattle nutrition.

Six students interested in grass-based dairy farming will receive scholarships and attend on-farm internships through the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems’ Wisconsin School for Beginning Dairy Farmers this year.

Study examines child labor and the importance of women on farms.

More than 115 youth from three states attended the fifth annual Badger Dairy Camp held on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus June 12-14. At Dairy Camp, young people between 12 and 18 received a jump-start on their summer dairy project activities, learning about dairy fitting, showmanship, and judging while developing life skills in self-confidence, teamwork and sportsmanship.