Outstanding producing ability was recognized in each of the six dairy breed shows at last week’s Wisconsin Junior State Fair.

Herbicide-resistant soybeans are a hit with Wisconsin farmers, but corn that’s genetically modified to resist insect pests may have passed its prime in the state, an ongoing University of Wisconsin-Madison survey has shown.

Use of bovine somatotropin on Wisconsin farms may have hit a plateau, with about one-sixth of state dairy farms currently using the technology. This adoption level is well below what was expected of this controversial technology in the debate that preceded its commercial release in 1994. According to a study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, BST adoption grew from use on 7 percent of Wisconsin’s dairy farms in 1995 to 15 percent in 1999. Survey results in 2001 show that adoption has only inched up since 1999, with 16 percent of farmers currently using BST.

Kent Weigel has joined the Department of Dairy Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as assistant professor and extension specialist in dairy cattle breeding and genetics. Weigel will also serve as genetics program administrator for the National Association of Animal Breeders, which will provide partial salary support and research funding for the position.

Scott A. Rankin has joined the Department of Food Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as assistant professor of food science and extension food processing specialist. He will develop and provide outreach programs to the dairy processing industry, especially in the area of fluid milk, ice cream, and cultured products. He will also provide support to the farmstead milk processing industry.

Katrina Forest has been selected as one of five W.M. Keck Foundation Distinguished Young Scholars in Medical Research for 2001. Forest, an assistant professor of bacteriology at the UW-Madison’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, will receive $1 million over a five-year period to study proteins involved in the common early steps of bacterial infection in humans.

Milk is more than a good source of protein, calcium, and vitamin D. It can be a good source of valuable medical foods, says a University of Wisconsin-Madison food scientist.

Students on the University of Wisconsin-Madison food product development team have smelled success for the past four years. Last year it was close enough to taste.

The application deadline has passed for the first group of Discovery Farms to be selected as part of the Wisconsin Ag Stewardship Initiative. The Discovery Farms office has received applications from more than 30 qualified farms.

Visitors to the Marshfield Agricultural Research Station’s summer field day can take a guided tour of the station’s soils. The morning soils program will feature a walk-in soil pit.