Professor Arthur J. Maurer died Saturday, Jan. 10, 1998 at his home in Verona, Wis., of cardiac arrhythmia due to coronary artery disease. He was 55 years old.

Angry cattle ranchers ranted about

A native grass that once fed buffalo herds on the prairie may someday feed power plants in the Wisconsin countryside. Switchgrass farming could produce a new cash crop for Wisconsin farmers, while improving wildlife habitat, reducing air and water pollution, and lessening soil erosion, say University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers.

Rotational grazing may be an acceptable alternative to fencing livestock out of streams, say researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The researchers are comparing the ecological effects of grassy buffer strips, woody buffer strips, continuous grazing and rotational grazing along trout streams.

More than 1,800 students from 169 Wisconsin schools participated in the State FFA Agri-Science/Natural Resources Career Development Event on April 25 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Almost 600 three-person teams participated in the 15 contest divisions.

Soil scientist Kevin McSweeney has been named the new director of the School of Natural Resources at the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison.