The eighth annual Great Lakes Dairy Sheep Symposium will be held on the Cornell University campus in Ithaca, N.Y., Nov. 7-9. Five of the previous seven symposia have been held in Wisconsin, which leads the nation in dairy sheep production.

On Saturday, Sept. 14, the Wisconsin Agricultural and Life Sciences Alumni Association will hold its 27th annual Football Fire-Up at the West Madison Research Station. The Fire-Up will start at 8 a.m. and run to 10:15 a.m.

Twelve dairy youth received James W. Crowley Leadership Awards at the recent Wisconsin State Fair. These youth were rewarded for their outstanding dairy project work. Each award winner received a plaque provided by the James W. Crowley Dairy Management and Extension Fund.

A new technique to identify types of bentgrass will help golf courses reduce both money spent on pesticides and the environmental concerns associated with chemical usage, according to a University of Wisconsin-Madison plant scientist. The new method will aid breeders as they select material for disease-resistant types of the turfgrass.

The winning messages in the Integrated Pest Management jingle contest have been chosen. This year’s winners are Diane Harvey, DeForest (winner in two categories); Grace Mize, Highland; and Martha Anderson, Madison.

It’s still not too late to purchase tickets for the Wisconsin 4-H Calf Raffle. Raffle tickets cost $5 each with ten tickets per book. 4-H youth who sell the tickets receive one free raffle ticket for every ten they sell. The drawing for the winning ticket will be held at World Dairy Expo, Sunday, Oct. 6.

Discovery Farms is pleased to announce the addition of Bill Pearson to its staff. Pearson will serve as an on-farm research coordinator, working with the privately owned network of Discovery Farms to organize and assist on research and special projects. Pearson’s office is located at UW-Stevens Point.

This year’s Soil and Water Conservation Society Fall Tour will feature native plants for working landscapes. The tour will take place in Marquette County Friday, Sept. 6th from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

A new youth-oriented video on dairy show ethics entitled “The Rules Are Black And White – And They Apply To All Breeds” has been developed and released by video executive producer Ted Halbach, University of Wisconsin-Madison extension dairy youth specialist, and writer-producer-host, Dr. Jeff Goodwin at the University of Idaho.

County dairy exhibitors at last week’s Wisconsin Junior State Fair Dairy Show incorporated educational displays to inform urban consumers about the dairy industry. The educational displays were part of each county’s dairy cattle exhibit at the fair.