Ian Coxhead considers himself an environmentalist, but he wasn’t happy with the environmentalists he saw on the news from the World Trade Organization talks in Seattle.

Dennis J. Zeloski of Lake Mills, a leader of Wisconsin’s potato and vegetable industry for more than 30 years, will receive an Honorary Recognition Award from the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Tom Cox, Yong Zhu and Jean-Paul Chavas of the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics have recently released the final report to a three-year study looking at the how the GATT URA will affect the U.S. and world dairy sectors.

Grass-based dairy economics, start-up strategies for young farmers, breeding to select a good pasture cow, and perspectives of internationally known grass-based farmers will highlight the seventh annual Wisconsin Grazing Conference. Slated for Friday, Feb. 12, and Saturday, Feb. 13, the conference will be held at the Marriott Madison West Convention Center in Middleton. The event is sponsored and organized by GrassWorks, Inc., a non-profit organization that facilitates information exchanges among grass farmers.

Kenneth H. Parsons, a life-long student of institutional economics and a pioneer in the study of economic development, died in Madison, Wis. Wednesday, Oct. 21, after a short illness at the age of 95. The University of Wisconsin-Madison economist was an international expert on land tenure and agrarian reform.

Patrick J. Luby has been selected to receive Honorary Recognition by the UW-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences for his leadership in the animal agriculture industry and many contributions to the Madison community and University.

At the Gamma Sigma Delta banquet April 23, the following people received awards for excellence in teaching, research, advising and extension/outreach:

Shock waves from the Asian economic crisis will ripple through Wisconsin’s farm economy, with corn and soybean producers feeling the worst effects during 1998 and 1999, according to a University of Wisconsin-Madison economist. Wisconsin’s dairy industry won’t be hit nearly as hard as grain and livestock producers, according to William Dobson, an agricultural economist at UW-Madison’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

Critics charge that the New Zealand Dairy Board distorts trade, hurts U.S. milk producers, and uses its monopoly exporting status to disadvantage its competitors. However, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor says that many of these complaints are based on questionable assertions regarding the board and its practices.

The United States, Australia and New Zealand will move to displace Europe in the world trade of dairy products in the next 10 years, says William Dobson, an agricultural economist at UW-Madison’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.