Some students take on the same kind of challenges they’ll face in their first jobs by entering intercollegiate competitions that pit them against teams of students from around the nation and beyond.

An intercollegiate contest that culminates in a tractor pull? OK, it’s a little outrageous. It’s also a lot of work, a lot of fun, and, not surprisingly, a big hit with students.

As food travels from farms to food processors to grocers and finally to your table, food safety is a constant concern. From farm fields to your kitchen, food is vulnerable to contamination by microscopic organisms that cause illness.

A short stroll along Linden Drive and down Henry Mall takes visitors past the sites of some of the biggest scientific achievements of the past century. Those locations are no longer anonymous, thanks to a series of 19 plaques that highlights accomplishments at the UW-Madison”s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

Dairy Day at the Marshfield Agricultural Research Station will focus on research highlights and basic techniques of raising dairy calves.

Richard J. Straub, chairman of the Department of Biological Systems Engineering at the UW-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, has been named the new director of the College’s Agricultural Research Stations. Straub replaces Dale Schlough, who will retire July 1 after 30 years with the stations.

When you hear think of an agricultural engineer, you probably think of heavy metal. You think of someone like Dick Straub, who teaches courses titled “Tractors,” “Tractor and Power Equipment,” and “Spark Ignition and Diesel Engines,” and co-authored a nationally used text, “Farm Machinery Fundamentals.”