The Wisconsin Rural Opportunities Foundation has been chosen as this year’s Friend of Short Course. The Wisconsin Rural Opportunities Foundation is the successor organization to the Wisconsin Rural Rehabilitation Corporation and these two organizations have provided more Short Course Scholarships than any other organization. The award was presented to Peter Dwyer of Verona, who represented the foundation’s board at the annual Short Course alumni reunion, held in Madison at Jingles.

Several CALS students were named Distinguished Junior Members at the Wisconsin Holstein Association’s Junior Holstein Convention. They were:

Matt Dorshorst of Junction City and Amy Hagenow of Reedsville were named WHA Outstanding Boy and Girl at the Wisconsin Holstein Association’s Junior Holstein Convention. The convention was held in early January at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.

Jill Makovec of Muscoda was named the 1999 WHA Princess at the Wisconsin Holstein Association’s Junior Holstein Convention.

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.

High school juniors and seniors, their parents, and other prospective students are invited to visit the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and see if the Farm and Industry Short Course will meet their needs.

Dairy farmers who have soil-erosion problems under alfalfa-corn rotations may want to watch results from a promising new system – intercropping corn and kura clover.

The Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker advisory board would like to welcome three new board members: Tom Jenny, Swiss Valley Farms; Roger Krohn, Krohn Dairy; Ken Leitner, Alto Dairy; and Randy Krahenbuhl, Prima Kase. These new members represent the Wisconsin Dairy Products Association, the Wisconsin Cheesemakers Association and the Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker? Program.

Research reported in the 24 November 1998 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences may herald a new era in biopharmaceutical production.

Interim Farm and Industry Short Courses will be offered the weeks of Jan. 4-9 and Jan. 11-15, and Jan. 23-24 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.