University of Wisconsin-Madison economists and commodity specialists will review the financial condition of the state’s farm sector and the outlook for agricultural commodities important to the state at the second annual Agricultural Economic Outlook Forum on Jan. 16.

To most people, the sight of oversized, spindly-legged insects perched on a hallway wall might cause a case of the shivers. But around Russell Laboratories, the home of UW-Madison’s entomology department, they’re creating a welcome buzz.

Not so long ago, an internship ranked as a rare plum on a student’s resume. Not anymore. According to a recent, 43 percent of students who graduated from the college last spring had completed at least one internship before earning their degrees.

Kira McCoy spent two weeks in July bicycling the length and breadth of Madison, getting plenty of sun and exercise and a good look at a community where she may attend college. But those were the perks, not the mission. Her job was to collect data about bike racks and to help UW-Madison researchers demonstrate how geographic information systems (GIS) can be deployed in efforts to build a healthier urban environment.

Fall at the Union Terrace means crisp blue skies and crimson leaves scattered among the brightly colored tables and chairs–and, for a short while on Oct. 4–the chance to see a flash of orange bobbing in Lake Mendota as the UW-Madison’s Fourth annual Giant Pumpkin Regatta alongside the Memorial Union Terrace.

As the southern pine beetle moves through the forest boring tunnels inside the bark of trees, it brings with it both a helper and a competitor. The helper is a fungus that the insect plants inside the tunnels as food for its young. But also riding along is a tiny, hitchhiking mite, which likewise carries a fungus for feeding its own larvae.

Ted Halbach, outreach specialist and dairy judging coach at the University of Wisconsin-Madison dairy science department, has been appointed as the new director of the university”s Farm and Industry Short Course, a 17-week educational program that prepares students for careers in agriculture and related fields.

CALS will present its Honorary Recognition Award to James Behnke, Linda Bochert, Peter Giacomini, and Richard Renk. Robert Cropp will receive the Distinguished Service Award.

On the day before World Food Day, a group of agricultural leaders will gather to discuss how technology can be harnessed to meet the world’s need for food, fiber and fuel while reducing their industry’s carbon footprint.

To help advance that science – and train the next generation of fermentation experts – MillerCoors has donated a complete set of pilot-scale brewing equipment to the University of Wisconsin-Madison bacteriology department