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Beef x Dairy Management Workshop

The University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension, in cooperation with the UW-Madison Animal and Dairy Science Department, will be hosting an in-person Beef X Dairy-focused workshop on August 1, 2024, in Lancaster. This workshop will provide Wisconsin’s dairy producers and cattle feeders with research-based information on nutrition, feedlot management, and carcass composition for beef x dairy crossbred cattle. Our featured speaker will be Jerad Jaborek, Beef Feedlot Systems Educator with Michigan State University, who has conducted research on beef x dairy crossbred cattle. Other topics will cover research at UW-Madison, and with cooperating farms, spanning from conception to consumption of beef x dairy crossbreds.

Topics and Speakers include:

Feeding and Managing Beef x Dairy Crossbred Cattle, Dr. Jerad Jaborek, Michigan State University
UW Feeding Trial Results, and Carcass Composition and Meat Sensory Pannel Experience with Beef x Dairy Crossbreds, Alyssa Seitz, UW-Madison project Graduate Student
On-farm Feedout Performance and Dairy Farmer Survey Results, Bill Halfman, Extension Beef Outreach Specialist, and Ryan Sterry, Extension Regional Dairy Educator
Q&A and local topic – host Extension educators

The workshop starts with registration at 5:15 PM, and the program begins at 6:00 PM. Food and refreshments will be available for pre-registered attendees.

August 1: Eckstein Building Grant County Fairgrounds, 916 E Elm St, Lancaster

Pre-registration by July 22, 2024, is required. Register at: https://go.wisc.edu/j209s7

For more local information and help with registration, please contact: Kim Kester Kimberly.kester@wisc.edu or Jackie McCarville jackie.mccarville@wisc.edu or by calling the Grant County Extension Office at 608-723-2125

Stockmanship & Stewardship is a unique two-day educational experience featuring sessions on low-stress cattle handling, Beef Quality Assurance education, facility design to best run your operation, and industry updates you won’t find anywhere else! Learn from stockmanship experts Curt Pate and Ron Gill – and get BQA certified!

Join us in Lancaster from 12:30pm on Aug. 28 through 1:15pm on Aug. 29. Full registration for both days is $75 and includes meals (Aug. 28 dinner, Aug. 29 breakfast and lunch).

Badger Dairy Insight Series

Join the University of Wisconsin-Madison – Division of Extension’s Dairy Program on the third Tuesday of each month from 11am-12 pm CST for the Badger Dairy Insight webinar series. New this year, we are switching our webinars to a monthly platform. We are featuring your local Extension Dairy Program Educators and UW Specialists as they present on current dairy topics. Take the opportunity to learn from and discuss with experts on the dates below. To learn more about Badger Dairy Insight and the Extension Dairy program please visit https://dairy.extension.wisc.edu

Leveraging digital technologies to improve management decisions in dairy farms

Dr. João Dórea is an assistant professor in Precision Agriculture and Data Analytics in the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences at UW–Madison. Dr. Dorea develops research focused on digital technology and predictive analytics to optimize farm management decisions. His research group is interested in large-scale implementation of computer vision systems, wearable sensors, infrared spectroscopy, and other sensors to monitor animals in livestock farms. Examples of application include the use of digital technologies to monitor animal behavior, growth development, social interaction, and early detection of diseases or animal welfare concerns.

Badger Dairy Insight

There is no charge to participate in the sessions, however pre-registration is required to allow access. Register online at go.wisc.edu/bdi2324

Aging Mastery Program coming in August!

Educators from UW-Madison Division of Extension and the Aging and Disability Resource Center will be running the Aging Mastery Program via Zoom. This FREE class series will be held online, via Zoom, over a period of 10 weeks on Thursdays from 11:30am – 1:00pm, beginning August 15th. Participants need to sign up by Thursday, August 8th, in order to receive the workbook.

Bridget Mouchon: (608) 776-4820, blmouchon@wisc.edu

Laura Steiner: (608) 328-9499, lsteiner@gchsd.org

Click for a printable flyer (PDF, 262KB) with more information about this program.

Updated Website for all of your Food Preservation Needs

The National Center for Home Food Preservation is thrilled to announce the launch of their new website! You can access it at https://nchfp.uga.edu. This is the place to go for the answers to all of your food preservation questions as well as advice, information, etc. If you work with canning, pickling, fermenting, freezing, drying, curing & smoking, storing, or making jams & jellies, you should definitely bookmark this site!

Extension Horticulture & Gardening Resources for You

Do you have a question relating to horticulture or gardening? Iowa County does not have a dedicated Horticulture Educator, but the UW-Madison Division of Extension does have an online form that you can fill out. Simply provide basic contact information and ask your question, and your inquiry will be responded to by an Extension staff member or a Master Gardener Volunteer in your area. You can even upload up to three photos to submit with your question!

Here is a link to the online submission page: Ask Your Gardening Question – Wisconsin Horticulture. Click for an instruction sheet that details how to fill out and submit the online form.

Extension Information Kiosk Now Available for Public Use

The Iowa County Extension Office is excited to announce the addition of an Information Kiosk to the lobby area of our office. This computer is available at no charge to the public for Extension-related use, including accessing the Extension Iowa County website, registering for 4-H or other 4H Online activities, signing up for ag programs, submitting questions to the “Ask Your Gardening Question” site, access to the UW-Madison Insect Diagnostic Lab, and much more!

We hope this will be a useful tool for those with limited or no Internet accessibility at home, allowing them to take advantage of Extension programming.

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