College of Agricultural and Life Sciences

Projects

• Wisconsin School for Beginning Dairy and Livestock Farmers (WSBDF)

  The Wisconsin School for Beginning Dairy & Livestock Farmers (WSBDF) provides classroom and field experience, mentoring and farm internships to young...

• Tribal Youth Science Media Camp

  The Tribal Youth Science Media Camp provides instruction to Native American middle and high school children in new media, including digital video, pod...

• Discovery Farms Program

  For over 12 years, UW-Discovery Farms has worked with Wisconsin farmers to identify the water quality impacts of different farming systems and setting...

• Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker Program

  The Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker® Program was established as an advanced education program for experienced cheesemakers through joint sponsorship with...

• Central Wisconsin Potato Field Day

  This event brings students, researchers, farmers, agribusiness leaders and state representatives together to learn about the valuable work taking plac...

• Dairy Cattle Nutrition & Forage Utilization

  Dairy Cattle Nutrition & Forage Utilization provides research and outreach programs on applied dairy cattle nutrition, with emphasis on forage utiliza...

• Climate Change in the Great Lakes Region

  UW-Madison Professor Richard Lindroth conducted research, and continues to do public education and outreach (to government agencies, schools and faith...

• Virtual Museum of Minerals & Molecules

  Virtual Museum of Minerals & Molecules v. 3 is an online "virtual museum" of minerals and molecules in the environment brought together by UW-Madison....

• Custom Applicator Program (CAP)

  Representatives of UW-Madison's Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program, Wisconsin Crop Production Association (WCPA), and Fox Valley Technical Colle...

• Land Arch. 365: Planting Design

  Landscape Architecture 365: Planting Design class projects involve working with Madison area nonprofits, municipalities and families. Attempts are ma...

• Research on Native Grassland Systems in Wisconsin

  The Research on Native Grassland Systems in Wisconsin project provides research conducted on the restoration, management and protection of natural sys...

• Improving the Microbiological Safety of Foods

  The primary objective of the Food Research Institute's (FRI) laboratory is to identify factors to control disease-causing bacteria in foods and to ser...

• Madison-Area Consensus Conference on Nanotechnology

  With Maria Powell and students in an undergraduate Integrated Liberal Studies course, UW-Madison Professor Daniel Kleinman organized a three-day citiz...

• Turfgrass Diagnostic Lab

  The Turfgrass Diagnostic Lab provides assistance to professional and non-professional (i.e. homeowner) turfgrass managers to produce high-quality turf...

• SnapPlus Crop Nutrient Management Planning Software

  SnapPlus is a software package allowing agronomists and farmers anywhere in the state to prepare a multi-year, field-by-field plan for applying fertil...

• Wisconsin Phosphorus Index

  The Wisconsin Phosphorus (P) Index (WPI) is a planning tool for managing cropland and pastureland. It uses information that is readily available to fa...

• Hancock Agricultural Research Station

  The Hancock Agricultural Research Station is located in Waushara County in the part of Wisconsin known as the "Golden Sands." The station's sandy soi...

• Kemp Natural Resources Station

  UW-Madison's Kemp Natural Resources Station is an off-campus research, teaching and outreach facility dedicated to environmental stewardship and the s...

• Lancaster Agricultural Research Station

  The Lancaster Agricultural Research Station is located in Grant County on hills and valleys that are typical of southwest Wisconsin, an area of the st...

• Peninsular Research Station

  Located on the Door County Peninsula just north of Sturgeon Bay, the Peninsular Research Station offers a unique set of growing conditions for a wide...

• Spooner Agricultural Research Station

  As the UW-Madison's first permanent outlying research station, the Spooner Agricultural Research Station gave university scientists a place to work ou...

• West Madison Agricultural Research Station

  The West Madison Agricultural Research Station is located on the western edge of the city of Madison, approximately eight miles from the UW-Madison Ca...

• Centralized Greenhouse System

  The College of Agricultural and Life Sciences operates several research and instructional greenhouses under a centralized management system, administe...

• Agriculture Financial Advisor (AgFA)

  Agriculture Financial Advisor (AgFA) is computerized financial management system developed at the UW-Madison Center for Dairy Profitability that serve...

• Agriculture Accounting and Information System (AAIMS)

  AAIMS is a stand-alone transparent double entry accounting program developed at the UW-Madison Center for Dairy Profitability that allows for the conc...

• The Center for Dairy Research

  The Center for Dairy Research (CDR) is a leader in innovative dairy research, processing, education and product development and application that focus...

• Understanding Dairy Markets

  The "Understanding Dairy Markets" Web site was developed by the Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research and the Department of Agricultural and Applied Eco...

• Risk Communication in action

  Current research includes ongoing surveys about public attitudes toward gene editing, nanotechnology, nuclear energy, synthetic biology, and other eme...

• Wisconsin Healthy Grown Project

  The Wisconsin “Healthy Grown” program works to advance growers’ use of biointensive Integrated Pest Management (IPM) systems, efficiently manage input...

• Equine Reproductive Management of Mares and Stallions

  For stallions, this project provides training in breeding, soundness exams, the collection of semen and its evaluation, and methods for preservation...

• Variety Test Results: Corn, Soybeans, Alfalfa, Small Grains

  The mission of this project is to develop relevant corn management programs that address needs expressed by Wisconsin farmers. Although farmers are t...

• Study on the Economic Impact of Tax and Spending Limits on Local Governments

  Fairly or not, Wisconsin has been branded as a high-tax state. This has spurred elected officials to impose tax and spending limits on local governme...

• Manduca: Using Insects in the Classroom

  Manduca: Using Insects in the Classroom is an online resource for teachers wishing to lead an inquiry-based unit on the life cycle of the Manduca sext...

• Virtual Microbiology Manual

  This online microbiology laboratory manual was developed by a team of UW-Madison professors, headed by Timothy Paustian. The Virtual Microbiology Text...

• Management Assessment Center

  The Wisconsin Assessment Center for Dairy Farm Owners/Managers was developed in 2003-2004 through a USDA grant which was part of the University of Wis...

• J. F. Crow Institute for the Study of Evolution (formerly Evolution Initiative)

  The Crow Institute was launched in 2010 in honor of the world-renowned UW-Madison geneticist, James Crow. The Institute provides training opportunitie...

• Biocore Prairie Bird Observatory for bird banding

  The Bird Observatory meets Saturday mornings in good weather to net and band birds. Its function is to collect data on bird communities in restored t...

• Wisconsin Runoff Risk Advisory Forecast

  The Runoff Risk Advisory Forecast (RRAF) is a website for livestock farmers and manure haulers on days they are considering applying manure. It displa...

• Biosolids safety research

  Research is being conducted in coordination with the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District to investigate the pathogen destruction and thus microbial...

• A model for genetics in the classroom

  Our program is testing and deploying a new version of Wisconsin Fast Plants that was specifically created to provide students and teachers with the op...

• Plant Disease Diagnostics Clinic

  The University of Wisconsin-Madison/Extension Plant Disease Diagnostics Clinic (PDDC) provides assistance in identifying plant diseases and provides e...

• Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative

  The Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative (WBI) was created in 2007 by the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. The i...

• Wisconsin Bioenergy Summit

  Started in 2008, the Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative (WBI) holds an annual Bioenergy Summit in the fall that is free and open to the public. Biofuel l...

• Charter Street Heating Plant Conversion

  In 2009, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle proposed that the Charter Street Heating Plant in Madison switch from burning coal to burning a mixture of biom...

• Annual Wisconsin Stem Cell Symposium

  Started in 2005, the Wisconsin Stem Cell Symposium brings together leaders in stem cell research to discuss issues, challenges, and key obstacles. Th...

• Midwest Rural Energy Council (MREC)

  The Midwest Rural Energy Council (MREC) is a 50+ year cooperative educational effort between electric utilities and land grant universities in the upp...

• MicroExplorers

  MicroExplorers, developed through the department of Biochemistry at UW-Madison, is an after-school program intended to open up the microscopic univers...

• AgrAbility

  Since 1991, AgrAbility of Wisconsin has been promoting success in agriculture for farmers with disabilities and their families. Services are available...

• Center for Community and Economic Development (CCED)

  We teach, learn, lead and serve, connecting people with the University of Wisconsin, and engaging with them in transforming lives and communities.

• Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems (CIAS)

  The Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems (CIAS) is a participatory action research center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison's College of Ag...

• Wisconsin Coverts Project

  The Wisconsin Coverts Project is a woodland wildlife management program for private landowners in Wisconsin and neighboring states. Over the course o...

• Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit (WCWRU)

  The US Geological Survey Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit (WCWRU) is one of two federal cooperative units in the state. The Cooperative Un...

• Nutrient and Pest Management Program (NPM)

  The University of Wisconsin Nutrient and Pest Management (NPM) Program connects farmers and researchers on key issues of profitability, practicality,...

• Urban Horticulture Field Day

  For 11 years, the Urban Horticulture Field Day has been teaching people the ins and outs of urban gardening. Each summer upwards of 1500 people gather...

• Managing Nutrients on Wisconsin Soils

  Managing Nutrients on Wisconsin Soils is an intensive 2-day workshop covering the basic principles of soil fertility and nutrient use and management....

• Training for Nutrient Management Planners

  The Training for Nutrient Management Planners consists of two workshops designed for current and potential nutrient management plan writers in Wiscons...

• Special Symposium on Applied Evolution

  The Center of Rapid Evolution (CORE) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison sponsored a special event in Fall 2010, The Special Symposium on Applied E...

• Center of Rapid Evolution (CORE)

  The Center of Rapid Evolution (CORE) is an institute at UW-Madison that is dedicated to the study of rapid evolution. The study of rapid evolution is...

• Integrated Mosquito Management Website

  The Integrated Mosquito Management website, developed through the Department of Entomology, is designed to help people make informed decisions on ways...

• Local and Regional Food Distribution Project

  The Local and Regional Food Distribution project was developed in response to a rise in inquiries from Wisconsin farmers looking for high-volume loca...

• Spooky Sprint 2012: Race to benefit Four Lakes Wildlife Center and southern Wisconsin wildlife

  My team and I are working to create a fundraising event which is capable of generating revenue to sustain and grow the resources of Four Lakes Wildlif...

• Slow Food UW Educational Outreach and Social Justice Initiative

  The purpose of the Slow Food Educational Outreach and Social Justice Initiative is to create a lasting connection between UW students, the South Madis...

• Madison Neighborhood Indicators

  The Madison Neighborhood Indicators project seeks to quantify the diverse and changing social conditions in Madison neighborhoods. The project staff h...

• UW-Madison scientists played role in potato genome project

  Twenty UW-Madison researchers, including plant geneticist Jiming Jiang, collaborated with an international consortium to successfully sequence and ana...

• Transportation Innovations in Local and Regional Food Systems

  The Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems (CIAS) applies transdisciplinary, participatory, systems-oriented approaches to address emerging challe...

• Bad River Global Health/Tribal Youth Program

  This program is a field course in the Undergraduate Certificate in Global Health (UCGH). It connects UW-Madison with people in programs on the Bad Riv...

• Planning Dairy Farms in Transition

  Dairy farms in Wisconsin are transitioning from labor intensive stall/stanchion style dairy systems to more modern milking systems and freestall cow h...

• Digital soil mapping in Wisconsin to enhance the knowledge base for sustainable agriculture

  Professor Alfred Hartemink's project focuses on digital soil mapping in Verona and Bellbrook (Dane county) and the Central Sand plains (Adams county)....

• Great Lakes Early Detection Network

  The Great Lakes Early Detection Network (www.gledn.org) is a website for reporting invasive plant locations. The website is free for anyone to use. Us...

• Increasing Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in Wisconsin WIC Program

  This field course introduces UW-Madison students to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), a program that h...

• Milking Research and Instruction Lab

  The UW Milking lab has been in operation since 1990. The lab has been engaged in a number of technical issues related to milking machines, including r...

• Global Communicable Diseases in Humans: Detection, Monitoring and Control

  Global Communicable Diseases in Humans: Detection, Monitoring and Control is a field course that examines practices used by local Wisconsin laboratori...

• Central Sands Water Initiative

  Numerous lakes and streams are drying up in the farm-rich Central Sands region of Wisconsin, but there’s little agreement on what’s causing it. Expert...

• Helping Farmers Cope with Changing Climate

  Drought, flooding, new pests brought on by temporal changes in the onset and duration of the growing season—these are only a few climate related chall...

• Protecting Our Pollinators

  More than two-thirds of the world’s crop plants—including many nuts, fruits and vegetables—depend on animal pollination, most of it provided by bees....

• Hunter's Network of Wisconsin

  Hunting is an important part of Wisconsin’s history and culture and plays a crucial role in wildlife management. It has a $1.4 billion impact on the s...

• Project CRYSTAL

  Project CRYSTAL provides a hands-on laboratory experience for middle school students in an active, state of the art research laboratory. Through teach...

• Wisconsin’s “Brown Gold” Rush: Transforming Manure to Energy in America’s Dairyland

  The Accelerated Renewable Energy (ARE) project involves a partnership among UW-Madison researchers and several state companies that is being funded by...

• Building Capacity of Wisconsin Producers to Access Wholesale Markets

  I am providing technical assistance support to current producer members of the Wisconsin Food Hub Cooperative (WFHC), particularly in the areas of pos...

• Sustainability Indicators - Capital Region Sustainable Communities Initiative

  Led the sustainability indicators work for this regional sustainability planning and implementation initiative in Dane County. Collaborated with the C...

• Kickapoo Valley Tourism Project

  The Kickapoo Valley, a prime tourist destination during the summer months, experiences a drop in visitors once the weather cools. UW-Madison researche...

• Wisconsin Pollinator Plan

  Without pollinators, we would no longer be able to take a sip of coffee or ask for guacamole on our burritos. Flower-loving bats, birds and bees are n...

• Water Sustainability and Climate Project

  The Water Sustainability and Climate project is examining how changes in climate, land use, and human demand could impact water quality, food producti...

• Addressing the Emerald Ash Borer

  The emerald ash borer has caused 37 Wisconsin counties to be restricted from exporting any hardwood firewood to unaffected counties, however CALS rese...

• Pasture Partnership With Organic Valley

  A partnership between Organic Valley Farms, located in La Farge, Wisconsin, and UW-Madison researchers is working to help organic farmers meet the new...

• First Enologist at UW-Madison

  There are currently 110 wineries and commercial cider makers in Wisconsin, and that number will only continue to grow. This is why Nick Smith was hire...

• Vegetable Research Analyzes Best Growing Practices

  The Hancock Agricultural Research Station has allowed UW-Madison researchers to explore the vegetable industry in order to sustainably increase produc...

• Eco-Fruit Program

  The Eco-Fruit Program, a collaboration between the UW–Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems and fruit growers around Wisconsin, worked to...

• UW-Madison Professor Tracks Migration Patterns for Nationwide Project

  The types of people who choose to stay in or leave a community say a lot about the community itself. This is why Katherine Curtis, associate professor...

• Kickapoo Valley tourism research

  Bret Shaw, an associate professor in the Department of Life Sciences Communication, conducted research in the Kickapoo Valley. The research aimed at f...

• Research on AIS knowledge in Midwest lakes

  The Department of Natural Resources has been aided by Bret Shaw, an associate professor in the Department of Life Sciences Communication. Shaw and res...

• Urban Canid Project

  The Urban Canid Project is led by Professor David Drake and a University of Wisconsin-Madison research team. Their mission is threefold. First, they w...

• Little Aldos

  Sarah Krier, an undergrad, received an award from the Wisconsin Open Education Community Fellowship offered by the Division of Continuing Studies and...

• Healthcare garden design

  Lily Mank, a UW grad and current post bachelors research intern with the Environmental Design Lab, has a degree in landscape architecture from the UW...

• Building a comprehensive network of fruit growers to improve sustainable production of fruit crops in Wisconsin

  Fruit production in Wisconsin contributes over $400 million to the state economy. Underserved communities, such as Hmong, Amish and Latino, are import...

• Flambeau River Community Growing Center

  The Flambeau River Community Growing Center is located in the Northern Wisconsin city of Park Falls. It is a collaborative community project headed by...

• Show me the bees! Engaging growers with citizen science to improve management of crop pollinators through WiBee: the Wisconsin Wild Bee App

  Many Wisconsin fruit and vegetable crops are dependent on bee pollination to achieve marketable yields. Over the last 15 years, however, honey bees, t...

• Engaging growers with citizen science to improve management of crop pollinators

  This project develops a mobile-enabled application that allows users to easily collect information, in a standardized and rigorous way, on the abundan...

• Best. Friday. Ever. event series

  At Allen Centennial Garden we believe gardeners, through their gardens, can save the world. Best. Friday. Ever. embraces the Wisconsin Idea and celebr...

• Investigating farm-level factors and life history events that affect carcass quality of dairy cows

  Despite being the second largest milk producer in the U.S. and that dairy steers and cull dairy cows represent 80% of its beef supply, Wisconsin does...

• Lessons from COVID19 – Positioning Regional Food Supply Chains

  UW-CIAS is partnering with researchers at University of Minnesota, University of Florida, UC-Irvine and Kansas State to document lessons from COVID-19...

• Upper Midwest Hazelnut Development Initiative

  The Upper Midwest Hazelnut Development Initiative (UMHDI) partnership launched in 2007 to support the growth and commercialization of the hazelnut ind...

• Hard Cider in Wisconsin

  Hard cider is a value-added product from a crop grown in the state—a crop poised to further increase perennial acreage as a strategy to protect soils...

• Understanding Domestic Fair Trade for Agriculture of the Middle

  This participatory research project explores fair trade strategies through a comparative analysis of global and domestic fair trade in different polic...

• Acquiring and synthesizing foundational knowledge for hemp-derived products

  Product teams representing academia, industry, and farmers were developed in three areas: hemp for paper production, hemp for building materials, and...

• Study: transportation issues affecting fresh food distribution in rural Wisconsin

  The Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems (CIAS), a research center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s College of Agricultural and Life Sci...

• Compass Tools: pointing the way to profitability for diversified farms

  Compass Tools are a suite of free, downloadable spreadsheets designed to help diversified farmers understand their cost of production and profitabilit...

• Improving sustainability of vegetable cropping systems in Wisconsin

  The goal of this research and extension project is to conduct science-based applied research and collaborate with Wisconsin vegetable growers and proc...

• 'App'riculture: Disease Forecasting Systems for the 21st Century

  UW–Madison developed tools based on innovations in plant disease forecasting now bring the environmental component of the plant disease triangle (path...

• Dairy Innovation Hub

  The Dairy Innovation Hub represents a $7.8 million per year investment by the State of Wisconsin that harnesses research and development at UW–Madison...