WICST 1997-1998 Educational Outreach for Columbia County
Arlington Agricultural Research Station

Dwight Mueller [1]

Table 1 summarizes the outreach activities for WICST in 1997 and 1998. There was a continuation of activities that had been started in previous years. These included tours for 4th grade elementary students, and an UW Soil Science class, and the Prairies Jubilee and DeForest Middle School Science Field Days. In the winter, a presentation on WICST was made to farm students enrolled in the Farm Short Course program at the University of Wisconsin, and in 1997, the Columbia County Crop Production Club sponsored a meeting for producers. The WICST advisory committee formed this club in 1996. The crop production club meeting was very popular with over 125 farmers attending the meeting. Both farmers and researchers made presentations on a wide variety of topics. The WICST trials continue to be an excellent visual tool for demonstrating and discussing issues of sustainability such as crop rotation, environmental stewardship, economic sustainability, and biodiversity.

There were a significant number of foreign visitors that toured the WICST plots. Groups from Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Germany, and Russia visited the site. There is tremendous interest in sustainable agricultural practices in these countries and touring the WICST site generated many questions and discussion. One of the highlights of the 1997 summer was a field tour for the Bascom Hill Society members. This group is composed of people who are large contributors to the University of Wisconsin.

In August 1997 and September 1998, WICST helped sponsor the annual Science field day for 250 DeForest 8th graders. This was an interactive hands-on field day and went very well. Students moved among five different stops which included presentations and activities on soil profile descriptions, groundwater and soil water movement, rainfall simulation and soil erosion, soil bio-diversity, crop production, and nitrogen. Each student had to collect data, which was later used for quizzes and exams in the classroom.

Once again WICST helped sponsor Prairies Jubilee Field Day with the Madison Audubon Society which attracted an audience of over 300 people. The Field Day included a stop at the WICST where an overview of issues and concerns related to Wisconsin agriculture was given. Displays were set up in our Public Events Building on WICST, groundwater, and alternatives for reducing pesticide and fertilizers for urban homeowners.

Table 1. 1997 and 1998 educational activity listing for Columbia County

End notes

1. Farm Superintendent at Arlington Agricultural Research Station. Email: dhmuelle@facstaff.wisc.edu

Home | Who we are | Research | Publications | Links | Site map | Contact us

University of Wisconsin-Madison
College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
If you have any difficulty accessing this page, please contact our web master.

Site hosted by UW-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems