This newsletter is co-written by your local UW-Madison Extension Ag Educators, Beth McIlquham (livestock) and Anastasia Kurth (crops and soils). 

Notes from your Regional Livestock Educator - Beth McIlquham 

-Save the Date for a Small Ruminant Workshop: A hands-on small ruminant workshop with be held in the afternoon on May 1 in Gays Mills. Topics to be discussed include parasite lifecycle, management strategies, and a hands-on fecal egg count of your flock! Stay tuned for more information. Call or email Beth (information at bottom of newsletter) with any questions.

-Protect Your Farm Premise with Biosecurity Mapping: Livestock biosecurity means preventing disease outbreaks by limiting the spread of germs to, within, and from farms, by using practices such as mapping farm premises, setting clear lines of separation, and ensuring people, equipment, and vehicles don’t move germs between locations. The WI Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection and UW-Madison Division of Extension have teamed up to provide Holding the Line premises biosecurity mapping workshops around the state to help livestock producers and veterinarians draft maps for their livestock operations. These FREE workshops are funded by a USDA NADPRP grant. Attendees will leave the workshop with their draft premises maps in hand. 

-Disease Digest: To see HPAI updates in dairy herds in Wisconsin, check out the Extension Dairy webpage. HPAI was confirmed in poultry flocks in Dane and Jefferson counties in the last two weeks. To see HPAI updates in poultry flocks, visit the Extension Livestock webpage. There have been no cases of New World Screwworm in the U.S. in livestock, but more information can be found here. For information on Asian Longhorned Ticks, check out the recorded Beef Roundup Webinar session where Dr. Olds presented the latest information. For animal owners of all kinds, please evalutate your biosecurity protocols, including pest management.

Notes from your Regional Crops and Soils Educator - Anastasia Kurth

Happy March! As we start to see warmer temperatures on the horizon, the Climate Prediction Center has Wisconsin leaning towards a wetter month and spring season. The old weather proverb tells us that 'March comes in like a lion, out like a lamb.' Snow changing to rain reminds us that we will be in the field soon. Take this chance to work on equipment and plan ahead for planting season.   

Would you like to participate in citizen science? The DATCP Moth Trapping Network is looking for additional sites. They are seeking corn fields to install bucket traps to monitor for economically important pests. All data collection is done via an easy-to-use smartphone app. Please let me know if you have questions. Deadline to let me know if you are interested is March 9th!   

If you are in need of new certification or recertification as a private applicator to apply restricted use pesticides, class registration is available. March 17th is the final Sauk County date. You may also call your county office to schedule a self-test. 

As we are in the heart of nutrient management planning season, check out the new Wisconsin Nutrient Management Workbook. This is a great place to organize farm information before meeting with your planner or writing your own plan. The Richland County Nutrient Management Farmer Education course will be held on March 20th. Contact Kori with questions: 608-647-2100

Scenes from a busy manure applicator training season.  

UW–Madison Division of Extension will host a spring cow–calf workshop on Wednesday, March 18 at 6:00 PM, offering beef producers timely guidance as they prepare for the spring and summer season. The program is designed for cow–calf operators seeking to strengthen herd health, improve management practices, and increase profitability. 

Beef producers are invited to attend a series of free educational webinars this winter. The Beef Roundup Webinar Series will be hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension featuring Extension specialists and industry experts from across the country covering timely topics relevant to today’s beef producers.

Four Winds Farm will host a full‑day Sheep Lambing Workshop on March 28 in Fitchburg, Wisconsin. This immersive, hands‑on learning experience is designed for both new and experienced shepherds seeking to improve their lambing knowledge, confidence, and on‑farm success.

The UW–Madison Division of Extension Small Ruminant Webinar Series returns in 2026 with three expert-led sessions designed to equip sheep and goat producers in Wisconsin, Iowa, and the Upper Midwest with practical, research-based tools to support flock and herd success. Hosted by Small Ruminant Outreach Specialist Carolyn Ihde, the series connects producers with leading specialists in marketing, animal health, and direct-to-consumer strategies. 

Link to register for Camelina Conversation

Link to register for Planter Clinic: Juneau County Precision Ag. Planter Clinic

Beth McIlquham 

Regional Livestock Educator

Email: beth.mcilquham@wisc.edu

Phone: (608) 632-0599

Anastasia Kurth

Regional Crops and Soils Educator

Email: anastasia.kurth@wisc.edu

Phone: 608-477-3018 (text or call) 

@SCWIcrops_AK

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Thank you! 

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