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 

-Keeping Cattle Cool: Happy dairy month! Between beef month in May and dairy month in June, I am full of my favorite livestock agriculture products. Whether you raise animals that producer beef, dairy, or both, cattle of all kinds require management strategies to help keep them cool in the morning. Check out some tips on how to keep cattle cool and comfortable in summer. 

-Disease Digest: To see HPAI updates in dairy herds in Wisconsin, check out the Extension Dairy webpage. To see HPAI updates in poultry flocks, visit the Extension Livestock webpage. There has been a case of New World Screwworm in the Texas in livestock. For more information, check out the USDA website. 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 Dairy Month! As planting season has already flown by, crops are emerging throughout the region. Heading into June, we are experiencing dry weather with D0 (abnormally dry) conditions creeping toward us. Some are already seeing drought symptoms on sandier ground. Let's hope for some rain! A reminder to check the weekly Ag Weather Outlook for Wisconsin for past, current, and future conditions.

Scout your fields! 

Current pests to be looking for: alfalfa weevil in second crop regrowth and black cutworm feeding in corn. The DATCP Crop Pest Trap Network offers a look into pest migration to the state. Coming up: potato leafhopper in alfalfa, true armyworm, stalk borer, and European corn borer in corn.  

Current diseases to be looking for: powdery mildew and stripe rust on susceptible winter wheat varieties, fusarium head blight 

If you are seeing something in the field you would like to report or need help identifying, contact the Extension office. 

Have a great month! 

Left: common first crop alfalfa pests including an alfalfa weevil larva and a pea aphid. Right: PEAQ stick measurements in an area alfalfa field prior to harvest. 

The Great River Graziers group has begun their pasture walks for the year! Check out their schedule to see the next date and location. 

Reproduction is key to profitability in beef cow-calf operations. When cows fail to conceive and calve on a yearly basis, producers lose both potential calf sales and the resources invested in maintaining that cow. Reproductive failure remains the leading cause of early culling in beef herds. 

Biosecurity plans and premises maps help farms prevent, contain, and manage disease threats, support movement permits during outbreaks, and strengthen daily and emergency preparedness.

During the January 2025 Small Ruminant Webinar, Dr. Garland Dahlke, research scientist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, discussed how wet growing and harvest conditions can significantly reduce forage quality and alter feeding strategies for sheep and goat producers. 

SAVE THE DATE! 

Arlington Agronomy Field Day - August 26, 2026

Weed Management Workshop - September 2, 2026 

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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