Registration is OPEN for the FIRST EVER Winter Academy!  Winter Academy is all about helping YOU crush your college and career goals, build the skills employers want, and boost your problem-solving game.  Grades 8 - 10.  Three Virtual Sessions, January 21, 28 and February 4, 2026 -- Cool stuff included: LEGO® Serious Play® Kit + Clifton Strengths workbook.  Register by January 11, 2026, in 4HOnline

Clover Con Skills Camp offers 4-H members the opportunity to explore interests in comics, fantasy, and gaming. This hybrid program combines online, and in-person sessions focused on various creative and practical skills. Participants will engage in activities such as world building, character development, and costume creation centered around their favorite comic or fantasy themes. 

This four-week program for youth in grades 5-9 covers the following skill areas:  creative writing and character development, cardboard world building, leather craft, theme-based food making, archery, costume design/building, and mapmaking.

The event is open to any 4-H member within the eight-county area (Manitowoc, Brown, Sheboygan, Winnebago, Calumet, Fond du Lac, Kewaunee and Door). Participation is limited to the first 40 individuals who register through the 4-H online system. Information and Registration

Wisconsin 4-H will award more than $20,000 in scholarships from established donor funds to outstanding Wisconsin 4-H members and alumni pursuing higher education this year. Wisconsin 4-H Scholarships are awarded to students based on demonstrated personal growth through 4-H, development and leadership in 4-H, academic performance, and future educational goals.  Find out more...

Check out our website for the latest 4-H newsletter, events and opportunities.  

📌January 23 - Registrations due for 4-H Communications Contest

📌February 10 - 4-H Communications/Speaking Contest

📌March 21 - Super Saturday

Jim Adamski joins us to talk about the key things you can do to prepare now. Jim runs a small commercial operation near Antigo, and he’s been making syrup for about 40 years. By following Jim’s tips and being proactive, you can set yourself up for a great maple season.   Video and Checklist

Boosting Fertility of Dairy Cows Through Better Semen Handling.  In this video Ryan Sterry and Heather Schlesser discuss proper semen handling to enhance breeding success in dairy cows. Video

“When you dial down and focus on ways to support the farmers in our very diversified agricultural economy in Wisconsin, what they require feels familiar to a scientist,” says Chris Kucharik, UW–Madison professor of agronomy. Kucharik is the director of a team of meteorologists, engineers, web developers and technicians building out Wisconet, a statewide network of high-quality weather stations providing valuable, local data to farmers.  Full Article and Video  

In this video, we demonstrate the proper technique for using an esophageal tube feeder in calves. The esophageal tube feeder is an essential tool for delivering colostrum or milk directly into the calf’s stomach when the animal is unable to consume enough on its own. By following proper technique, you can reduce risks, enhance the passive transfer of immunity, and support healthier calves from the outset.  Video

2026 Annual CAFO Update - January 27, 2026, Green Bay

Shoebox to Strategy Organizing Your Farm's Legacy - January 30, 2026

Peninsula Pride Farms Annual Meeting - February 3, 2026

Cultivating Your Farms Future - February 5, 2026

Nutrient Management Farmer Education Class - February 10, 2026

Milk Quality from the Udder World - February 18, 2026

Vital (Valuably Informed Thriving Agriculture Leader) - March 6, 2026

Private Pesticide Applicator Training - March 17, 2026

Find out more...

With a new technique UW-Madison chemical engineers can turn waste plastic into high-value chemicals. The method relies on two chemical processes—pyrolysis and hydroformylation—which ultimately increase the economic incentives for plastic recycling and open the door to recycling new types of plastic.  The team estimates its methods could reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the conventional production of these industrial chemicals by roughly 60 percent.  Read more...

Design Wisconsin is an award-winning community visioning program that builds and motivates positive community change. The program relies on a team of professional volunteers embedded in the community that use a variety of public participation methods as part of an intense and fun charrette.

Community Design Charrettes are high-energy community planning activities that concentrate public involvement into a multi-day event (i.e., the charrette) in order to discover a shared vision for the future while generating the energy needed to pursue that vision.  Find out more and request assistance.

This video covers opportunities for adding value to your farm products, or for preparing foods in your home kitchen for sale. We will look at a variety of licensing exemptions for sales on-farm and for making products in your home kitchen. And we’ll hear from an entrepreneur with experiences to share that may help you be successful operating in this space. Watch the Video

On January 20th Matthew Lippert, Dairy Educator; Shawn Conley, Soybean & Small Grains Extension Specialist, Professor; and Katelyn Goldsmith, Dairy Outreach Specialist discuss high oleic soybeans. Register for this informative webinar.  Badger Dairy Insight - 3rd Tuesday of each month from 11 am - 12 pm CT

Almost 20 years ago, Natalia de Leon and Shawn Kaeppler professors in the Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences, set out to bring a crop back from the dead. Their goal: meet the scientific challenge of resurrecting an heirloom red corn variety and, in turn, help a local bourbon (J. Henry) business breathe new life into its product. It took some serious seed vault sleuthing, a deep dive into a germplasm bank, and a retread of historical breeding efforts, but the bounty of those efforts is now flowing from fine oaken barrels.  Full Story

Grains are not a new crop in the Midwest per se, but changing consumer preference for locally grown, high-quality grains to make artisan bread, whole grain dishes and a variety of products from snack mixes to spirits has created new markets for these grains, both as local commodities and as identity-preserved crops.  To meet the demand for these grains, new and existing grain growers must be able to produce crops that often require additional quality testing and need to meet very specific requirements that are not typical of conventional commodity grains.  Complete Article

🍒  January 8:  Honeyberries

🍓  February 5:  Day Neutral Strawberries and Table Grapes

🍒  March 5:  Elderberries and Currants

🍓  April 2:  Farmer Panel

Free to attend.  Zoom presentation from 12:00 - 1:00 pm.  Find out more...

In November, the HCE clubs hosted the year’s final community program, the Day of Learning, an opportunity to explore their creative abilities. The HarborEttes hosted a community wide Day of Mending with members sewing 71 garments for 26 participants. As the year ends, clubs provided services to various charitable endeavors. The Home Mades purchased items for Help of Door County Patrons and the HarborEttes provided financial support to St. Vincent DePaul, Stella Maris Food Pantry, Lake Shore Cap Food Pantry, and cancer patient Lucia Ramirez. Several members continue to read and distribute books monthly to 87 three-year-olds at four preschools throughout the county.

Looking ahead, here’s our next community-wide activity!

Tuesday, January 27 1:00 pm - Making Meaningful Memories for Healthy Brains by Renee Koenig, Human Development & Relationships Education from UW-Extension in Kewaunee County. The program topics include: the relationship between brain health and loneliness; strategies to keep your mind strong; memory making activities; attitude and aging; and final wishes, writing an ethical will and legacy projects. The program will be held on Tuesday, January 27 at 1:00 pm in the Peninsula Room at the Government Center, 421 Nebraska Street, Sturgeon Bay. The courtesy of a reservation is appreciated; contact Char Mueller at (920) 421-5152 or email cmueller6959@gmail.com

Parkinson’s patients are receiving a new investigational treatment after UW–Madison researchers successfully demonstrated its safety and helped refine the delivery method.  The patients already enrolled in the trial are safely tolerating the treatment, in which new brain cells, called neurons, are grown from the patients’ own cells and grafted into key parts of the brain. Their doctors have noted improvement in patients’ Parkinson’s symptoms, potentially providing promise for people living with this debilitating neurological disease.  Continue Reading

Thanks to a cutting-edge clinical trial at UW–Madison, transplant patients are returning to a healthy life without anti-rejection drugs.  Complete Story...

Nursing professor Wan-chin Kuo and her research team are hoping to improve the health of truck drivers. After collecting behavioral data and biomarkers, they’re developing digital interventions, including an app, to help truck drivers maintain or improve their cardiometabolic health.  Complete Article

It may be cold outside, but you can grow delicious citrus indoors.  This video covers: cultivation, propagation, pruning, pest management, and selection. Video

If deer visit your property, you’ve likely already experienced the frustration of having landscape plants destroyed overnight. Before planting (or replanting), check out this list of trees, shrubs, flowers, herbs, and grasses that deer tend to avoid. Read more... 

Whether you are nurturing houseplants or starting seeds, indoor lighting makes a difference. In this video, learn more about the basics of indoor plant lighting. You will learn about fluorescent, LED and incandescent options for houseplants and seed germination. Our beginner-friendly indoor lighting tips will help you and your plants thrive indoors! …   Video

February 1-April 30, 2026 -- 100% on-line

Plant Diagnostics: The Step-by-Step Approach to Identifying Plant Problems is an online asynchronous course designed to introduce you to the process of plant diagnostics. Learn the process for identifying plant problems in your own trees, landscape and garden and be prepared for the next growing season!  Information and Registration

Children learn about money from talking to adults and watching how others spend, save, share, and borrow money. UW-Madison Division of Extension has created these Parent Guides for popular children’s book about money. The guides provide discussion questions to talk about as you read the book with a young child. There are also fun activities to do at home, at the store, or in the community that will help to revisit the positive money lessons learned in the book.  Find Books Here

Wednesday, February 11, 2026, 7:00 – 8:15 pm (Zoom)

Note: This is a two-part class taking place on February 11 and February 18, 2026, at 7:00 PM. Please plan to attend both classes.

We all feel down and blue from time to time, but some people can get stuck feeling that way. When this happens to our children, it can be really hard for them, and for us as their concerned parents. This two-part class will teach you the knowledge and research-based skills to help your child feel better.  This class is intended for parents of children who feel a little down. If your child struggles with more serious depression, please contact a mental health professional or school counselor.  Registration

The Raising Wisconsin’s Children Conference is a free online event for parents, caregivers, teachers, and anyone who works with children. Experts share practical, research-based tips and strategies to support children’s growth, learning, and well-being.  February 4, 2026, 9:00 am - 4:00 pm, Continuing Education Credits available.  Find out more and register.

Bloody-Red Shrimp:  The bloody red shrimp is native to the Ponto-Caspian region of eastern Europe—the same area that zebra mussels came from. Like zebra mussels, it spread across Europe, reaching the Baltic Sea in 1992 and the United Kingdom in 2004. It was first reported in the Great Lakes by NOAA in samples collected in Muskegon, Michigan in November of 2006 in waters connected to Lake Michigan. Read more... 

Red Swamp Crayfish:  This invasive crayfish can be a host for parasites and diseases, and it aggressively competes with native crayfish and other species for food and habitat. The red swamp crayfish is native to the Gulf Coast and the Mississippi River drainage.  It was probably introduced through aquaculture because it is a popular food worldwide. Read more…

Spiny Waterflea:  Waterfleas are tiny little aquatic animals (zooplankton). They are carnivorous, eating the native zooplankton that many fish also require. Additionally, young fish may be prevented from eating waterfleas because of the fleas’ barbed tail spine. Waterfleas also clump up on fishing lines, nets and other gear–jamming the first eyelet of fishing rods and damaging the drag on some reels.  Read more...

Student volunteers from any academic major can join night hikes to learn about the importance of bats, count them as they leave their roosts and record audio of bat calls to identify the presence of various species. The data students collect is shared with biologists at the DNR who use the information to make decisions about bat management in the area.   Video!

The University of Wisconsin–Madison Division of Extension provides equal opportunities in employment and programming in compliance with state and federal law.