This November I moved into the role as the Regional Livestock Educator for Chippewa, Dunn, and Eau Claire Counties. Previously, I served as the Regional Dairy Educator for Barron, Pierce, and St. Croix Counties. I began my Extension career in 2006, starting as the Agriculture Agent in Polk County. Later, I moved to the St. Croix County office, serving as the Agriculture Agent before transitioning to a multi-county role as a Regional Dairy Educator. I received my bachelor’s degree from UW-River Falls and my master's degree from UW-Madison.

Over the years my educational programming has included dairy, farm management, and livestock. Examples include projects on corn silage pricing, co-authoring decision-making tools for beef producers, collaborating on the winter Small Ruminant series, and analyzing costs to raise replacement dairy heifers. Recently, my work has focused on dairy and beef reproduction, genetics, and management of beef x dairy crossbred cattle. This past year I was a team member developing Extension programs for the Reproduction Roadshow and Wisconsin School for Beginning Beef Producers.

I look forward to building relationships with farmers in Chippewa, Dunn, and Eau Claire counties. My main office will be in the Extension Dunn County office in Menomonie. At the same time, I value the relationships with producers and professionals in my previous counties and invite them to participate in Chippewa Valley Extension programs. Be on the lookout for winter program dates for Beef Quality Assurance, Producing Quality Beef, and year two of the School for Beginning Beef Producers. We are also collaborating with our Farm Management Specialists to be in the area to discuss Farm Succession in January.

I hope to see you there!

Winter Damage Concern for Trees

Protecting Young Trees from Animal and Other Damage Over Winter

Maintaining Your Festive Houseplants

For more gardening information, view archives of Wisconsin Horticulture Division of Extension Free online Programs at https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/free-online-programs/

Looking for more gardening information? Or want to ask a gardening question?

Visit Wisconsin Horticulture – Division of Extension website at https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/ or Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/WisconsinGarden.

The UW-Madison’s Division of Extension and the Wisconsin Beef Council will be hosting in-person Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) certification meetings over the coming months. To register for an in-person session, go to https://tinyurl.com/2hr5karf, call your local County Extension Office, or call the Wisconsin Beef Council at 1-800-728-2333.

- Jan. 13, 2025 | 6 pm: UW-River Falls Mann Valley Farm, 129 S Glover Rd, River Falls

-Jan. 29, 2025 | 1 pm: Equity Coop Altoona, 5150 Hwy 53 South, Eau Claire. 715-748-1413

Farmers needing to get recertified can also achieve that through two additional options:

Online by going to https://www.bqa.org/beef-quality-assurance-certification/online-certifications. At this site, you will logon and choose either the Cow/Calf, Stocker/Backgrounder or Feedyard courses. Once you’ve selected a course, you can work through each lesson at your own pace. The website will keep track of your progress, so you don’t need to complete the entire course at one time.

Continuing Education (CE) Credits: The BQA program is also offering new educational courses that will provide you with credit towards renewing your certification – this option is only available to farmers who hold a current BQA certification. By completing three (3) continuing education credits from the options found on the website, your BQA expiration date will be extended by an additional three years. Available courses include BQA Transportation (2 credits), Biosecurity (1 credit), Foundations of Herd Health (1 credit), Principles of Stockmanship (1 credit), and Herd Health Management Practices (1 credit.) The Division of Extension also offers meetings throughout the year which offer CE credits.

BQA does more than just help beef producers capture more value from their cattle: BQA also reflects a positive public image and instills consumer confidence in the beef industry. When producers implement the best management practices of a BQA program, they assure the cattle they sell are the best they can be. Consumer research, conducted by the Beef Checkoff, showed that learning about BQA made consumers more confident in beef safety and animal welfare and improved positive consumer perceptions of how cattle are raised for food.

An introductory workshop for farmers who have just started thinking or want to start thinking about farm succession.

Presenters: Kelly Wilfert and Joy Kirkpatrick

Date: January 17th

Location: Room 101, 3001 US Hwy 12 E, Suite 216, Menomonie, WI

More details will be released at a later date.

Training manuals are only available for purchase through the University of Wisconsin Pesticide Applicator Training state office in Madison. Local county extension offices do not have manuals for sale for any training category. You need to purchase your training manual from the state office https://patstore.wisc.edu/secure/collection/private/17 and scroll down to the Private Applicator Training section and then “General Farming”, “Fruit Crops”, or “Greenhouse and Nursery. If you need to order via a paper form to order your manual, please contact the Extension Office.

Cost is $43.00 for the training manual. When you receive your training manual, you will also be provided more information about training options. These training options are also listed below. You must purchase the manual before taking any training or testing options.

1. Live Training / Review Sessions. These one-day sessions are meant to be a general review of material in your manual and DO NOT cover everything that might appear on the certification exam. At the end of the review session, the certification exam will be given. You can sign up for sessions in the online store. Space is limited. All start times are 9:00am. You need to register to attend these locations at https://patstore.wisc.edu/secure/collection/private/45 cost is $10.00

January 22 - Dunn County Government Center, 3001 US Hwy 12 E, Menomonie

January 30 – CDR Farms, 19769 85th St, Bloomer

February 21  – Augusta-Bridge Creek Fire Department, 745 Industrial Dr., Augusta

February 25 - Chippewa Valley Dairy Supply, 6055 County Rd G, Stanley

2. Online Video Training. These online videos can take the place of in-person or ZOOM training for the General Farm category. They will cover the same material as the in-person sessions. You will need to have a computer, a good internet connection, email, and audio capabilities. You will be sent a link to the training. Once started you have 14 days to complete the training. You will receive one completion certificate that must be shown to the test proctor to be graded at 50%. You will need to take the Exam in person at a participating County Extension Office or online with Pearson VUE (see item 4.). You can register at here and need to have purchased the manual https://uwmadison.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_d4DVfjmVBmP1ZRA You have 14 days to complete the training once you start the training.

3. A self-study option, is also available. For this option, you need to order the manual and when ready to take the test, contact a county extension office to set up an appointment to take the certification test. This option requires a passing score of 70%.

4. If interested in taking the test online, an option exists with a private company. Pearson Vue provides your results immediately and you get your credentials within 3 business days. Tests with Pearson Vue are $45.00 per test. https://patstore.wisc.edu/secure/collection/private/17

An EEO/AA employer, University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension provides equal opportunities in employment and programming, including Title VI, Title IX, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act requirements.