DARLINGTON — While this year’s Lafayette County Fair went off without a hitch July 10-14, this past March, a fast snow melt and heavy rains left the fairground completely underwater. ... Read more
DODGEVILLE — David Bakker has known since the fifth grade that he wanted to be an artist. When he got to high school, a fantastic art teacher cemented his passion for art — particularly painting. After graduation, Bakker went to design school for commercial art and graphic design, which seem…
Each day during the 170th Walworth County Fair, visitors to the fairground will have the opportunity to stop by the Walworth County Fair Log Cabin for demonstrations and other educational sessions, hosted by the Walworth County Association for Home and Community Education.
CHIPPEWA FALLS — A 2012 study showed bats in Wisconsin were saving farmers between $658 million and $1.5 billion every year in pesticide-application costs, according to Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Conservation Biologist Jennifer Redell.
After producing an initial big head and then a few side shoots, my broccoli has stopped producing. Shouldn’t I be getting side shoots throughout the rest of the season? And what about cauliflower? Does it produce side shoots?
The Wisconsin Association of County Agricultural Agents recently recognized several members during their annual banquet in Wisconsin Dells.
A pheasant bursts out of this watercolor winter scene in one of Arquette’s paintings.
Phillips-area resident Katelyn Arquette the only current Wisconsin-based artist to be contracted with the United States Mint.
Katelyn Arquette’s artwork could be seen on the coinage minted by the federal government.
For added interest and a touch of architectural structure, consider adding a few shrubs to your flower beds. If you choose carefully, you can have blooms in the spring and fall as well as berries for the birds. If your garden is getting a bit too large to manage, shrubs can take up some of t…
Carol Peuse is raising a stink about horse manure along Eau Claire County roads.
Cheryl Mayr still likes getting her hands in the dirt. That hasn’t changed.
DURAND — All Ron Berger wanted was to install a door between two buildings.
CHIPPEWA FALLS — The coliseum at the Northern Wisconsin State Fair has always been a special place in Pete Lehmann’s family.
There comes a time when we are faced with a garden problem that is beyond our experience. We need help NOW! With a well-stocked physical or online library of reference materials, help can be on hand for those garden emergencies.
EAST TROY (AP) — Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young and Dave Matthews will headline Farm Aid 2019 when the music and food festival visits Wisconsin’s struggling dairy country in September.
The Governor’s Blue Ribbon Meat Products Auction is back at the Wisconsin State Fair celebrating its 28th year and will be held Aug. 6 in a new location: the Wisconsin Exposition Center.
MENOMONIE — Water-quality issues brought a group of college students from around the country to UW-Stout for the summer.
In the 1940s, Ross Caves, our local trucker, regularly hauled a load of livestock raised by the farmers in the Wild Rose community to the stockyards in Milwaukee. Once a year he scrubbed out his truck and put up a little poster at the Wild Rose Mercantile announcing that he was prepared to m…
Armed with signs, talking points, and even a diorama, dozens of people showed up at the first of two public hearings June 26 to denounce a proposed power line project through southwestern Wisconsin.
A few weeks back, while reminding my children to listen to their father’s sage advice given my 35 years of life experience, my wife called from the other room: “You’re 34.”
Eau Claire County Farmers Union and Chippewa County Farmers Union invite area youth to attend a Farmers Union Day Camp on Tuesday, July 16, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Royal Credit Union Corporate Center, 200 Riverfront Terrace, Eau Claire. Come meet new friends, have fun while working toge…
As solar energy has become more popular and cost-effective, this once fringe renewable source is now at the center of an energy turf war in Wisconsin.
See conservation in practice at a local prairie walk on July 23 at the Jeff and Molly Keller property, W775 Spring Prairie Road, just west of Burlington. This unique property features prairie restorations at several stages of maturity, wildlife food plots and woodlands.
Each year, UW-Madison’s Agricultural Research Stations host more than a dozen public field days throughout the growing season to share research updates and educational information with agricultural professionals, home gardeners and other interested citizens.
Consumers and farmers come together each year for the Wisconsin Farm to Table Dinner, a memorable dining experience focused on a farm’s dedication to animal care, environmental practices and providing safe and pure food products consumed at family dinner tables throughout the year.
BLUE MOUNDS — Hundreds of bicyclists from across the country, and across the world, gathered in the town of Blue Mounds early Saturday morning, June 15, to participate in what has been called “the Toughest One-Day Challenge Ride in the Midwest” — the Horribly Hilly Hundreds bike ride through…
In most years, July is hot and dry. But with the strange weather this year, it’s hard to know what will happen. The days are already getting shorter bit by bit and fall is on its way. The days are passing by quickly so use your time wisely. Take stock of garden progress and sow the seeds for…
School Name and Chapter Name: Fort Atkinson High School, Fort Atkinson FFA.
WEST ALLIS — A glass of milk. A wedge of cheese. A delicious cream puff. These are just a few items visitors to Wisconsin State Fair Park’s Lower Cattle Barn will recognize this August when a new 450-square-foot mural will be finished just in time for the 2019 Wisconsin State Fair.
Committee leaders of the 2018 Wisconsin Farm Technology Days, held last year in Wood County, have announced their first round of grant distributions.
MADISON — The stars aligned for several FFA members from across the state as they received accolades during the 90th annual Wisconsin FFA Convention June 12.
Eighteen-year-old Winifred “Winnie” Rubenzer didn’t run a rivet gun like “Rosie.” Instead she and her co-workers at the Eau Claire Ordnance Plant — many of them sisters, wives or sweethearts of U.S. service members — served our country by making ammunition during World War II.
I well remember thinking, “Look at that lovely flower — isn’t it beautiful? I think I’ll let it grow and see how it develops.” The only problem with that plan was that the flower was bindweed, which is a horrifically invasive and hard-to-kill weed. Admittedly it has lovely flowers, but it wi…
One of the major activities of the Civilian Conservation Corps men was to work in Wisconsin’s national and state parks and forests. The Nicolet National Forest in northern Wisconsin boasted 22 CCC camps at one time. Twenty-one of them had young men ages 18-25. Phelps Camp (F-26, Co. 1680) co…
Sauk County Conservation, Planning and Zoning recently hosted the National Association of Conservation Districts Conservation Awareness Poster competition, open to all Sauk County public, private and homeschooled students in grades K-12.
Earning extra income to support the family farm can be a challenge for a parent with three youngsters under the age of 6. But Sarah Williams has been able to do that with her custom artwork business.
WAUSAU — The Solin family has been making maple syrup in northern Wisconsin for more than 60 years. But it was through experimenting with that maple syrup that Jeremy and Abi Solin’s business, Tapped Maple Syrup, was formed.
MADISON — Last year’s Wisconsin FFA Convention included a special moment for one daughter and her mother as the first “Teach Ag Signing Day Event” was held during the 89th annual convention.
SPRING GREEN — Two-hundred artists from across the country will flock to the River Valley area the last full weekend in June for the Spring Green Arts and Crafts Fair, a tradition in which some have participated for 50 years.
June is a super month for fruit. Watch for developing raspberries and definitely strawberries. If you have no fruit bushes or trees on your property, seriously consider adding some. Few treats are as satisfying as homegrown fruit. Since most berries are fragile, it’s hard to get properly rip…
When Nick Volden was bucked off a bull during a riding competition Nov. 2 and landed on his head, he immediately knew the worst possible thing had happened.
Father’s Day is coming up and for many dads this particular holiday conjures an acute fear of the cliched present: new socks, a tie, or the well-intentioned-but-almost-always-disastrous-breakfast-in-bed, delivered by smiling toddlers utterly lacking in culinary prowess. Look, everyone needs …
CLYDE — When Marion Nelson passed away in January 2018, she left behind a colorful legacy that spanned decades, along with an amazing collection of artifacts and textiles she personally hand-picked from her travels to India, Nepal, Indonesia and beyond.
After two of his former students — Ram Seibel, and his son, Jeremy — were killed in a farm accident, retired Bloomer agriculture instructor Merle Richter wanted to honor the father and son and bring awareness to safe farming practices.
Retired Barron teacher and railroad enthusiast Arlyn Colby has released his fifth book, each detailing a different abandoned railroad line.
It’s insect season! Just as gardeners anticipate the first bite of a ripe juicy tomato or the crunch of fresh-picked lettuce, the insects are dashing in to enjoy the results of our labor. Be on high alert for problematic pests. Your garden plants can go from glorious to gutted in a matter of…
In 1929, the U.S. Congress, becoming aware of the soil erosion problems in the country, created 10 federal-state Agricultural Research Stations. One was located in La Crosse. In 1933, the same year that the Civilian Conservation Corps was organized, Congress appropriated $5 million for erosi…