Monday, July 30, 2007

UW-Madison News Release--Organic field day

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
07/30/07

CONTACT: Erin Silva, (608) 890-1503, emsilva@wisc.edu; Bill Stangel, (608) 846-3761, wstangel@wisc.edu

UW ORGANIC FIELD DAY SLATED FOR AUG. 30 AT ARLINGTON STATION

MADISON - The University of Wisconsin-Madison's Arlington Agricultural Research Station will hold its first field day devoted to organic agricultural production on Aug. 30 from 3 - 7 p.m.

Field crops, processing vegetables and market vegetables will all get some attention at the event, which will include information on organic weed management, cover and companion crops, soil quality, variety selection, vegetable crop trials, and no-till organic production.

The event will begin with field tours featuring ongoing research on fertility management strategies, organic soybean variety trials, organic corn seed treatments, cover crop options, and no-till organic production using crimped rye. Following the tours, there will be additional presentations on research projects involving organic processing vegetables, organic vegetable variety selection, cover crops for organic vegetable production, and weed management strategies.

A highlight of the tour will be a discussion of research using a roller-crimper for no-till production of soybeans with a rye cover crop.

"The idea is to lodge the rye severely enough so it doesn't stand back up," explains Bill Stangel, assistant superintendent of the Arlington station, who has been working with UW-Madison agronomists Josh Posner and Dave Stoltenberg to evaluate the effectiveness of various crimping strategies.

"We use it as a weed control tool," explains Stangel. "The rye serves as a mulch. It also has an alleopathic affect - the cover crop releases a compound that reduces the vigor of germinating weeds. Rye works especially well on small seeded weeds like foxtail, pigweed and lambsquarter. It also provides crop residue to protect the soil."

The presentations won't be limited to research being conducted at Arlington. Organic production specialist Erin Silva will talk about organic vegetable variety trials that she is conducting in conjunction with cooperating farmers at several locations around the state. Those trials include varieties of organic green beans, carrots, beets, edamame, cucumbers and cantaloupes.

The Arlington Research Station is located on Hwy. 51, about 5 miles south of Arlington and 15 miles north of Madison. Dinner will be available for a moderate charge at 6 p.m. Watch for Field Day signs. For more information, contact Erin Silva at (608) 890-1503 or emsilva@wisc.edu. In the event of rain, presentations will be held inside.
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Thursday, July 12, 2007

Concert Replay!
http://liveearth.msn.com/artists
If you missed the Live Earth Concert, or would like to relive your favorite moment, pick the artist you want to watch.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Premiering on the Sundance Channel TONIGHT (07/10/2007) at 9:30pm local - Five Disasters Waiting To Happen:

Have you ever wondered what the face of Global Warming-induced sea level rise will look like? What the human costs could be, or who would be affected?

Well tune in to Five Disasters Waiting To Happen on the Sundance Channel tonight at 9:30pm your time and you'll get a very good look at where it's likely to start.

Who will be swimming, and who will cook? Who will be the largest group of nation-less people in Earth's recent history? Maybe ever? Could YOU be on the list?

Find out where Paradise will soon be lost in Five Disasters Waiting To Happen TONIGHT.

Dan Stafford