Agriculture
Agriculture
Extension’s Agriculture Institute is your connection to the latest University of Wisconsin-Madison research. Our five program areas; Agriculture Water Quality, Crops and Soils, Dairy and Livestock, Farm Management, and Horticulture, are here to educate and respond to the needs of the agriculture community while providing resources that promote economic and environmental sustainability in Wisconsin. We apply research to challenges facing communities and businesses.
Our Programs
Crops & Soils
The Crops and Soils program consists of Extension educators and specialists who provide research-based agronomic information and decision-making tools to farmers and farm advisors. We work to help Wisconsin farmers improve the success of their cropping systems by providing research-based information for profitability and success.
Badger Crop Connect
The 2026 Badger Crop Connect webinar series runs every 2nd and 4th Thursday.
This twice-monthly series provides Wisconsin-specific data and research to help you manage your or your clients’ field and forage crops. Webinars are held at 12:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Thursday of each month from April through October.
Dairy & Livestock
Helping farmers, consumers, and allied industries to make informed decisions about beef cattle, poultry, sheep and goats, equine, swine, and meat science. And strengthening the competitiveness of the Wisconsin dairy industry through education and research.
Farm Technology Days
One of the objectives of 2019 Jefferson County Wisconsin Farm Technology Days was to support community development. This undertaking provided the funds to aid scholarship distribution to support youth and agriculture.
Application is CLOSED
Pesticide Applicator Training
The University of Wisconsin Pesticide Applicator Training (PAT) Program provides educational materials for the purpose of pesticide applicator certification in Wisconsin.
Farmland Rental & Custom Rates
Accessing farmland requires many farmers to navigate pricing, contracts, and plans for the farm’s future. The UW-Madison Division of Extension strives to help you navigate this challenge by providing research-based data and information to aid in decision-making for your farm.
Upcoming Workshops
Cultivating Your Farm’s Future
Wisconsin Extension has developed an interactive program, Cultivating Your Farm’s Future and a corresponding workbook that provides tools and resources for producers to begin the succession planning process.
How will your farm operate in the future when the owner retires or is gone?
Are you currently working with another generation who may be questioning their role in the future of the farm business or are you yourself questioning your current role?
This program will help you with those questions.
COST: Registration Fee: $200/per farm. We encourage farms to sign up multiple farm/family members (all for $200/farm). This fee provides one Cultivating Your Farm’s Future workbook and one Cultivating Continuity book per farm, a participant manual for each person registered, access to course videos that are assigned as homework, and four (with two additional optional) live zoom classes.
The registration deadline for the Fall 2026 series is October 23, 2026 at 11:59 p.m., to ensure participants receive the mailed materials in time for the first class.
What topics are covered?
- Communication preferences and how to talk about the farm’s future
- Common tensions around farm succession
- Inheritance distributions – Is equal fair?
- Financials for farm succession
- Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats – SWOT analysis
- Estate planning including probate & estate tax
- Wills, trusts, & business entities
- Setting goals and action steps
FOR MORE INFORMATION: contact Joy Kirkpatrick, Farm Succession Outreach Specialist, joy.kirkpatrick@wisc.edu, 608.263.3485
Headlines
Free Financial Analysis for Dairy Farmers
Raising heifers has become increasingly expensive in recent years, tightening margins across Wisconsin’s dairy industry. Tracking and understanding these costs and comparing them with peers is essential for informed management decisions.
The UW–Madison Extension Dairy Program invites you to participate in our new survey to evaluate economic costs and labor efficiencies for herd replacements.
Why Participate?
Get Benchmarks: Help create the data you need to compare your costs against state averages.
Free Analysis: If you need help completing the survey, our Dairy Educators will provide you with a free, personalized financial analysis of your operation.
Bilingual Dairy Worker Newsletter
Created through a collaborative effort between the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Extension Dairy education and Farm Management teams, Bovi-Noticias provides a free accessible, research-based content aimed at strengthening on-farm practices, improving workplace safety, and fostering more effective communication among dairy workers and decision-makers.
Important Information
Avian Influenza Information
This virus does not discriminate between large or small flocks, or husbandry type. In the past, large commercial flocks were infected, as well as small hobby flocks. In response to confirmed AI outbreaks, many countries refuse to allow poultry and egg shipments from affected states. Because of the public health and economic consequences, it is important for all poultry owners to do everything they can to prevent infection in their flocks.
Avian Influenza and Biosecurity in 2025 – Livestock
Avian Influenza A Virus | Wisconsin Department of Health Services
https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/about/
Alison Pfau
Bilingual Regional Dairy Educator
Dane, Jefferson, Rock & Walworth Counties
608-220-4779
alison.pfau@wisc.edu
Josh Kamps
Regional Crops & Soils Educator
Jefferson, Rock & Walworth Counties
608-673-0680
joshua.kamps@wisc.edu