Food Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Development, Education, and Evaluation
Business ownership is an important vehicle for wealth creation, especially for members of economically disadvantaged communities. UW–Madison Extension’s Community Food Systems Program serves food business entrepreneurs through direct education, networking, and evaluation to improve entrepreneurs’ readiness and increase their access to licensing and regulatory information and other entrepreneurs. The Food Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Development (FEED) Initiative […]
Coastal Training Program Meets the Needs of Lake Superior Decision Makers
Over the past decade there has been a need to better understand how decision makers in western Lake Superior orient their roles to issues and challenges that arise, which would provide needed resources and learning opportunities. UW–Madison Extension’s Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve Coastal Training Program (CTP) aims to provide decision makers with opportunities […]
Supporting Youth Mental Health and Well-Being
Concerns about young people’s mental health in Wisconsin precede the COVID-19 pandemic — in 2019, 28.5% of Wisconsin high school students reported feeling sad or hopeless. UW–Madison Extension’s Behavioral Health Program provides direct education to young people and adults to build individual knowledge and skills on positive self-management, stress, and coping skills to improve mental […]
Upham Woods Accessible Bird Events: Increasing Inclusion in the Outdoors
Outdoor spaces provide many benefits, including increased life satisfaction and improved physical and mental health. However, many individuals with disabilities experience barriers to accessing outdoor spaces and programming. Since 1941, Upham Woods Outdoor Learning Center has provided young people with educational opportunities focused on environmental and leadership education. In 2022, UW–Madison Extension worked with 18 […]
Improving the Value of Wisconsin’s Beef through Management Decisions
Wisconsin’s beef cattle and calves represent the state’s second- largest agricultural commodity with $1.7 billion in cash receipts. Even though the industry is large and remains viable, market volatility has increased the need for management decisions that increase animal efficiencies, improve production, and allow beef producers to remain economically viable. Breeding decisions are the first […]
Life Span Programs Increase Social Connection Among Older People
Extension helps older people build social connections by creating opportunities for people to learn, share and grow together. Allowing space for participants to share meaningful conversation and life experience with one another builds relationships, individual confidence and encourages social connection. When older people are socially connected to others and their community, they have a better […]
Providing Timely Research to Help Dairy Farmers Innovate
It should come as no surprise that Wisconsin’s largest agricultural commodity is milk totaling $5.7 billion in cash receipts, after all, Wisconsin is known as the Dairy State. Wisconsin’s dairy industry encompasses over 6,500 farms across the state. These farms are continually searching for new management strategies that will help them be both innovative and […]
Responding to Wisconsin’s Soil Health Degradation
It has been estimated that each acre of Wisconsin cropland is losing approximately 4.5 tons per acre per year of soil to erosion. At the current soil erosion rate, we are losing the thickness of a dime of soil per year. Over 20 years, that equates to about an inch of topsoil lost. It is […]
Woodland Wildlife Management Program for Private Landowners
Private landowners are uniquely positioned to shape the future of Wisconsin’s forests — they own nearly 60% of the state’s forestland. However, relatively few landowners seek management assistance, leaving many acres unmanaged. UW–Madison Extension’s Wisconsin Coverts Project is a free woodland management program for private landowners, which provides landowners with training and resources to manage […]
Photographing Core Samples from the Department of Transportation
Critical minerals are an important research topic given their use in the development of batteries and electric vehicles. As a result, it is vital that researchers can examine geological samples easily and without having to repeatedly travel to and from an onsite repository. Part of UW–Madison Extension, the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey (WGNHS) […]
