From the Director
Greetings! February was a short month and passed by very quickly. I will strive to keep my message short also.
The SOA faculty and students attended the MOSES (Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service) conference in La Crosse, WI during February 22-24th. Participants gained lots of knowledge, information and made important connections within the organic industry.
The SOA faculty team(s) are proposing several Short Term Faculty Led (STFL) programs to take students on educational engagements to Costa Rica, Thailand and Spain. These programs will become available for the students by summer and winterim of 2019. In the 'Staff' portion of this newsletter an article is available regarding these activities.
Collaborative integration efforts are in full swing. A SOA faculty team visited UW-Richland Center and met with administrators, faculty and staff in an effort to offer agricultural educational programming. We are planning on developing an associates degree in agriculture to serve the unique needs of the local community.
The first crop of lettuce, herbs and microgreens were harvested and shared with the SOA faculty and staff. The hydroponic production is a student-managed business that will produce weekly crops of lettuce and culinary herbs. During the month of March, we will further perfect both the production system schedule as well as give out samples to the university community. The business launch will follow immediately after spring break (March 24 - April 2). We are also aiming to bag the compost available at the Pioneer Farm by selling to the community through local retailers. We are currently looking for a bagging system. A few other student-managed business ideas are being developed.
The SOA will be initiating talks with the specialty cheese maker Emmi Roth, a local cheese maker with a production unit in Platteville, to deliver corporate training in cheese making. This is a coordinated effort between the School of Agriculture and the Continuing Education office at UW-Platteville.
The School of Agriculture Advisory Council met on Feb 23, on-campus to discuss a variety of topics. The support and guidance given by the members of the council is much appreciated. The Ag Advisory council helps SOA to understand many needs in state, national and international agriculture and helps to address these needs. The Ag Advisory Council members visited the Pioneer Greenhouse at the end of their meeting. Members got to see the student managed hydroponic unit along with a general tour of the greenhouse. Many immediate greenhouse needs were conveyed to the council members.
With the Wisconsin Beef Improvement Association (WBIA) bull sale coming soon, the Pioneer Farm staff are busy with the preparations for video auctions. Lots of laboratory activities are also happening at the Pioneer Farm, with several faculty teaching courses, especially within animal science program.
The new faculty search for an assistant professor in agribusiness is progressing well. We will be bringing the four finalists for campus interviews and hope to extend an offer by the end of spring break.
The SOA is proud to sponsor 'Pioneer Talks', an ongoing professional seminar series at the campus level. In its inaugural year several SOA faculty and staff are actively participating, sharing research, international sabbatical experiences and engaging in panel discussions.
Looking forward, I am eager to meet with Sheila Harsdorf, Secretary, DATCP along with the Dean of BILSA, Dr. Weber, on March 19, 2018. These are exciting times at the School of Agriculture.
Enjoy reading the current PJ.
