Learn about emerging issues and opportunities in Wisconsin agriculture at the Wisconsin Agricultural Outlook Forum on Thursday, Jan. 25, from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. in Varsity Hall II in Union South. The forum will explore how Wisconsin agribusinesses affect -- and are affected by -- the rural-urban divide.

Please register by Jan. 18. View the agenda.

The annual Farm and Industry Short Course alumni reunion, presented by Badgerland Financial, is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 27, at 11:15 a.m. at the Coliseum Bar in Madison.

This year's guest speaker is the Fabulous Farm Babe, Pam Jahnke. Awards will be presented for the Friend of Short Course, Service to Agriculture, and Excellence in Teaching. A silent auction to help raise scholarship funds for deserving FISC students.

Registration in advance is encouraged ($25 until Jan. 20, $35 at the door).

On Sunday, Dec. 17, thousands of graduates crossed the stage at the Kohl Center to earn their degrees. For one graduate in particular, the honor was worth the wait.

Luciano Barraza completed his doctoral degree in agricultural economics in 1967. But work obligations in his native Mexico and a lack of money kept him from being able to participate in the commencement ceremony.

Read more about Barraza's amazing journey made with the help of an enterprising grandson.

The  Water Sustainability and Climate (WSC) project , housed in CALS, recently produced a visual essay called  Lakes, Cheese, and You , which was born of ideas generated by the WSC research team. The intent of the essay is to help consumers understand how they are connected to the predicament of phosphorus pollution in lakes, and how they can help solve it, through an important piece of the water-quality equation that is less often discussed: food choices. (Hint: Pizza is part of the story.)

This month's Boundless Together entry features Organic Valley and its chief operating officer, Louise Hemstead (BS'82).

 
Hemstead joined the co-op in La Farge, Wis., in 1993. Since then, the company has grown alongside the increasing interest in organic products.

It took Hemstead a little while to find her place at CALS as an undergrad. She tried out the music department, then English, before finding her calling in agriculture. 

"I recall sitting on the steps of Ag Hall and thinking, 'I'm home,'" she says. 

Today, Organic Valley is flourishing, and Hemstead enjoys working closely with farmers. She also gives back as chair elect of the CALS Board of Visitors.