Congrats to Irwin Goldman and the Goldman Lab! This July, Irwin Goldman began his role as the first Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Grower KWS Chair. This program was created by the Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA). Learn more: pasdept.wisc.edu/2025/12/17/i...

Join UW-Madison and organizations across campus to celebrate Black History Month! The 2026 Black History Month Planning Committee has organized a series of events from pilates classes to guest speakers to video game nights. Learn more at: go.wisc.edu/bhm

This summer, Rajdeep Khangura joined our department as an assistant professor specializing in cereal crop genetics. Learn more about Khangura's education, research, and experiences in this recent Q&A: ecals.cals.wisc.edu/2025/11/19/n...

Celebrating our hardworking instrumentation engineers today, who both received professional development grants from @uwmadison.bsky.social. The grants will fund their attendance at the @ametsoc.org annual meeting, where they will present work about Wisconet.

Congrats to Héctor Lopez Moreno, a graduate student in plant breeding and plant genetics, for being inducted into the Bouchet Graduate Honor Society! Read more about Héctor and this prestigious award at: grad.wisc.edu/2025/12/02/f... Photo by Todd Brown/UW-Madison Media Solutions

Wisconet (@wisconet.bsky.social) is a powerful tool used by growers, scientists, and weather reporters across Wisconsin. Its reports are free and open to the public, providing essential data for users across the state. Learn more about this tool and how you can access it below:

Congrats to the UW-Madison Crops Judging team! The team recently traveled to Salt Lake City for the 2025 SASES Crops Judging Competition. They won 2nd place overall, and team member Brandon Boyd placed 5th individual overall. Congrats, team!

Tanikwah Lang is a Citizen of The Klamath Tribes of southern Oregon and an agroecology MS student researching how tribal led forest management techniques influence wild blueberry growth. This fall, Lang attended FAO forums in Rome, Italy. Read Lang's experience: www.fao.org/voluntary-gu...

We are excited to announce our new faculty Sarah Kezar! Kezar joins us as an assistant professor specializing in weed ecology and management. Read more about Kezar's research goals, academic journey, hobbies (such as barrel racing 🐎), and more in a recent Q&A: ecals.cals.wisc.edu/2025/10/30/n...

How can short-stature corn hybrids change the game for alfalfa interseeding? Visit this #CANVAS25 poster to see how canopy light capture & competition shape yield and persistence in mixed forage systems. @asa-cssa-sssa.bsky.social @uwmadisonpas.bsky.social #ForageSystems #CropScience #Plantscience

Study environmental health, food sovereignty, global food systems, and more this spring in Global Food Production and Health (Agroecology 377)! Instructor: Claudia Irene Calderón Credits: 3 Breadth: Biological Science

Looking at spring courses? Check out Genetically Modified Crops: Science, Regulation, and Controversy! Students will learn about why GM crops are created, how they are regulated, and arguments for and against their use. *Map from GE Crops: Experiences & Prospects (2016) National Academies Press

Are you headed to the SACNAS NDiSTEM conference? If so, make sure to stop by booth (number 423) where our very own Fernando De La Torre will be sharing information about our graduate programs in plant breeding & plant genetics, plant science & technology, and agroecology!

Students from across the state visited us for the Wisconsin Science Festival's Field Trip Day in the Discovery Building on Oct 22nd. Volunteers and department members shared fun activities like trivia, crop tasting, and even a potato race with kids aged K-12!

Looking for spring courses? Check out Indigenous Foodways: Food and Seed Sovereignty! #Indigenous foods of North America are a vital part of modern agricultural & food systems. Indigenous foods and foodways will be examined from interdisciplinary historical, legal, biological, & social perspectives.

Oh hey - this is great to see! Fox 6 in Milwaukee has integrated our data into their graphics software to give the latest Wisconet data in their weathercasts.

October 4th, Allen Centennial Garden hosted their #HarvestFestival. Attendees got to see performances, food, and art from local and international cultures. The Garden hosted groups such as the Beni Daiko Madison Japanese Taiko Drumming Group and chefs such as Qwantese Winters.

Irwin Goldman breeds and conducts research on carrots, onions and table beets. #WARF100 @uwchancellor.bsky.social @uwmadisonpas.bsky.social @uwmadisoncals.bsky.social https://www.warf.org/commercialize/uw-madison-inventor-profiles/goldman/

Not as cold overall this morning as it was yesterday, but more parts of the state got into the frost and freeze criteria. The growing season is coming to an end and it is becoming more fall-like by the day.

Last weekend, the Goldman Lab hosted the #Pumpkin Regatta! It was a beautiful day to paddle a pumpkin. 🧡

At the @uwmadison.bsky.social Kegonsa Research Campus, scientists from across UW and the @savannainstitute.bsky.social are growing currant berries between solar panels. This practice is known as #agrivoltaics and has many potential benefits. Learn more: www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMGH...

Tomorrow!

Tomorrow!

The Harvest Festival is back! Visit Allen Centennial Garden this weekend for great tunes, plant activities, and a special visit from the canoe that hangs in Dejope along with its Ojibwe maker. The event is free, and everyone is welcome! allencentennialgarden.wisc.edu/harvest-fest...

Taigan Anderson, one of our #agroecology majors, has already completed five study abroad programs in her first two years at UW-Madison. She has traveled to Austria, France, Iceland, and Japan to study health and agriculture. Learn more through the QR code or at: pasdept.wisc.edu/2025/09/08/a...

Join us October 4th at 11AM at the Memorial Union Terrace for the 20th Annual Giant Pumpkin Regatta! These pumpkins are grown by the Goldman Lab in the Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences. The event is free, and no experiences is necessary. See you there!

Join UW-Madison in celebrating Latine Heritage Month! This year’s theme, Amor Sin Fronteras (“Love Without Borders” in Spanish), focuses on the interrelation of cultures across Latin America and the United States - and how they continue to evolve. Learn more at: go.wisc.edu/latine

Welcome back for the fall semester! We'll be having some fun events at Allen Centennial Garden next week, and our department will be tabling at Plant Adoption Day. See you there!

Join us Wednesday for the Agronomy and Soils Field Day at Arlington Research Station! Learn more: cals.wisc.edu/extension-ou...

Join us tomorrow for the UW Organic Research Field Day! Learn about cropping systems, Kernza, and more. Read more at: cals.wisc.edu/extension-ou...

Shawn Kaeppler's research focuses on crop breeding, genetics, genomics and biotechnology. #WARF100 @uwchancellor.bsky.social‬ @uwmadisonpas.bsky.social‬ https://www.warf.org/commercialize/uw-madison-inventor-profiles/kaeppler/

Reminder: join us tomorrow morning at the Arlington Research Station for the Hemp Research Field Day presented by the Ellison Lab! alternativecrops.horticulture.wisc.edu/2025/06/16/h... Photo by Sirapop “Mag” Kiatchaipipat

After working for 34 years on UW-Madison research, John Gaska announced his retirement. Thank you, John, for your great work and contributions to our department and associated programs! www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bln7...

Interested in making #agriculture more #sustainable? Check out our intro course this fall: #Agroecology 103, An Introduction to the #Ecology of Food and Agriculture! Learn more about the agroecology major at go.wisc.edu/agroecology

Irwin Goldman's lab is working on a unique #zinnia plant breeding outreach program this summer. Check out some of the beautiful blossoms from their Arlington nursery! #plantBreeding #plantGenetics #horticulture

The WiscWeeds program hosted a great field day June 19th at Rock County Farm in Janesville! Growers from across the state attended to learn more about topics such as cover crops and advancements in herbicides. Great job, WiscWeeds!

Next week, Professor Amaya Atucha will begin her new role as department chair. July 1st, Professor Patrick Krysan will hand over this role after serving as chair for six years. Learn more: pasdept.wisc.edu/2025/06/23/a...

🌱 Heal the soil, heal the soul.

Field snapshot! Mike North (researcher), Erick Amaya (grad student), and Steven Hall (assistant professor) collect soil samples for a study on #phosphorous fertilization in #cranberry production systems. Picture taken by Amaya Atucha (associate professor) at Bartling’s Manitowish Cranberry Co.

A Tornado Watch has been issued for far western Wisconsin until 9 pm tonight. Storms currently developing over Minnesota could bring large hail, damaging winds, and a few tornadoes to the far western part of our state this afternoon and evening. Stay weather aware!

Hey #BioBadgers! Are you looking for a study away opportunity for January 2026? UW Marine Biology in Florida Keys is still taking applications! Not only will you get credit for the Biology Major (Zoo 303) but you'll get first-hand field experience in a tropical marine ecosystem🐠 go.wisc.edu/0jjb20

Wildfire smoke from Canada is moving south this morning and we’ll soon see it overhead. An Air Quality Alert is in effect for all of Wisconsin today and southeastern Wisconsin tomorrow as a result. The same system bringing the smoke down could also trigger some storms with hail this afternoon.

Our classes often center hands-on activities 🌱 Students in Plant Science 335 grew and harvested hydroponic lettuce, tomato, and cucumber. Students also grew plants for local organizations. In "Course Search & Enroll", check out our summer and fall classes under "agroecology" or "plant science"!

🎙️Ahead of World Day for Cultural Diversity, we're joined by Dr. Claudia Calderón of @uwmadisonpas.bsky.social, Avexnim Cojti of @culturalsurvival.org, and Cherie Thunder. They discuss seed sovereignty, wild rice, and the legacies of colonialism. Listen here: www.wortfm.org/a-conversati...

Join us next week May 21st from 5-7PM for some free food, drinks, and conversation on #seedSovereignty and #Indigenous seed knowledge. Please RSVP by sending a quick email to [email protected] . We hope to see you there!

Congrats to all who graduated this spring! A special shout-out to Jaya Hafner, an #agroecology graduate student. Hafner represented the Graduate School as their flag bearer. Congrats, Jaya! 🎊 Read more about Hafner and her research on watershed health: cals.wisc.edu/alumni/recen... #OnWisconsin

Interested in #community well-being, #foodSystems, #sustainability, and #agriculture? This fall, check out Agroecology: An Introduction to the Ecology of Food and Agriculture! This class is listed as AGROECOL 103, and it is the intro course to our new Agroecology major!

Congrats to all who are graduating this spring! Our students will be graduating with a deep knowledge of #agriculture through many lenses such as #agronomy, #horticulture, #agroecology, #environmentalStudies, and more! We are excited to see how our students shape agriculture and grow our future! 🎊

We are excited to announce our new major, Plant Science and Technology! 🎉This new major will teach students about #crops and #foodSystems while learning about new tech in #agriculture such as #drones, gene editing, and #AI. 🌱🤖 Learn more at: go.wisc.edu/pst

Yesterday's #BeeHotel, #FreeLittleLibrary, and Wisconsin Perennial Crop celebration in Allen Centennial Garden was a success! Our next department affiliated event is: Insects and Insights | April 29th, 3-4:30PM, D.C. Smith Greenhouse Learn more: earthfest.wisc.edu/events/insec...