PRAIRIE DU SAC
Local high school students will have a chance to be “Scientists for a Day” thanks to a special grant received by the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Farm north of Prairie du Sac. The farm is jointly operated by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Agricultural Research Stations and the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center (USDA-Agricultural Research Service).
The Ira and Ineva Reilly Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment funds a competitive grant program that is open to UW-Madison faculty, staff and students. It is designed to foster public engagement and advance the Wisconsin Idea, the university’s commitment to public service and education beyond the boundaries of the campus. This year, the grant awarded about $750,000 for nine projects chosen from more than 100 applications.
One of the projects chosen for funding was proposed by Nancy Betzold, the UW-Madison dairy herd manager at the farm, and Lori Bocher, information specialist for the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center. They designed a “Scientist for a Day” program for a select number of agriculture/FFA/science students and their instructors from the 10 high schools closest to the research farm. The experience will expose them to the importance, intricacies and nature of scientific discovery; and it will show how crops, animals and the environment are intricately entwined.
Six research scientists from the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center will guide the students through six hands-on experiences: 1) collecting and analyzing rumen fluid from a cow and learning about digestion; 2) comparing two dairy cow rations to see how feeding excess protein increases nitrogen pollution; 3) hand pollinating alfalfa and red clover plants and visually assessing raw DNA marker information for plants; 4) examining alfalfa tissue cultures at various stages of regeneration; 5) learning how to use instruments to measure grass growth and how to observe different grazing habits by cattle and 6) collecting run-off water samples and filter samples and analyzing them for phosphorus.
The “Scientist for a Day” program will be held this fall on a date yet to be determined. All activity will take place at the Dairy Forage Research Farm north of Prairie du Sac which is located on 2,006 acres of the former Badger Army Ammunition Plant. In addition to promoting the Wisconsin Idea, this program also supports the values of the Badger Reuse Plan by offering educational opportunities for local citizens.
