Garden Expo (Feb 7-9)

Plant, tend and harvest with the annual Garden Expo! The Expo will be held at the Exhibition Hall of the Alliant Energy Center, February 7-9, 2014. The Expo features exhibits, seminars and hands-on workshops for the gardener and landscaping enthusiast. Many of the presenters and hands-on consultants are staff with UW-Extension, Cooperative Extension.

Ticket prices, on-site, are $8.00 for a single day, $12.00 for two days and $17.00 for three days (advance ticket savings and a discount coupon are available from the Website). Admission proceeds support Wisconsin Public Television. See what’s new for 2014--including a special "beer-tasting and pairings event" with cookbook author, Lucy Saunders.

Among the featured presenters this year are gardening expert and author, Melinda Myers, and historian and author, Jerry Apps (look for their books in campus library collections).   "Garden Talk" host, Larry Meiller, and Horticulture Educator, Lisa Johnson, will entertain your gardening questions, on-stage.

Factor Steenbock Library into your garden planning. The library receives seed catalogs that can be found and browsed near the first floor vending area. Additionally, the library maintains an extensive collection of books about gardening, organic gardening, landscape design, composting, floriculture, and pest management, among other related topics. Consult with library staff for assistance locating and using these collections.

World Dairy Expo (Oct 1-5)

Find yourself at the "Center of the Dairy Universe" with the annual World Dairy Expo, hosted in Madison at the Alliant Energy Center and Dane County Coliseum.  
The Expo provides an opportunity for producers, industry representatives, and members of academic and professional organizations to meet, compete, showcase and exchange ideas regarding all things dairy.

Information, for dairy enthusiasts who wish to attend this unique event, can be found at the Expo’s Attendee Information page.

Or, follow on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest!

UW-Madison Day at the Fair (Aug 7)

Save the date! Come celebrate UW-Madison’s history and tradition of service by visiting its Wisconsin State Fair event, Wednesday, August 7. Located on the fair ground’s Central Mall, the "UW-Madison Day" will feature staff and alumni demonstrating their expertise and inviting fair-goers to "jump around" and experience all that the university has to offer--whether that be to pose with campus personalities (Bucky, perhaps?!) or to witness the Wonders of Physics, among other activities and amusements.

Be sure to look for your Steenbock librarians and their campus library colleagues! We will be on hand to distribute some library-themed fun and to answer your questions about how you may visit and access library resources.

Your attendance at the fair can also serve to benefit Milwaukee-area school-children.  Bring a new, unopened school supply item to an Admissions gate.  Those donating to this school supply drive will receive $4 off adult admission until 4:00 PM.

For more information about UW-Madison Day at the State Fair, visit this page.

Liberry Lit

One of my fondest of summer memories, and yet a great pleasure, is the berry harvest--strawberries and raspberries--fresh from the garden.

While easily consumed with a sprinkle of sugar, there are endless other berry applications suitably-detailed in selections from our cookbook collection. Check out a few today--fresh-prep or preserved!

Selected titles from the collection follow below (and do visit our Pinterest page). 

Should you be interested in cultivating your own berry patch or other small fruit, consult with our librarians to find titles from our collection and look for publications from the Cooperative Extension.

Title: Fruit Recipes: A Manual of the Food Value of Fruits and Nine Hundred Different Ways of Using Them

Title: Berry Lovers Cook Book

Title: The Great Lakes Berry Book: A Complete Guide to Finding, Harvesting, and Preparing Wild Berries and Fruits in the Great Lakes

Title: The Wild Berry Book: Romance, Recipes, and Remedies

Title: How to Dry Fruits and Vegetables at Home, and 50 Good Recipes for Cooking with Them

Title: Preserving Summer's Bounty: A Quick and Easy Guide to Freezing, Canning, Preserving and Drying What You Grow

Drought

There is no denying that southern Wisconsin, as well as many parts of the upper Midwest, is experiencing critical drought conditions with significant and, potentially, long-lasting implications to the success of the farming sector and to those who benefit from its production. 

In response to the various concerns arising from farmers and their communities, the UW-Extension, Cooperative Extension has developed on online guide, Drought 2012.  Visit this guide for news, maps, human health and livestock care.  Consult, additionally, with your Extension agents for advice on how to best manage resources in light of exceptional and challenging circumstances.