Crops and Soils Agent University of Wisconsin - Extension Fond du Lac County Address: Rm. 227 Administration / Extension Bldg. 400 University Dr. UW -Fond du Lac Fond du Lac, WI 54935

You can contact me at: VOICE PHONE: 920-929-3171 FAX: 920-929-3181 EMAIL: michael.rankin@ces.uwex.edu

Here's some of what I do: Extension education programs in all areas of crop production and management (primary crops include alfalfa, cool-season grasses, corn, soybeans, winter wheat, oats, commercially processed peas and sweet corn) Make farm calls and answer phone calls to address crop producer questions and problems Establish and maintain field demonstration and research trials Serve as co-chair for UW-Extension Team Forage Act as advisor and secretary for the Fond du Lac County Forage Council Coordinate programs and pasture walks for the Fond-O-Grass Graziers Network Coordinate and teach Private Pesticide Applicator Training Programs in Fond du Lac County Coordinate and teach the Wisconsin Tractor and Machinery Safety Certification Course for youth Coordinate the Fond du Lac County Master Gardener Program Provide educational leadership for the 4-H Field Crops and Tractor projects Here's how I do it: Educational meetings, seminars, and field days News releases for local and state newspapers including the Fond du Lac Reporter, Action Advertiser (CROPlines), Wisconsin State Farmer, Agri-View, and Country Today. Contributor to "Field Fodder" column in the Wisconsin Agriculturist Newsletters including "Bales and Bushels" and "The Haymaker" Radio programs: 2-3 programs per week on AM1450 KFIZ - Fond du Lac (5:35 am), one "live" program per week (Wednesday) on AM1600 WRPN - Ripon (6:15 am), and one "live" program per month on AM1170 WFDL - Fond du Lac Author and maintain the following web sites:  UW Extension Agronomy - Fond du Lac County, UW Extension Team Forage, UW Forage Resources, WI Assn. of County Agricultural Agents Some past and present research, decision tools, and educational programs: Nitrogen $ Rate of Return Calculator A Look Back at Thirteen Years of Alfalfa Scissors Cutting Mycotoxins in Corn Silage and High Moisture Corn Hay Pricing Spreadsheet Corn Silage Dry Down for Predicting Optimum Harvest Time Quantifying Corn Stand Uniformity in Wisconsin Corn Fields Alfalfa scissor-cutting projects to help local forage producers monitor first-cut alfalfa quality Aphanomyces root rot occurrence in Fond du Lac County alfalfa fields Predictive Equations for Alfalfa Quality (PEAQ) Phosphorus sources for corn starter fertilizers Host county for UW corn hybrid, soybean variety, and alfalfa variety performance trials Effect of fall aftermath forage on first-cut alfalfa quality Inoculant and fungicide use in no-till soybeans Zone-till corn production systems on red clay soils following corn or alfalfa Alfalfa fertilizer programs WI Profits through Efficient Production Systems (PEPS) Some presentations and papers: Transgenic Field Corn:  Friend or Foe to the Sweet Corn Pest Complex. 2006. Midwest Food Processors Association Conference.  Appleton, WI  co-author with Joe Lauer, UW-Extension Corn Agronomist Manure on Forages: the good, the bad, and the ugly.  2006.  Ontario CCA Conference. Niagara Falls, Canada Dairy Feed: A New Cash Crop. 2006.  Wisconsin Fertilizer, Ag Lime, and Pest Management Conference, Madison,  WI Corn Response to Within Row Plant Spacing Variation.  2004. Agronomy Journal.  96:1464-1468   co-author with Joe Lauer, UW-Extension Corn Agronomist Mycotoxins in Corn Silage:  An Agronomic Perspective.  2002. Four-State Professional Dairy Management Seminar.  Dubuque, IA Agronomic Considerations for Molds and Mycotoxins in Corn Silage and High Moisture Corn. Midwest Dairy Herd Health Conference.  Eau Claire, WI.  November, 2001 Alfalfa Quality - - - the same in acres and hectares!. World Dairy Conference. Leon, Mexico.  July, 2001 Wisconsin Corn Stand Uniformity.  Wisconsin Fertilizer, Ag Lime, and Pest Management Conference, Madison,  WI  January, 2000 Alfalfa Scissor Cutting to Improve First-cut Forage Quality - a "Search for Excellence" presentation made at the 1995 National Association of County Agricultural Agents Annual Meeting in Bloomington, Minnesota Harvesting First-cut Forage for Quality: the Wisconsin Alfalfa Scissor Cut Projects. 1993. Proceedings of the 23rd National Alfalfa Symposium. Certified Alfalfa Seed Council. Appleton, WI. p. 64-73. Spring Harvest Management of Alfalfa Seeded in Late Summer. 1989. Journal of Production Agriculture. 2:352-357. Spring Cutting Strategies for Late Summer Seeded Alfalfa. 1988. Proceedings of the American Forage and Grassland Conference. Baton Rouge, LA. p. 256-260. Here's some feature articles I've written for Hoard's Dairyman magazine: "We're Learning More About Runoff".  April 25, 2007. p. 300 "Alfalfa Seeding Rates: How much is too much?  March 25, 2007.  p. 241 "Rising Nitrogen Costs are Cutting Into Bottom Line". April 10, 2006. p. 245 "Copper Sulfate Use May Bite Us". May 10, 2005. p.338 "Spring Cereals Can Boost Forage Inventories".  March 25, 2004.  p. 216 "Big Tractors and Big Trucks:  The Soil Compaction Dilemma". May 25, 2003.  p. 378 "Mycotoxins Start in the Field...Not the Silo".  August 10, 2002.  p. 517 "Is Hybrid Alfalfa the Real Deal?"  April 10, 2002.  p. 303 "Should you consider planting narrow-row corn?".  February 10, 2001.  p. 94 "Raindrops keep fallin' on my hay".  June, 2000.  p. 422 "Choosing between alfalfa or corn silage".  September 25, 1999 p. 648 "Consider the Alfalfa-versus-Corn Silage Question". February 10, 1999. p. 93. "Monitor First-cut Forage for Quality". May 10, 1993. p. 391. "First-cut Forage is Different". April 25. 1993. p. 360. "These Three Factors Bring More Milk". April 10, 1992. p. 332. "Master the Basics for Quality Alfalfa". March 25, 1992. p. 284. "Most Barn Cleaner Mishaps Occur in Winter". February 25, 1990. p. 208. Education and background: Obtained M.S. degree from Iowa State University in Agronomy - Crop Production and Physiology Obtained B.S. degree from Iowa State University in Dairy Science Born, raised, and went to high school in Chagrin Falls, Ohio Learned a lot from baling hay, cleaning box stalls, and milking cows Affiliations: Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) through the American Society of Agronomy Member of: American Society of Agronomy, National Association of County Agricultural Agents, Wisconsin Association of Professional Agricultural Consultants, American Forage and Grassland Council, Wisconsin Association of County Agricultural Agents, Midwest Forage Association, Fond du Lac County Forage Council, Fond du Lac Area Agribusiness Council, Wisconsin FFA Alumni Association Passion: Baseball, at all levels

"Sometimes the world divides handily into two sorts of people: those who love baseball and understand its place in American society and those who have not yet found salvation."                               Michael Bauman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

For more information contact Mike Rankin