The UW-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences CelebratesA Birthday!

Look What Has Happened in 100 Years

The University of Wisconsin-Mad-ison's College of Agricultural and LifeSciences is 100 years old.

On April 6, 1889, an act of the legis-lature directed the university to estab-lish a college that "shall embrace in-struction and experimentation in thescience of agriculture and in those sci-ences which are tributary thereto."

But the college's roots go deeper.The University had offered agriculturalclasses for more than 20 years. II hadestablished a campus experimentalfarm in 1866 and appointed its first pro-fessor of agriculture - WW. Daniells- in 1868.

But Daniells had trouble attractingstudents and had only one graduatefrom his department. Admission to theUniversity required high school grad-uation - something few farm youthshad. Those who did were more likelyto be attracted 10 medicine or law.

A lot of people weren't happy withthe University's agriculture program,including members of farm organiza-tions, farmer-Regent Hiram Smith, andeven Daniell's successor, William Ar-non Henry, who came to the job in1880. In 1884 they launched a move-ment to establish a separate institutionfor agriculture. That movement endedin 1889 when the University was reor-ganized into colleges, including theCollege of Agriculture.

Henry worked closely with RegentSmith and W.O. Hoard to make Univer-sity activities relevant to farmers. To-gether they convinced the legislatureto provide research funds in 1881 andto establish the Agricultural Experi-ment Station in 1883. In 1885 theystarted the Farm Short Course, andsoon after, Farmers' Institutes.

They gained an ally when ThomasChamberlin was appointed the Univer-sity's new president, who gave moresupport to the University's programs inagriculture and engineering.

In 1891 Chamberlin appointed Henryas the first dean for agriculture.

Research Boosts EnrollmentsBut undergraduate education in the

new college wasn't an immediate suc-cess. That changed, surprisingly, be-cause of an early research success.Henry had hired Stephen Moulton Bab-cock as a chemist in 1888; just twoyears later, Babcock perfected his fa-mous test for butterfat, which put dair-ying on a scientific basis. Babcock'sDairy Schools, set up to show dairyplant personnel how to use the test,were an immediate success. Some 10years later, with a new agricultural ca-reer open to them, students began en-rolling as regular students in the four-year course.

Henry was succeeded in 1907 by

In 1908 campus ended at Ag Hall and ercntc Point was out in the country.

31

Harry L Russell, who quickly set aboutreorganizing the college. In his first fewyears he established eight new depart-ments: poultry science, agriculturaleconomics, agricultural education,plant pathology, entomology, genetics,agricultural journalism and bacteriol-ogy.

Russell hired Noble Clark to super-vise research administration. TheUniversity's famous vitamin researchflowered, the cabbage breeding pro-gram got underway, and bacteriolo-gists made great strides in studying ni-trogen fixation. The new agriculturaleconomics department introduced thestudy of farm management, land eco-nomics, rural social problems and evenwildlife management.

Extension Comes AboardFormal extension work began during

Russell's administration with a 1909state appropriation of $30,000 and hir-ing of the first county agriculturalagent, E.L. Luther in 1912. In 1914, fed-eral legislation established the Coop-erative Extension Service.

Russell left the deanship in 1931 tohead the Wisconsin Alumni ResearchFoundation and was succeeded byChris Christensen, an aqncutturaleconomist who had been executivesecretary of the Federal Farm Boardand a U.S. Department of Agricultureeconomist before that.

Christensen brought new innova-tions to the Farm Short Course and es-tablished the college's Artist-in-Residence program by hiring JohnSteuart Curry. The college's natural re-source efforts flowered during his ad-ministration. The Upper MississippiValley Soil Conservation Station wasopened at La Crosse, the Coon ValleyWatershed conservation plan was es-tablished as the first in the nation, theUniversity arboretum was established,and the department of wildlife manage-ment was created.

Plant breeders released Vicland oatsand Wisconsin's first corn hybrid, andresearchers developed the first practi-

(Continued on page 33)

(Continued from page 31)

This early food processing class stirred updetectabtes on the second floor 01 the col-lege's heating plant.

cal soybean oil meal rations for live-stock and poultry, The state's first DairyHerd Improvement Association wasformed, as well as the first artificialbreeding cooperatives, and Wisconsin.biochemists worked out methods topreserve bull semen.

Agricultural economists publishedon principles and practice of organiz-ing cooperatives, and worked out thefirst rural zoning ordinance in the na-lion for Oneida County.

A Silver Lining in Spoiled HayBiochemists identified nicotinic acid

as a pellagra preventive and found thatspoiled sweet clover hay contained achemical which would later be devel-oped into a medical blood clot preven-tive and the world's best rodenticide.Bacteriologists began developingmethods for mass production of peni-cillin which dramatically increased thesupply of the drug badly needed inwartime.

When Christensen resigned in 1943,E.B. Fred, a bacteriologist working onnitrogen fixation, took over until he wasappointed University president in 1945.Another bacteriologist, Ira Baldwinserved as the next dean, leaving threeyears later to become vice-presidentunder Fred.

Under Fred and Baldwin, the Univer-sity began experiments in irrigation inthe central sands area which eventu-ally resulted in the reclamation of aformer wasteland into a productive veg-etable crop production area.

Agricultural engineers began exper-imenting with loose housing for dairycattle, the normal method of housingcattle today, and invented a mechani-

~NC

MOWERCONCEPTS, INC.

Introduces The Fairway Frame TConverts A Toro Greensmower

To A s-unu Fairway Mower• INEXPENSIVE• LIGHTWEIGHT• DURABLE

ALSO OFFERING:• Rebuilt Greensmowers• Reel Spin Grinding• Full Service Shop

Call For More Information715-754-2636

cal tree planter which kept the state'sreforestation program going strong inspite of a severe labor shortage forcontinuing the work.

During this time, Joshua Lederbergin genetics made his observations 01sexual processes in bacteria, for whichhe received the Nobel prize some tenyears later.

Rudolph Fraker, a dairy economistwho had developed a system for pay-ing for milk on the basis of non-fat sol-ids, served as dean from 1948 to 1964.Research funding increased greatlyduring Fraker's administration. War-farin rat killer was perfected, the firstembryo transplants were made, andthe first sterile concentrated milk wasdeveloped.

Wisconsin veterinary scientists de-veloped a detection and vaccinationmethod for brucellosis that essentiallywiped out the disease in five years.Grassland farming got a big boost froma well-coordinated campaign, as wellas from release of the Vernal alfalfa va-riety, development of a three-cut man-agement system, the Sure- Fire Alfalfacampaign, and machinery develop-ments such as hay crushers.

WAUPACA MATERIALS f GREENSMIXcan provide ...

DECOMPOSED GRANITERIVER ROCK

WHITE MARBLE...for your Golf Cart Path needs.

These materials ore natural and moreceuiesncouv pleasing Ihan asphalt. Theireasy in-stallation and mainlenance make them cost er-tecnve and versatile 10 the changIng needs ofyour course.

READY FOR IMMEDIATE SHIPMENTFROM OUR QUARRIES

32

The Land Tenure Center was estab-lished in 1962, and the Arlington Re-search Station was purchased in 1955.First experiments with no-till corn wereconducted and the Pacemaker's CornClub showed farmers how to doublecorn yields.

The College Gets A New NamePlant pathologist Glenn S. Pound

was appointed dean in 1964. Pound'stenure saw several important adminis-trative changes - extension work wastaken out of the college, and the Uni-versity of Wisconsin System was cre-ated. The college became the Collegeof Agricultural and Life Sciences, ac-companied by a complete overhaul ofthe curriculum.

The Food Research Institute movedto the college from Chicago, and theSchool of Natural Resources was es-tablished. The metabolically activeform of vitamin 0 was identified andlater used to treat milk fever in cows,and experimentally to treat humanbone disorders. The second Wisconsinscientist to get the Nobel Prize - bio-chemist Har Gobind Khorana - syn-thesized the first gene in 1970.

Landscape architects started work-ing with Wisconsin towns on historicalpreservation and other types of com-munity improvement, starting withBayfield in the early '70s. A few yearslater, they developed "Old World Wis-consin" at Eagle.

A non-surgical technique for trans-ferring cattle embryos made the pro-cess much more practical.

The College To ComeSoil scientist Leo Walsh became

dean in 1979. The ensuing ten yearshave been some of the most exciting,and most troubling, that the collegehas experienced. While GALS reo

In 1931 students were proud to pose with the cutting edge of farm technology.

searchers scored some tremendoussuccesses, the farm and rural sectorfaced severe economic problems.

The 1980s have seen the rapid de-velopment of biotechnology, with manykey advances made on the Madisoncampus. In 1980 UW-Madison horticul-turists were able to clone a plant gene,and six years later were the first to in-sert a gene for herbicide resistance in-to a woody plant.

In 1981, animal scientists success-fully matured and fertilized cattle eggsoutside of the cow's body - a key stepin the search for ways to multiply ge-netically superior cattle. In 1987, re-searchers were able to clone calves bytransferring nuclei from multi-cell em-bryos to one-cell embryos. The sameyear, agronomists began experimentson alfalfa to change plants into "bio-chemical factories" able to produce in-dust rial enzymes.

But much of the college's attentionhas been focused on the financialstress that has plagued farmers and ru-ral communities.

There are no simple or quick solu-tions. CALS faculty and staff haveworked long hours helping farmers find

ways to cut costs, improve efficiencyand pay down debt. More than ever, in-terdisciplinary efforts have becomeimportant.

For example, animal scientists haveteamed with economists to create soft-ware and worksheets that let farmerscalculate their best feed buy, or to findtheir best option under various govern-ment farm programs. Rural sociolo-gists, dairy scientists and economistshave attempted to predict the conse-quences of technologies such as bo-vine somatotropin. Social scientists invarious fields have worked to help ru-ral communities revitalize theireconomies.

The need to cut farming costs, cou-pled with environmental concerns andfarmers' desire to minimize their use ofpesticides, have generated a great dealof interest in low-input, sustainablefarming.

These trends - biotechnology, im-proving farm profitability, low-input ag-riculture - will doubtlessly be majorthemes as the college steps into itssecond decade.Reprinted with permission from GALSQUARTERLY, Volume B, Number 1.

7th ANNUAL WISCONSIN TURFGRASS ASSOCIATIONFIELD DAV; TUESDA V, AUGUST 22, 1989

At the Yahara Hills Golf Course at 6701 East Broadway in Madison.* HANDS-ON SHOW WITH OVER 50 EXHIBITORS & LATEST TECHNIQUES OF THE TURF INDUSTRY.* TURFGRASS DISEASE TRIAL PLOTS* TURFGRASS FERTILIZER TRIAL PLOTS (conducted by University of Wisconsin)

GOLF COURSE _ LANDSCAPERS - SOD PRODUCERS - LAWN CAREThe WTA Summer Field Day has items 01 interest for anyone connected with turf care and maintenance.

COST: In Advance $20.00 (rion-members $30.00); AI the Door $30.00 (non-members $40.00)Includes coffee and donuts at 9:00 a.m. and lunch at noon

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT TOM HARRISON, 500 KENSINGTON DR., MADISON, WI 53704 249·3468SPONSORED BY WISCONSIN TUAFGRASS ASSOCIATION

33

EXTENSION SERVICE CELEBRATES 75 YEARS

~ ~

Anyone who grew up on a farm andwas in a 4·H club as a kid has firsthandexperience with Extension and Exten-sion agents. So do farmers them-selves, businessmen and engineers.And golf course superintendents.Nearly everyone in our country hasbenefited greatly from the help andcounsel and advice of the CooperativeExtension Service.

Have you ever had Dr. Gayle Wortcome to your golf course 10 help witha particularly difficult turfgrass prob-lem? Did you ever question him (or Dr.Newman or Dr. Kussow) at the INTASummer Field Day or at the UW Turf-grass Conference or over the phone?Their help comes courtesy of the Co-operative Extension Service. The sameis true for many of the other facultymembers whose help you need fromtime to time. Did you ever watch WHA-TV or listen to WHA radio? They arethe Extension Service at work. Exten-sian has made the lives of all Ameri-cans, either directly or indirectly, botheasier and better.

Extension is one of the ways our Uni-versity of Wisconsin shares her re-search with the citizens of the state.The Cooperative Extension Service is75 years old this year. But in our state,it got an earlier start. Back in 1890Steve Moulton Babcock shared his de-velopment of a test for butterfat contentin milk with the dairy industry. In 1908the UWEX initiated a health project toprevent tuberculosis by educatingschool kids and adults about the haz-ards 01 this disease.

May 8th marked the official anniver-sary of the Cooperative Extension Ser-vice on a national level. Coop Exten-sion programs began in 1914 with thepassage of tile Smith-Lever Act. ButExtension's roots in other states, aswell as in Wisconsin, are much olderthan that.

Probably the first U.S. organizationto informally distribute information onagriculture was the American Philo-sophical Society which was founded in1743. One of the founders and a long-time leader of the society was Ben-jamin Franklin. Informal learning activ-ities became much more systemati-cally organized through agricultural so-cieties. The first of these was organizedin Philadelphia in 1785. This movementprospered and flourished for 75 years

and reached a peak about the time theCivil War started.

State legislators also advanced infor-mal agricultural education by establish-ing state boards of agriculture. The firstwas New York's, founded in 1819.These state boards were primarily re-sponsible for establishing one of to-day's Extension's most direct prede-cessors - farmers' institutes. Theseusually lasted from one to five days anddealt with a variety of topics.

Opportunities for formal learning inagricultural sciences were extremelylimited in early America. Most collegesthrough the first half of the 19th cen-turyoffered lew, if any, courses relatedto agriculture. Most of them were pri-vate colleges offering a classic basedcurriculum most likely patterned afterthe centuries-old examples of Oxford

and Cambridge.A few years ago I wrote a piece

about a man I consider a real heroamong American agriculturalists -Justin Smith MorrilL As a Vermont Con-gressman, in 1857 he introduced aland-grant college bill. Five years later,in 1862, President Lincoln signed thebill into law (on July 2). The Morrill Actprovided for at least one college ineach state, " ... where the leading ob-ject shall be, without excluding otherscientific or classical studies, to teachsuch branches of learning as are re-lated to agriculture and the mechani-cal arts. "

The legislation provided a number of30,OOO-acre land grants to each stateequivalent to the number in eachstate's congressional delegation. Thelands were to be sold, 10 percent of theproceeds used, if necessary, to pur-chase a college site, inclUding an ex-perimental farm, and the balance wasto be permanently invested at five per-cent interest. What a brilliant piece oflegislation by that Vermonter.

34

The Morrill Act was part of 1862's"bumper crop" of agriculture-relatedlegislation. Only a few weeks beforesigning the land grant act, Lincolnsigned two other historic and importantbills. On May 15, he signed the OrganicAct which created the United StalesDepartment of Agriculture (USDA), anaction that had been proposed 70years earlier by George Washington.

The other bill, signed five days later,was the Homestead Act. That lawmade available to the public millions ofacres of land at virtually no cost. Im-mediately land prices dropped, spec-ulation was widespread and the resultfor Ihe new land grant colleges wasmeager endowments.

Morrill almost immediately began acampaign in the Congress for addi-tional endowment funds, but it wasn'tuntil 1890 that another bill was pass-ed that assisted in solving this prob-lem.

Establishment of Agricultural Exper-iment Stations was another milestonein the development process that ulti-mately led to Extension's emergence.Experiment stations had long been inexistence in Europe when, in 1875, Wil-bur Atwater established our country'sfirst at the Wesleyan University in Mid-dletown, Connecticut. Later, Atwaterbecame the first director of the Officeof Experiment Stations in the USDA.

Legislation was introduced in Con-gress in 1882 to establish an Experi-ment Station at one land grant collegein each state. It wasn't unlil 1887 be-fore such a bill, sponsored by MissouriRepresentative William Hatch, wassigned by President Grover Cleveland.Members of the Wisconsin TurfgrassAssociation have heard Dr. Worf speakof research work paid for from "Hatch"funds. Now you know where thatphrase comes from. The Hatch legisla-tion firmly established research as arecognized function and mission of theland grant colleges and universities.

Two New Englanders were early pi-oneers actively involved in Extension-type efforts. They were Kenyon L. But-terfield, president of the Massachu-setts Agricultural College, and SeamanA. Knapp (a Vermonter) of the USDA.Their views on how Extension shouldbe administered were very different.Knapp advocated "cooperative farmdemonstrations" directed by the USDA

through its field agents, while Butter-field urged a system of "agriculturalcollege extension" planned by thestates and including farm dernonstra-tions as one of several methods.

Butterfield suggested "pecuniary aidby the national government to landgrant colleges for agriculture Extensionwork." This was the germ of the ideawhich 17 years later resulted in creat-ing the Cooperative Extension Servicethrough passage of the 1914 Smith-Lever Act.

Knapp firmly believed that observingfarms operated at public expensewasn't likely to motivate farmers tochange their operating methods. In hisopinion, diversified agriculture andother desirable changes would comeonly through demonstrations conduct-

eo by farmers themselves on their ownfarms under ordinary farm conditions.In Knapp's words, "what a man hears,he may doubt, but what he does, hecannot doubt. ... "

A bitt filed in December of 1909 to fi-nance Extension work by the agricul-tural colleges was the first of 32 suchbitts ultimately submitted. South Caro-lina Congressman A. Frank Lever puthis in the hopper on June 2, 1911. Anamended version of Lever's bill was in-troduced in the Senate more than ayear later by George Hoke Smith.Nearly two more years passed beforethe Smith-Lever bill finally was passed.President Woodrow Wilson signed it onMay 8, 1914.

The Smith-Lever Act provided formutual cooperation of the USDA and

the land grant cotteges in conductingagricultural Extension work. lt speci-fied that the work " ... shall consist ofthe giving of instruction and practicaldemonstrations in agriculture andhome economics to persons not at-tending or resident in said cotteges inthe several communities, and impart-ing to such persons information on saidsubjects through field demonstrations,publications and otherwise. .. "

The vision of these early agriculturalleaders in Congress and their dedica-tion to the cause of education has beenbeneficial to golf course managementfor generations. Their tight hold to anideal has given us the chance to knowand learn from educators like Dr. Worf.This birthday year of Extension is wor-thy of celebration!

- MSM

JACOBSEN HOLDS 22nd ANNUALCOLLEGE STUDENT SEMINAR

Turf students Todd Monge of the Uni-versity of Wisconsin (seated) andGlenn Perry of the University of RhodeIsland (right) are shown in the accorn-panying photograph discussing Jacob-sen's LF·100 Fairway Mower with Train-ing Manager Ralph Sylvester duringthe 22nd annual Jacobsen CollegeStudent Seminar held in Racine May21 through May 25. Monge and Perrywere among the thirty-six students whoattended this year's program.

Curt Larson, general manager ofWisconsin Turf Equipment Corpora-tion, talked about the subject 01"whatgolf course superintendents should ex-pect from their distributor" with thestudents.

Adding to the 1989 seminar's distinc-tive Wisconsin flavor was a trip to Mil-waukee County Stadium to hear fromHarry Gill before watching the Brewersplaya night game. They toured RacineCountry Club and were hosted byWGCSA member Mike Handrich. Inaddition to a Jacobsen factory tour,they "toured" Lake Michigan aboarda cruise boat. Kent Kurtz of Cal PolyTech made what has been an annualtrip for him to Racine. John Piersol, aninstructor at Lake City Community Col-lege, lectured on the subject of real-isms of the working world.

Jacobsen staff members were in-cluded throughout the program. Stu-dents heard from familiar names likeBrinkman, Reid, Krick and Sylvester,among others.

As recorded in the "Editor's Note-book", former Wisconsin residentsDanny Quast and Bitt Roberts came"home" for the chance to address fu-ture members of our profession.

Jacobsen sponsors the seminar aspart of the company's continuing com-mitment to golf industry education. Aswe know, that commitment also in-cludes generous support of the NOERCENTER and annual monies dedicat-ed to the GCSAA Scholarship and Re-search Fund.

-MSM

35

JACOBSEN. UP FRONT INUGHTWEIGHT FAIRWAY MOWING.

50 your tender turt tnrfves witn less compaction. Andthe wide 4-wheel stance offers exqelrenl tractjorr;increased stabillfy and a tight turning radius.Built to last: The LF"100 has a proven. rugged cha§'sls>a durable andsimple hydrauUc5ystem angliquid~cooled diesel engine f0r. a longer. trouble-free life-onYO!Jf fairways

What s mesa. the entire machine is backed bYY0urJacobsen distributor, so you're never far1rom dejjianij-able narts andeerefce support\

See all the LF-100 dttterences. Ask your Jacobsendistributor lOr a free demqnslration. Attractive teaseand financeplaosaYaliable .JACOBSE NOr contact.~acobsen.1721 Packard JEI,l:.Ob$eflDiVl!iKin4''retllcn IN;Ave" Haeine,WI 53403

Intr~ducing the au-new Jacobsen LF-100. the5-gang designed to increase your lightweigtll mow-ing productivity.

The wing mowers are up front for better visibility. Sothe operator can Hold a closer Iine-c-even at mowingspeeds over 5 mph-to take full adv<lntage of the100'cutting width. This unique. up-front configuration alsogives better access to all mowing units to quic;kly emptycatchers-and make mower adjustments E!as~

Heavy-duty reels deliver a greens-like cut New heavy-duty reel construction provides extra strengt~ far longItte In demanding fairway COnditions. Th~tul1y Iloat-ing, zz-mch steeraole r-otaoe reels are- heavier, tofullow grOlmtl contours c{o~ly, lcr that smcout.ccrets-tent Jacobsen cut that's the ertvy of the industry.

True lightweight mowing. Newly designed low-profileturf tires produce the lrghtest ground pressure. andthe rear wheels roil on a different uacx than the front.

TEXTRON

WISCONSIN TURF EQUIPMENT CORP.* * TWO LOCATIONS * *

1917 W. CourtJANESVILLE, WI 53545

608-752-8766

21520 W Greenfield Ave.NEW BERLIN, WI 53151

414-544-6421

Wisconsin Pathology Report

Inorganic Compounds as Fungicidesfor Turf Disease Control

By Dr. Gayle Wort

In the classification of fungicides Ishared with you earlier, llisted severalinorganic compounds first. These in-cluded sulfur, copper, mercury, chro-mium and cadmium containing com-pounds. Inorganics were the first com-pounds used to control diseases (andinsects). That's understandable, sinceorganic chemicals are a product of in-novations of modern chemistry datingback no more than 50 years ago.(When you reach my age, that seemsrather recent!) With the recycling ofconcerns about modern pesticides,some say we should be dusting offthese old compounds and giving thema second look.

"Sulfur, under the right circum-stances can burn, especially if thetemperature and humidity go up atthe wrong time. "

What about sulfur for turi? It's cheap,and it's liked by organic gardeners.There are several formulations. Ele-mental sulfur, which has been "micron-ized", or more finely ground, to en-hance activity, is the most commonform. Organic sulfur products havebeen manufactured to reducephytotoxicity and to enhance penetra-tion of fungal spores. And there's lime-sulfur, a really old timer still used oc-casionally as a dormant fungicide, andespecially as an insecticide.

We've used elemental sulfur in thegreenhouse for powdery mildew. Wealso included several sulfur formula-tions as additions to other fungicidesin necrotic ring spot control trials in theearly 1980's. We gal some encourag-ing results upon occasion, but we alsogot injury with about the same fre-quency. We never could tame it. Sul-fur, under the right circumstances canburn, especially if Ihe temperature andhumidity go up at the wrong time. Andof course, Joe Vargas' recent work sug-oeste continued sulfur applicationsmay enhance black layer problems. Soour feeling is that sulfur is best left toother uses, as a fertilizer when need-ed - but not as a turf fungicide.

Coppers are worse than sulfur forphytotoxicity on grass. One of the mostdramatic photographs I have in my filewas taken in 1981 in Kenosha County.It was of a home lawn in a cul-de-sacof new homes where necrotic ring spotwas seemingly marching up the street,attacking all turf in its path. So onehomeowner, anxious to be spared itswrath, went down to the local farm sup-ply store, told his story, and was soldsome potato fungicide material. It turn-ed out to be copper sulfate, a com-pound of Bordeax mixture. I supposeyou could say the treatment worked,since NAS didn't develop. NAS doesnot attack dead grass!

Even coppers with safeners in themcause damage to corn, another grassplant. And at the rates we would haveto use them, we'd soon accumulateenough in the soil to become phytotox-ic, like some tobacco seedbeds whichhave been abandoned, for instance. Socoppers are not a choice.

Cadmium and chromium-containingfungicides were quite important 30years ago. They're especially good ondollar spot, and they enhance a goodoverall turf appearance. But they arealleged heart irritants and known car-cinogens. They're banned in Wiscon-sin and one other state (California, I be-lieve). I don't believe they should be us-ed in today's agriculture.

That leaves mercury. Mercuries werethe mainstay fungicides for greens use- winter and summer - from the1920's until they got into trouble in the1970's. After a see-saw battle whichsaw them totally banned, then rein-stated, and finally limited to winter dis-ease control on tees, greens and ap-proaches, they remain with us for thesepurposes, since an August 26, 1976EPA ruling. The more toxic and cumu-lative forms are the organic mercuries,ethyl and methyl mercury formulations,which were totally banned at that time.Although phenyl mercury (an organicformulation) remains, our primary usetor serious snow mold situations arethe inorganics Oalo-ctor and Oalo-gran. These are mixtures of inorganic

cg

mercurous ("insoluble") and mercuric("soluble") chloride.

I'm told that the state of Michigan isnow revisiting mercury's status, with aneye towards banning all forms of it.(Such concerns are contagious amongstates - will Wisconsin catch the con-cern from Michigan?) Their apparentconcern has to do with its getting intosurface and ground waters. That ques-tion was examined in the 1970's, butsuch data is never complete. Somework by Dr. Jack Lebeau at The BanffSprings golf course, which had treatedannually with 6 ounces of mercuricchloride for about 35 years. After sam-pling by 6 and 12 inch increments toa depth of three feet, he found most ofthe mercury in the first 6 inches, 10 per-cent in the next 6 inches, and onlytrace amounts below. His conclusion,supported by sampling done else-where, was that even on well-drainedgolf greens mercury remains in the up-per horizons and does not move intowaters. The 25 foot barrier from greensto water required by the label shouldprevent contamination while applica-tions are made.

"His conclusion ... was that even onwell-drained galt greens mercury reomains in the upper horizons anddoes not move into water. ,.

One reason we've continued to lookat snow mold control alternatives is thespecter of their ultimate loss. A lot ofmaterials have some effectiveness.Perhaps they could be made more ef-fective by "packaging" them in slowerrelease units of some kind.

In summary, then, the inorganicsand heavy metal-bearing organicshave been replaced with present-dayorganics because the new productshave: (1) extreme efficacy - muchsmaller amounts are required; (2) usu-ally safer to crops; (3) probably saferto the environment and man; and (4)generally more degradable.

In another issue we'll continue ourdiscussion on modern fungicides.

NOER CENTER NEWS

O.J. NOER CENTER for TURFGRASS RESEARCHHonor Roll

NOER BenefactorsWisconsin Turfgrass AssociationWisconsin Golf Course Superinten-

dents AssociationReinders BrothersRansomes, Inc.Kohler Company

MedalistsWisconsin Sod Producers

AssociationWestmaor Country ClubStevens Point Country ClubOneida Golf & Riding ClubRacine Country Clubo.J. NOER Research FoundationNakoma Golf ClubMetalcraft of MayvilleMaple Bluff Country ClubLong Island Farm, Inc.Lawn Care of Wisconsin, Inc.Kettle Moraine Golf ClubBlackhawk Country Club

EaglesGayle L. WortWisconsin Turf Equipment

CorporationTrammel Crow CompanySheboygan Pine Hills Country ClubRoger ThomasNorth Shore Golf ClubNorth Shore Country ClubJacobsen Division of Textron, Inc.Horst Distributing

BirdiesGary ZwirleinVogel Seed and Fertilizer Inc.Payne Sad Inc.Wayne D. OttoRobert C. NewmanLarry and Gail LennertCamelot Country ClubRoger BellKerry Anderson

ParsTwin River TurfRandall J. SmithReedsburg Country ClubNorman R. RayJerry L. and Joanne O'DonnellMonroe S. MillerMichael J. LeeWayne and Susan HormanBadger Turf and Grounds ClubAnonymous

FriendsRandy WittWausau Country ClubThomas G. SchwabRiverview Country ClubRivermoor Country ClubPlatteville Golf and Country ClubThomas ParentMichael MuthStanton MeadFermenta Plant Protection CompanyEdgewood Golf Course Inc.Dole Fresh Fruit CompanyOevil's Head LodgeBulls Eye Country ClubMargaret L. BellBay Ridge Golf Course

ONEIDA JOINS WITT INSUPPORTING THE O.J. NOERCENTER for TURFGRASSRESEARCH

The officers and directors of OneidaGolf and Riding Club followed the goodexample of their golf course superin-tendent Randy Witt and voted to give$3,000 to the O.J. NOER CENTER proj-ect over the next three years. Wittmade his personal donation earlier thisyear.

Oneida, through this pledge, joins anumber of other state golf clubs in theMedalist category of doors to the UWFoundation. Once again, the golf

38

course superintendent played a key,critical role in moving a major golf fa-cility in the direction of research andeducation.

Thanks to Randy Witt and all themembers of Oneida.

RACINE COUNTRY CLUB PLEDGESMike Handrich has been a busy guy

assuming the duties involved withmanaging one of the finest golfcourses in Wisconsin. But he's hadtime to request support from RacineC.C. for the O.J. NOER CENTER. Af-ter his presentation, the club officialsvoted to pledge $1,000 per year for athree-year pledge period, joining agrowing group of golf clubs recogniz-ing the need for a turfgrass researchfacility in our state.

As one of the club officials told Mike,"a club of our stature needs to be in-volved in projects like this one. It's lorour own benefit. "

Well said.

SHEBOYGAN PINE HILLS COUNTRYCLUB BACKS THE NOER CENTER

Rod Johnson has served as a WTAdirector. He has hosted a WTA golf out-ing. He's never missed the winter ccn-ference, the summer field day or thegolf outing fundraisers. That's an im-pressive record of dedication. Now he'sadded to it. His employer, the beautifulPine Hills C.G., have made a majordonation to the NOEA CENTER for1989, and Rodney feels confident thatthe same gift level will continue for thefollowing two years. That moves theNOER CENTER $3,000 closer toreality.

WAUSAU COUNTRY CLUBLENDS A HELPING HAND

Lon Roberts and Paul Steinlage,members of the Wausau C.c., encour-aged their club to extend help to theNOER CENTER project. The result oftheir efforts was a one-lime gift to tileresearch center on the new UW·Madison golf course. Thanks.

WSGA COMMITS $5,000TO THE NOER CENTER

The annual spring meeting of theWisconsin State Golf Association pro-vided some very exciting news for thefundraising program for the O.J. NOERCENTER for TURFGRASS RE-SEARCH.

Wisconsin Turfgrass Association di-rector Dewey Laak attended the meet-ing and gave a presentation on behalfof lUrfgrass research and education in

Wisconsin. He explained how theNOER facility fits into those efforts. TheWSGA directors were listening close-ly. They voted unanimously to make afive year, $5,000 pledge to the UWFoundation for the NOER CEN-TER.

Support was in all quarters, led byWSGA past president Dr. David Cook-son, current WSGA president DocWeiske, WSGA director Bob Herzogand WSGA Executive Director GeneHaas.

As Haas said,"There are several fac-tors that are key to a healthy future forgolf in Wisconsin, and the WSGAknows the NOER CENTER is certainlyone of them."

It's believed by this editor that themove by the WSGA will serve as a cat-alyst for individual golf clubs to act ina similarly positive and responsibleway.

THREE REASONS TO SUPPORT THE NOER CENTER:1. Iurfprass research is critical to a healthy future for golf.

2. Turfgrass research is absolutely necessary for the prosperity ofyour golf course.

3. Turfgrass research will add to your own security and thatof your family.

Many Individuals Join theNOER CENTER Honor Roll

The list of individual donors to theNOER CENTER has grown since thelast issue of THE GRASS ROOTS. Ran-dy Smith, golf course superintendentat the Nakama Golf Ctub, Norm Ray,golf course superintendent at CrystalSprings, and Mike Lee, assistant golfcourse superintendent at the BlueMound Country Club made gifts to theNOER project - so did Wayne and Su-san Horman. Wayne is employed in theProTurfDivision of O.M. Scott and Sonsin Marysville, Ohio. Susan (daughter ofUW professor Jerry Apps) is a schoolteacher in the Columbus area.

And speaking of Scotts, Jerry and JoO'Donnell have again given to the UWFoundation for the WTA project to builda research facility. Larry and Gail Len-nert, now of Sheboygan, made a gen-erous personal, joint pledge to theFoundation - a great gesture from acouple just starting out now that col-lege is finished. Thanks to everybody!

Many individuals contributedthrough the "golf ball number guess"at Reinders Turf Conference last win-ter. The NOER CENTER coffers grewby $328 as a result.

[Wilbur-Ellis)Ideas to grON With' CHEMICALS

Distributors for these professional products for turf, aquatics & ornamentals-• Second Largest Chemical Distribution Company in the U.S.• Ocmpetltive Pricing• Computer Generated Price Sheets• EPA Regulatory Assistance• MSDs Updates• Fast FREE Delivery within 48 hours (In Season)• Product Updates· New Product Information• FULL Line of Turf Products• Soil & Water Testing' Harris Labs• Member of Local and National Goll Course Superintendents Association• Qualified Turf Specialists• OUR PRODUCT IS SERVICE

For more tnformation, contact •..Joe Wollner' 2124 Harlem Road· Loves Park, IL 6111 t • 800-747~7400· 608-838-9732

Doug Snaadt· Route 54 West· Clinton,ll61727-0514' 800-892-4033 (Il) • 309-827-6294Larry Thornton- 706 E. 2nd Street. P.O. Box 130' Janesville, MN 58048-0130' 800-642-2736·612+934-4647

39

IRRIGATION EQUIPMENTand IRRIGATION DESIGN CONSULTATION

(jJuckner®Royal Coach

• Design• Free Budget Figures• Pump Renovations• New Pump Packages• Green & Tee Systems• Anything to

Move Water• Parts IRepair for

Most Makes

Quick Connect ValvesElectric Valves

Controllers TOLL FREEWisconsin Number

1-800-323-235210094 tor TORO650, 670

"LEADER IN THE IRRIGATION

DISTRIBUTION FIELD"

Impact SprinklersFULL/PART CIRCLE Impact Sprinklers

FULL CIRCLE

Call us first lor all Makes of Irrigation Equipment

am aIDCenlury RAIN-AID341 Lively Blvd.Elk Grove Village, Il 60007

1-800-541-7450

Buckner Goll Group

Bob ManleyBuckner Goff Group

scon Macintyre

40