CALS Agricultural Research Stations will present recognition awards to three CALS faculty and staff members  during the  annual ARS Banquet on Jan. 23.

The recipients include:

• Thomas Wright, Superintendent, West Madison Agricultural Research Station: ARS Staff Recognition Award
• Carrie Laboski, Associate Professor of Soil Science and Extension soils specialist: ARS Researcher Award
• John Peters, Director of the UW Soil Testing, Plant Analysis and Feed and Forage Analysis Laboratories and Extension soil scientist: ARS Service Award

Thomas Wright is being honored for his long-time service handing the usual broad range of responsibilities of station superintendent of the West Madison Station as well as extra duties he took on this year due to the retirement of assistant superintendent Judy Reith-Rozelle. The latter includes overseeing daily activities of the stations’ demonstration gardens, and handling record keeping for the many in-kind services the station provides (these include support for both Dairy and Animal Science operations on campus, trucking services, manure hauling, and feed and bedding production, harvest and storage).  This past year also saw the expansion of the horticultural research programs on the station that included construction of a high-tech high tunnel greenhouse and additional grape and apple plantings.  Tom also was responsible for keeping the irrigation systems running throughout the long, dry summer to ensure research needs were met and fields remained productive.   Tom worked many extra evening and weekend shifts moving irrigation guns and pipes.  He oversees the West Madison Station composting program which reduces campus waste and manure, and continues to working closely with Jeff Breuer, Arlington ARS, to help develop safety training and support programs.

Carrie Laboski’s work focuses on soil fertility/nutrient management, manure nutrient availability, soil testing correlation and calibration, nutrient (N, P, and K) cycling and movement and enhancing nutrient use efficiency.  She has worked on many of the stations including Arlington, Lancaster, Marshfield, Spooner and Hancock.  In addition to her on-station work, Carrie also has several cooperative projects with local farmers in the Arlington area and the Central Sands area of the state.  Carrie is an active participant in station field days and is well known throughout the state as a result of her many extension presentations.  She is very active in putting together the annual Wisconsin Crop Management Conference and is one of the presenters during the conference.  Carrie currently serves on the Agricultural Research Station Committee and has assisted with staff recruitments for ARS.

John Peters is responsible for the UW’s Plant Analysis and Feed and Forage Analysis Laboratories, which includes handling personnel management, developing new laboratory procedures, maintaining a quality control program, and trouble-shooting laboratory problems.  He also conducts educational programs for regional laboratory personnel and coordinates the Wisconsin soil testing laboratory certification program. As a state extension specialist, John works with county-based extension staff, agricultural professionals, and directly with farmers.  He prepares extension articles and makes formal presentations in a variety of topics related to soil fertility and plant nutrition, crop production, soil and water conservation, animal feed production and quality evaluation, land application of waste and by-product materials, and analytical laboratory management and methodology.  John has conducted research at the Marshfield, Spooner, and Hancock stations, working with soil acidity and liming.  This work has resulted in many of our current lime recommendations.  He has also worked with soil fertility and waste disposal issues, particularly as they relate to soil test calibration, liming, crop production, livestock feeding and nutrient management strategies. John served as Assistant Superintendent of the Marshfield station from 1978 to 1984, where he was responsible for overseeing crop research, station management, and outreach.