Rhinelander Agricultural Research Station

06/14/2026

We had a great afternoon hosting a Youth Science Discovery Day at the Rhinelander Agricultural Research Station.

06/03/2026

🥔🔬 CALLING ALL YOUNG SCIENTISTS! 🔬🥔

Are you ready to dig into the science behind Wisconsin’s favorite crop? Join us for the Potato Science Discovery Day at the Rhinelander Agricultural Research Station! 🚜✨

The UW-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) and Oneida County 4-H invite youth (grades 4-12) and their parents/guardians to a FREE, hands-on afternoon of agricultural exploration.

📅 WHEN: Friday, June 12, 2026
🕐 TIME: 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
📍 WHERE: Rhinelander Agricultural Research Station (4181 Camp Bryn Afon Rd, Rhinelander)

What’s in store?
🚛 Step inside the Wisconsin Spudmobile – a one-of-a-kind mobile classroom with 8 interactive exhibits!
🚜 Take a guided wagon tour through active research plots to see potato breeding in action.
🌱 Get hands-on with real plant-breeding activities, from seed cutting to crossing plants.
🐝 Learn about pollinators and how genetics have advanced over the last 50 years!

⚠️ IMPORTANT DETAILS:
• Open to youth entering grades 4-12 (public, private, or homeschool).
• One parent or guardian MUST attend with each participant.
• Space is limited to 50 total participants—sign up before it’s full!
• This is an outdoor event on rough terrain, so dress for the weather and wear shoes that can get muddy. 🥾

🍎 Snacks and free on-site parking are provided!

Get your hands dirty and discover the innovation happening right here in Oneida County!

🔗 REGISTER HERE: https://oneida.extension.wisc.edu/CALS/

POTATO SCIENCE DISCOVERY DAY Rhinelander Agricultural Research Station: 4181 Camp Bryn Afon Rd., Rhinelander Friday, June 12, 2026 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. For youth entering grades 4–12 (with a parent/guardian) Youth in grades 4-12 with a parent/guardian are invited to a completely free, hands-on aftern...

04/06/2026

The Rhinelander Agricultural Research Station is hiring a full-time Agricultural Equipment Operator II. Please go to the following website to apply https://jobs.wisc.edu/jobs/agricultural-equipment-operator-ii-rhinelander-wisconsin-united-states

UW-Madison is an AA/EEO employer, including protected veterans and qualified individuals with a disability.

Deadline for applications Apr. 25, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. CDT.

Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process.Job Category:University StaffEmployment Type:RegularJob Profile:Agricultural Equipment Opr IIJob Summary:The UW-Madison, Rhinelander Agricultu...

12/11/2025

Have you ever wondered what goes on at the potato farm when there’s snow on the ground?⛄️

It is still plenty busy here at RARS this winter, and one of our many off-season activities includes our tuber dormancy evaluations! If you’ve ever forgotten about a bag of potatoes in your pantry, then you might have learned the hard way that tubers can start sprouting from the little spots called eyes. The resting phase between when the tubers are harvested from the field and when they begin sprouting is known as the dormancy period.

When developing new potato varieties, we want tubers that can be stored for a longer period of time without sprouting—to evaluate this, sampled tubers from our field year 3+ trials are placed in a 55°F cooler and are visually rated every couple weeks from November to March.

Photos 1 and 4: tubers still in their dormant phase

Photos 2-3: a look inside the cooler at the setup of this year’s dormancy trial—more than 300 genotypes are included in the 2025-2026 evaluation!

Photo 5: tuber that is starting to break its dormancy, with sprouts just a couple millimeters in length—these tubers are referred to as “peeping”

Photo 6: tubers that have fully broken dormancy and begun sprouting

07/24/2025

Over the past several weeks here at the research station, we have been walking our fields weekly to monitor for signs of disease. The major disease we watch out for is Potato Virus Y (PVY). Some of the symptoms we look for as we inspect each plot include a “mosaic” pattern and/or yellow flecking on the leaves, wrinkled or curling leaves, and stunted growth of the plants. If we do find a symptomatic plant, we can use a PVY test strip to confirm the presence of the virus and then rogue the plant from the field. Keeping an eye on how the crop is developing and watching for signs disease each week helps us ensure our harvested material is clean!

Photos 1-2: close up photos of leaves showing signs of PVY infection

Photo 3: Discoloration and curled leaves in an entire 24 plant plot infected with PVY

Photo 4: example of a PVY test strip used in the field with 2 lines present, indicating a positive test result

Photo 5: Staff members Scarlet and Brent walking through our field year 1 material

Photos 6-8: When we do have to rogue plants out of the field, it gives us a sneak peak on how the tubers are developing at this point in the season!

07/09/2025

Throughout the growing season, we monitor each trial closely for any potential signs of disease. As part of our disease prevention and management routine, we select a random sample of the plants for post-emergence testing. Small amounts of leaf tissue are pulled from random plants and collected into 96-well plates, which are then sent to the lab in Madison for analysis. If any plants happen to test positive, they are promptly removed from the field. This process helps ensure that our potato crop remains clean each year!

07/08/2025

Greenhouse minituber production is a significant portion of the summer operation here at the Rhinelander Agricultural Research Station. In June, thousands of seedlings were transplanted into 4-inch pots to grow in greenhouses over the summer. Each seedling is genetically unique, and 1-2 small tubers will be harvested from each plant this fall to be planted in the field in 2026. In an average year, 45,000-60,000 seedlings are transplanted into our greenhouses!

Photos 2-3: The seeds are first sown into trays in greenhouse 4—when they are first planted, a shade cloth is placed over them to protect the seeds until the plants emerge.

Photo 4: a closer look at the tiny seedlings as they emerge in the sow trays

Photos 5-6: Views of seedings in greenhouse 5 right after transplanting and a look at their growth in greenhouse 6 after just a few weeks!

07/07/2025

Over the past few years, our program has been placing an increased focus on field transplant production. This year, more than 9,000 seedlings grown from true potato seed (TPS) in Rhinelander and Madison, WI were transplanted into two fields here at RARS. By transplanting seedlings directly into the field, we hope to bypass one summer dedicated to minituber production in the greenhouse and accelerate the potato breeding cycle!

Photos 2-4: true potato seeds from 29 diploid families were planted in sow trays and then transplanted into RootRiot plugs in preparation to move to the field

Photos 5-7: the transplants grow in the greenhouse until they are large enough for field transplanting—it is also important that the plants establish a strong root system to set themselves up for success in their post-transplant lives

Video 10: POV from the seat of the transplanter

Video 11: View from behind the transplanter of the machinery carefully placing the plugs into the soil

Photos 12-13: view of some transplanted seedlings on the day they entered the field and 5 weeks after transplanting

06/03/2025

During the week of May 12th, many trials across various stages in the breeding program were hand planted here at the Rhinelander Ag. research Station. This year, these trials range in size from 3 tuber seed pieces per plot all the way up to several plots of 96 seed pieces for more advanced breeding lines!

Photo 3: After the tubers are cut into seed pieces and placed into paper bags, they are organized in the basement and allowed to undergo suberization before they are planted—this process creates a protective layer where the tubers were cut to prevent water loss and infection.

Photo 9: One major target of the breeding program at UW-Madison is resistance against diseases such as PVY—plant tissue is sampled at different stages in the breeding program to genotype for markers associated with resistance to these different diseases.

05/30/2025

The University of Wisconsin potato breeding program's 2025 growing season officially kicked off on April 22nd, when RARS staff and members of the Endelman Lab at UW-Madison traveled to the Hancock Agricultural Research Station in Hancock, WI to plant 3 different trials. These trials included potato lines that are being developed for the fresh market as well as processing lines for chip and french fry production. Altogether, over 9,000 tuber seed pieces were hand-planted in the field!