The Badger State is giving Margaret Kalcic a warm welcome. She’s the latest hire with UW Dairy Innovation Hub funds in the UW-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences’ Department of Biological Systems Engineering.
Coming to us from the Ohio State University, Kalcic’s research will focus on adopting conservation measures to protect surface waters in agricultural regions. She will monitor farm fields and watersheds to find what’s most effective.
What’s already on her resume? Supporting a bi-national effort to reach water quality targets to address Lake Erie’s harmful algal blooms.
In the state Department of Tourism’s fall 2020 report, Wisconsin’s outdoor recreation economy contributed $7.8 billion to the GDP. Boating and fishing alone contributed $529 million. And agriculture contributes $104.8 billion annually to the state’s economy, according to DATCP.
To stop algal blooms from inhibiting those dollars while also maintaining a strong ag industry, Kalcic explains that her appointment in the land and water stewardship focus within the UW Dairy Innovation Hub allows her to work alongside agriculture to find on-farm solutions to nutrient runoff.
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