As I write this blog entry the Wisconsin River is cresting at record levels in Columbia County. There are deep concerns as to whether a levee will hold. Flooding, sadly, is a natural disaster that we see all too often in our state. Our thoughts are with the state residents in that area and all the first responders and experts who are working so hard to monitor the situation and keep people safe.

"In Wisconsin" has followed many stories of flooding in the past including the June 2008 flood update.

Last Friday we heard from a Marathon County ginseng farmer who told us how he was scrambling to salvage his crop after a May 7 snowstorm toppled shade coverings, crushing the plants and then freezing temperatures finished them off.

This week, Governor Jim Doyle, has expanded his request for a ginseng crop disaster declaration – adding Lincoln and Langlade Counties to an earlier request for Marathon County. According to the state, Wisconsin's 200 ginseng growers have about 1400 acres, worth about $10 million. Wisconsin produces 95 percent of the nation's ginseng, which sold in extract form to boost energy. If granted by the federal department of agriculture, the "disaster declaration would allow eligible farmers to receive emergency loans and secure crop insurance payments," according to the governor.

We've been wondering in the news department whether experts and specialists from Wisconsin were responding to the Gulf Coast as the massive oil spill continues to threaten aqua life and wild life and beaches. We're told that the UW Madison School of Veterinary Medicine has not yet sent anyone, but that the word is that veterinarians from zoos across the country are mobilizing. We've got calls in to vets from Madison and Milwaukee and will report back. Of interesting note, reading a bit from the Alaqua Animal Refuge in Florida, it said they were looking for people to donate hair to fill stockings with to act as oil booms or socks. The Alaqua Animal Refuge website says one pound of hair can absorb one pound of oil.