A growing hard apple cider industry in the U.S. has the potential to contribute to local, sustainable food systems. In order to better understand this resurgent industry, CIAS surveyed hard apple cider businesses across 12 states in the North Central Region.

Wisconsin is a national leader in organic agriculture. Wisconsin had 1,334 organic farms in 2015, nearly doubling over the last 10 years. This puts our state in a good position to participate in the growing market for organic food, both in the U.S. and across the globe.

The Midwest is home to some successful nut businesses, and expanding tree nut production in this region can potentially increase the sustainability of agriculture and food systems.

This report summarizes 23 studies conducted by researchers in the UW-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) in partnership with farmers across the state. Those studies look at production practices for the state’s main agricultural products as well as farm management and marketing.

The Driftless Region Food and Farm Project is a coalition of farmers, consumers, institutions, agencies and organizations. Together, they aspire to meet the growing demand for local food by scaling up the production, aggregation, processing, distribution and marketing of food in the Driftless Region of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois.

Since 2003, Carandale Farm has been evaluating 42 unusual fruits for environmental, social, and economic sustainability. The goal is to find nutrient-rich fruits that can […]

Carandale farm in Oregon, Wisconsin tested 99 cultivars of 34 unique fruit crop species during the 2003-2004 growing seasons. These fruit varieties are being evaluated […]

Switchgrass offers a wide range of environmental benefits as an alternative energy crop. Switchgrass can reduce soil erosion and provide warm season pasture for most […]

Many Wisconsin tobacco farmers are looking for alternative crops following the ongoing reductions in tobacco allotments and tobacco markets. Allotment reductions mean lower production levels […]

Tobacco farmers in Wisconsin have been losing base acreage and income in recent years. Because Echinacea and tobacco production share many similarities, Echinacea has been […]