Research, tools, and information on how farmers can build and maintain an economically viable farm business.
Compass tools
Compass Tools help farmers with data-driven decision-making to become more profitable and sustainable. The CIAS Compass Toolbox contains a suite of whole farm profit management spreadsheet tools to help farmers understand their costs of production, identify what products and markets are best for them, and identify ways to improve profitability. Compass Workshops help train farmers and service providers to use these tools.
Veggie Compass
Livestock Compass
Fruit & Nut Compass
Pasture-Based Beef Enterprise Calculator
OGRAIN Compass – NEW 2023 VERSION
Hemp Compass
Grassland 2.0 Grazing Compass Tools
These tools, built in collaboration with the Grassland 2.0 Program, evaluate a transition from a confinement to a pasture-based system of raising animals. They analyze the financials of the grazing season to estimate cost and labor savings. They help estimate the amount of land needed, paddock establishment and operating costs, and also include an evaluation of the nutritional composition of a feeding plan focused on grazing.
Heifer Grazing Compass
Beef Grazing Compass
PUBLICATIONS AND OTHER RESOURCES
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Nurturing the Next Generation of Wisconsin’s Dairy Farmers
New dairy farmers often face high start-up costs for land, equipment and facilities. Volatile milk prices, long hours and hard work reduce the appeal of a career in dairy farming. To better understand the start-up strategies used by beginning dairy farmers, a research team surveyed 321 beginning dairy farmers in 1996. They also conducted in…
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Raising poultry on pasture (Research Brief #57)
A common way to raise pastured poultry involves putting 75 to 100 three- to four-week old meat chickens in movable pens during the growing season. These floorless 10′ by 12′ by 2′ pens are moved daily by sliding them along the ground, providing fresh pasture. Chickens also receive a grain-based ration. At 8-14 weeks, the…
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Locally Grown and Organic Food on the Menu at University of Wisconsin-Madison
When freshmen arrive at the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus this fall, they will find food raised on Wisconsin farms and organically grown food on the menu. The university’s food service is adding four items to the dining center menu that come directly from Wisconsin farms. Students will enjoy tortilla chips made from organic blue corn…
CIAS PARTNERS
Organic Grain Resource and Information Network (OGRAIN)
Ellen Polishuk, Plant to Profit
Jim Munsch, Deer Run Farm
NEWS
These tools, built in collaboration with the Grassland 2.0 Program, evaluate a transition from a confinement to a pasture-based system of raising animals. They analyze the financials of the grazing season to estimate cost and labor savings. They help estimate the amount of land needed, paddock establishment and operating costs, and also include an evaluation of the nutritional composition of a feeding plan focused on grazing.
- Graduate Assistantship at University of Wisconsin- Madison: “Intertribal Foodways in the Great Lakes Region”Graduate Assistantship Opportunity – UW–Madison A two-year Graduate Assistantship is available at the University of Wisconsin–Madison starting in Summer or Fall 2027. Funded by the USDA/NIFA Sustainable Agriculture Systems (SAS) grant, “Intertribal Foodways in the Great Lakes Region,” this position is housed within the College of Agricultural & Life Sciences. Based in Madison, the selected… Read more: Graduate Assistantship at University of Wisconsin- Madison: “Intertribal Foodways in the Great Lakes Region”
- CIAS Staff Volunteer at Green Offices Go Outside Event for Earth FestThe third annual Green Offices Go Outside event partnered with the Lakeshore Nature Preserve for a volunteer work party during Earth Fest. CIAS Administrative Specialist Frankie Anderson Fulbright Fellow Véronique De Herde took the bus on Saturday, April 18, 2026 to the Lakeshore Nature Preserve to help clear an area of garlic mustard. Garlic mustard… Read more: CIAS Staff Volunteer at Green Offices Go Outside Event for Earth Fest
- Do Farmers Markets Build Community? New Research Says YesUW–Madison Extension Specialist, LSC Professor, and CIAS Faculty Associate Bret Shaw shares recent research highlighting how farmers markets strengthen community well-being. Read the entire article on Project for Public Spaces by clicking the below link:
- AI tools for democratizing food networks: scaling national, regional and localwith Dr. Song Gao, Michelle Miller and Dr. Alfonso Morales,University of Wisconsin Madison, May 21, 2026 The University of Wisconsin-Madison hosted a collaborative web presentation detailingthe development of artificial intelligence (AI) and cyberinfrastructure tools designed todemocratize food networks. Led by Alfonso Morales, a Vilas Distinguished AchievementProfessor in the Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture, the… Read more: AI tools for democratizing food networks: scaling national, regional and local
- Who Shops at Farmers Markets in the US?Who shops at farmers markets? In a new article in The Conversation U.S., CIAS Faculty Associate and Professor Bret Shaw (Life Sciences Communication and Division of Extension), summarizes who shops at farmers markets based on a larger national survey of U.S. residents in a USDA-funded study with implications for marketing and outreach. Read the article here:… Read more: Who Shops at Farmers Markets in the US?