Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems

Wisconsin is well positioned to reap the benefits sown by our organic farmers, processors and other businesses. With continued support for and investment in organics, Wisconsin will remain a leader in organic agriculture. With a focus on organic dairy, this... Read More

Support local food, farms and communities. Take the Wisconsin Eat Local Challenge from September 14-23. During these ten days, spend at least 10% of your food budget on locally grown and locally made foods. To join, visit the Wisconsin Eat... Read More

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 be grown easily, without a lot of labor or chemicals. The fruits must provide economic... Read More

The organic food market continues to expand in the United States, consistently growing at a rate of 15 to 21 percent per year and reaching nearly $17 billion in consumer sales in 2006. Organic products are increasingly present in traditional... Read More

How do you get kids to eat their vegetables? Americans are bombarded with news about childhood obesity and the importance of replacing junk food with healthier fare. But this is no easy task when children are enticed with empty... Read More

What makes specialty cheese special? More specifically, what taste characteristics make cheese from pastured cows unique? These are important questions for farmers and milk processors wanting to create specialty dairy products from the milk of pastured cows. Preliminary research from UW-Madison shows that cheese from the milk of pastured cows tastes significantly different from other cheese. This study was not able to identify the chemical compounds causing the flavor differences. A consumer panel preferred the cheese made from the milk of cows fed pasture and grain, similar to the milk produced on most Wisconsin grazing dairy farms.

Seventh graders at Sherman Middle School are learning healthy cooking from the pros. Two Mondays each month, L'Etoile chefs Tory Miller and Eva Ringstrom teach the students how to cook with fresh produce. Their class not only extolls healthy eating,... Read More

The Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, the Agricultural Innovation Center and UW-Whitewater Small Business Development Center are pleased to announce a new course: “Tilling the Soil of Opportunity: Entrepreneurial Training for Agricultural Business Owners.” Tilling the Soil is a complete business... Read More

Beginning dairy farmers as well as seasoned producers have a new resource available from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) and partner organizations including CIAS. Dairy Your Way is a free, 100-page book that profiles a variety of dairy housing... Read More

Have longer days and warmer weather whetted your appetite for crisp asparagus, sweet spinach and crunchy salad greens, fresh from the farm? Or perhaps spring has turned your thoughts to locally grown meat, eggs, flowers, honey, maple syrup, cheese and... Read More

Wisconsin continues to be a national leader in organic food production, despite the fact that certified organic farms, acreage and production represent only a small fraction of agriculture in the state. This report provides a snapshot of the current status... Read More

Farmers who are considering starting or modifying poultry operations have a new resource available. Poultry Your Way is a free, 124-page book that profiles a variety of poultry systems suitable for the Upper Midwest. Producers and poultry experts from Minnesota,... Read More

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 for horticultural suitability and marketing potential. Several fruit crops are emerging as having high potential... Read More

The specialty cheese industry is one arena in the Upper Midwest where some dairy farmers can earn more than commodity prices for their milk. But like any business venture, making, marketing and distributing specialty cheese is not easy. Commodity cheese... Read More

Are you wondering how you will get the nine daily servings of fruit and vegetables recently recommended by the US Department of Agriculture? The 2005 Farm Fresh Atlas makes healthy eating easy by placing information about locally grown produce, meat,... Read More

CIAS and Wisconsin Public Television have produced a series of educational videos on sustainable agriculture and IPM for potatoes, apples, and fresh market vegetables. These videos can be viewed online at the Research Channel: Healthy Grown Potatoes Fresh Market Fruit... Read More

Farmers Tony and Dela Ends want their farm to sustain the land and their family. They began selling subscriptions to their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm in 1994. They also wanted to successfully integrate livestock production into their farm through a value-added, direct marketing enterprise. Their goal was to do this in ways that respect the scale of a small family farm, satisfy their commitments to stewardship, and eliminate the need for off-farm income.

This report provides background information for farmers who are considering selling their products through retail stores. Is retail the right option for you and your products? How can you prepare yourself and your products for sale? What do buyers need,... Read More

From fad diets to herbal supplements, healthy eating can seem like a complicated chore these days. But eating well doesn’t require a degree in biochemistry. Fruit, vegetables, eggs, meat, cheese and other foods grown by farmers across southern Wisconsin are... Read More

Printer-friendly version (PDF)Home Grown Wisconsin (HGW) is a cooperative wholesale business located in south-central Wisconsin that markets produce from member farms to restaurants in nearby cities. Its goal is to expand the market for fresh produce through professional distribution of... Read More

Printer-friendly version (PDF)One critical goal of the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) movement is to sustain farm families economically. CSA farms offer memberships to consumers, who receive shares of the farms’ produce during the growing season. Researchers from CIAS and other... Read More

Printer-friendly version (PDF) After years of innovation and perspiration, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) continues to grow and evolve. A CSA farm raises food for “farm members” who pay at the beginning of the growing season for a share of that... Read More

The Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) movement in the United States has grown to include over 1,000 farms that are linking growers and customers in unique ways. The 1999 National CSA Farm Survey provided the first comprehensive portrait of the CSA... Read More

Organic food sales in the US have grown 20% or more annually throughout the last decade and remain strong. Organic products are now available in 73% of supermarkets nationwide, particularly in urban and suburban regions. While organic sales currently account... Read More

A small but growing group of consumers is paying attention to the health benefits of milk and meat from animals raised on pasture. Meat and milk from grazed ruminants have higher levels of “good fat” than ruminants fed stored feeds. Conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, is one of those “good fats.” Some people claim that CLA can inhibit the growth of cancerous tumors, enhance immunity, reduce cholesterol, and replace fat with muscle. Can dairy farmers raising cows on pasture capitalize on these health claims with specialty cheese? Read More

The 2002 Farm Fresh Atlas helped nearly 30,000 people in the Dane County area buy fresh produce, meat, cheese, and other locally grown food directly from farmers and businesses. Featuring both new and returning farms, the 2003 Atlas promises to... Read More

If the price of our food reflected the environmental, social and health costs of food production...we’d pay a lot more for it. The Price Tags/Cost Tags describe many of the hidden costs of commonly eaten foods and encourage eaters to... Read More

Can you make a living raising pastured poultry on a large scale? “Yes, but talk to farmers who’ll give you their whole story, including their failures, before you begin,” one producer participating in a 2000 Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems (CIAS) survey advises. Read More

A new resource CD from the University of Wisconsin provides a wealth of production and marketing information for fresh market vegetable growers. The “Fresh Market Vegetable Resource CD” includes fact sheets, reports, power point presentations and marketing materials on a... Read More

Anyone who shops the Dane County Farmers’ Market knows that locally grown food is healthy eating at its best. But did you know that there are many other opportunities to buy fresh, tasty produce, meat, cheese, and other locally grown... Read More

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 chickens are butchered and sold to consumers or restaurants. Read More

If colleges and universities purchased five to ten percent of their food directly from local farms, imagine the extra income that could end up in Wisconsin farmers’ pockets. The University of Wisconsin-Madison alone spends nearly $10 million each year on... Read More

It can be tough to make a living from commodity crops, but Wisconsin farmers may be in an ideal position to reap profits from value-added food processing. A wide variety of agricultural products are raised in Wisconsin. And many people... Read More

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms provide their members with more than fresh produce. CSA farms engage their members in agriculture through newsletters, farm celebrations, and you-pick days. Some CSA members may realize significant financial savings, as well. CSA farmers in... Read More

Now more than ever, farmers are looking for new markets and customers who will pay a fair price for their products. Dining services at four colleges in Wisconsin are buying directly from farmers and paying premium prices for a wide... Read More

The year 2000 began with some of the lowest commodity prices we've seen in decades. These depressed prices are making for difficult times in Wisconsin agriculture, and many farmers are re-examining their goals for their operations.... Read More

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 and lower incomes for tobacco farmers. One crop proposed as an alternative to tobacco is... Read More

From 1997-2000, CIAS published a newsletter for people working to create sustainable food systems. The Wisconsin Foodshed was conceived as a forum where activists, researchers, farmers, organizations and eaters could network and learn from each other. The newsletter addressed topics... Read More

Retail produce buyers in Minneapolis, MN and Madison, WI were interviewed to see if there are opportunities for small-scale growers of certificed organic produce. Produce buyers considered organic produce to be good quality, appealing to customers who want to help... Read More

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 suggested as an alternative crop for tobacco farmers. Making $3,766 per acre with Angustifolia Echinacea... Read More

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 suggested as an alternative crop for tobacco farmers. Making $3,766 per acre with Angustifolia Echinacea... Read More

Farmers wishing to capitalize on the trend of increased consumption of white meat can consider raising chickens. But for many, a conventional commercial chicken operation’s high capital investment, large scale, and limited market access are unsuitable. Enter the pastured poultry... Read More

Community supported agriculture (CSA) farmers need communication and management skills to meet a variety of challenges in building a community of members, balancing income and expenses, marketing their farm, and obtaining training. A multi-professional farmer-led research team including John Hendrickson... Read More

Farmers using the community supported agriculture (CSA) model can expect both rewards and challenges in this intense, diversified, community-oriented approach. A solid understanding of CSA and effective management will help CSA farmers overcome challenges in production, labor, and conserving and... Read More

Colleges can support local farmers, highlight regional foods in their cafeterias, grills, and catering services, and educate future consumers about local, sustainably produced foods. This makes them an intriguing potential market for growers. Yet farmers selling to college food services... Read More

You can find shelves filled with organic produce at natural foods stores and increasingly at supermarkets as well. Who supplies this organic produce? Does it all come from California or is some of it from regional and local farmers? What... Read More

What makes a community supported agriculture (CSA) farm successful? Good management and know-how and networking and outreach. Formal research and support for CSA have not been established, but networks of CSA farms can help fill these gaps by sharing their... Read More

Anecdotal reports from producers, processors and marketers of sustainable agriculture products suggest that trade opportunities with college and university food services are difficult to establish and sustain. This study seeks to address the feasibility for sustained marketing relationships among sustainable... Read More

Unlike conventional agriculture, in which farmers bear the risks of weather, pests, and the marketplace alone, in community supported agriculture the entire community shares both bounty and scarcity.... Read More

The 1993 study helped us see the potentials for marketing cooperatives, and the decisions CROPP has made since then are instructive for anyone interested in that topic. -- Steve Stevenson Formed in 1988 by a handful of organic farmers, the... Read More

Energy derived from fossil fuel plays a central role in the production, processing and distribution of food. This paper summarizes existing research and analyses of energy use in the food system, discusses where the most significant and feasible energy savings... Read More

Video and satellite auctions provide a number of marketing advantages to cattle producers who live long distances from markets or feeding areas.... Read More

Agriculture and tourism -- two of Wisconsin's most important industries -- are teaming up in southwestern Wisconsin. A pilot project has found that tourists, rural communities, and some farmers could benefit from stronger efforts to promote and market agricultural tourism... Read More