A long-term southern Wisconsin cropping systems study shows that soils under managed grazing have a number of positive characteristics compared to soils under other cropping systems. [...more]

The CIAS Eco-Fruit program is featured in the latest report on IPM from the American Farmland Trust. [...more]

Wisconsin boasts the second largest number of organic farms in the U.S., ranks first among the states for the number of organic dairy and beef farms, and is third in the nation for organic vegetable farms. Organic Agriculture in Wisconsin: 2012 Status Report provides a wealth of information on the opportunities and challenges facing Wisconsin’s organic farms and processors. [...more]

This case study shares the experience of one Wisconsin farmer who has been growing cover crops on his cash grain farm for twenty years. He presents his philosophy of cover crop use, explains what cover crop management practices have and have not worked on his farm, and describes what benefits he sees from growing cover crops. [...more]

Wisconsin is seeing a renewed interest in planting cover crops to prevent soil erosion, retain or add nutrients, reduce pest pressures and accomplish other goals. [...more]

A mix of casual gardeners and farmers who make a living in part through crop sales met at Tom and Mary Lou Nicholls’s Nature Education Center in Fifield to learn about native pollinators—species that could play a vital role in preserving American agriculture if honeybees continue to see their current levels of decline. (Photo: Hannah Gaines) [...more]

CIAS, in partnership with Cornell University and the US-Environmental Protection Agency, is offering two workshops this June: Effective Spraying of Orchards and Effective Spraying of Vineyards. These two new workshops are intended for spray operators who want to more effectively use their equipment to reduce drift, increase coverage and reduce pesticide use, thus decreasing costs. [...more]

While growth in the organic industry has slowed, U.S. consumers are not giving up on organic food. Organic sales, which expanded at a rate of 20 percent per year from the early 1990s through 2007, likely experienced negative growth in 2009. But 31 percent of U.S. families bought more organic food in 2009 than in 2008. [...more]

Due to the limited number of apple IPM consultants in Wisconsin and the high cost of hiring consultants, few Wisconsin apple growers have been able to take advantage of professional consultant expertise in implementing IPM on their orchards. To address this need, the Eco-Apple Project launched a blog in 2006 and free weekly conference calls with an apple IPM consultant in 2007. [...more]

CIAS houses the Great Lakes Region Farm to School Program Network, one of eight regional lead agencies of the National Farm to School Program. Its mission is to institutionalize and catalyze farm to school programs in order to provide viable models for improving the economic sustainability of family-scale farmers and supporting child nutrition efforts. [...more]