Organic Farming

Wisconsin is a top-ranked state in organic agriculture, and we lead the nation in organic dairy production. More than a quarter of the nation’s 87,000 organic dairy cows live in Wisconsin. Organic production and marketing are important research areas for CIAS. In addition, we report on the status of organic agriculture in our state. For more information, contact CIAS staff member John Hendrickson or Laura Paine at the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

An organic dairying overview from the Krusenbaum farm studies (Research Brief #16)

It’s important that we farm organically. That’s the whole reason we’re in farming. We have ethical reasons we feel it’s important to treat the soil biodynamically. — Altfrid Krusenbaum With the market for organic milk offering potential niches, some Wisconsin dairy farmers are curious about what it takes to make the transition from conventional to organic [...] [...more]

Vegetable Storage Crops Workshop

Learn how to extend your marketing season by growing and selling winter storage crops like carrots, beets, winter squash, cabbage, potatoes, onions, garlic and more. This workshop will be held on December 4 in Hudson and December 11 in Madison. For details, see the workshop flyer. Hope to see you there!


CIAS in the community

CIAS Hosts Annual Meeting of Eco-Apple Growers

On Thursday, November 12, CIAS hosted its annual meeting of apple growers engaged in its Eco-Apple pesticide reduction program. Notably, the group of 48 growers celebrated the successful completion of a six-year effort designed to reduce the use of pesticides on orchards throughout Wisconsin. During the course of the program, all reporting orchards demonstrated a reduced reliance on pesticides in favor of a diversity of IPM strategies, and some realized a near-total elimination of organophosphate applications. CIAS thanks its team of growers for their enthusiastic and committed participation. In particular, CIAS wishes to thank Dave Flannery, Wendy Schafer, Bill Stone and Anna Maenner for their fortitude in seeing this phase of the project through to a successful conclusion. UW rsearchers Dan Mahr, Patty McManus, Matt Stasiak and Teryl Roper have been critical to the project’s success. Thanks also to EPA-V and the USDA for their support and encouragement.

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