Economics

Sustainable agriculture needs to be profitable. CIAS supports research on the economics of managed grazing and other production systems. We've created enterprise budgets to help farmers make sound financial management decisions. We've researched value-added products such as specialty cheese and alternative crops. And we are part of a national effort to revive mid-scale farms, processors, and other marketing partners.
Values-Based Food Supply Chain Case Study: Shepherd’s Grain

Values-Based Food Supply Chain Case Study: Shepherd’s Grain

In the mid 1980s, a pair of wheat producers, Karl Kupers and Fred Fleming, became convinced that the conventional dryland wheat farming they were practicing was not sustainable in the Palouse region of eastern Washington. [...more]

Values-Based Food Supply Chain Case Study: Organic Valley

Values-Based Food Supply Chain Case Study: Organic Valley

In 1988, a small group of organic vegetable growers in Wisconsin formed a cooperative to provide stable and fair prices to its members. It evolved into Organic Valley, the largest organic, farmer-owned cooperative in North America. [...more]

Values-Based Food Supply Chain Case Study: Co-op Partners Warehouse

Values-Based Food Supply Chain Case Study: Co-op Partners Warehouse

Co-op Partners Warehouse was established in 1999 by the Wedge Natural Foods Co-op in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This certified organic wholesale distribution warehouse serves retail stores, food service businesses and buying clubs throughout the Upper Midwest. [...more]

Values-Based Food Supply Chain Case Study: Idaho’s Bounty

Values-Based Food Supply Chain Case Study: Idaho’s Bounty

Idaho’s Bounty was founded in 2007 as a cooperative with both customer and producer members. It provides logistical support for a direct-to-consumer, Internet-based food buying club. [...more]

Growing Wisconsin’s Grazing Future: Results of the Blue Sky Greener Pastures Consultation Process

Growing Wisconsin’s Grazing Future: Results of the Blue Sky Greener Pastures Consultation Process

For a wide variety of economic, environmental and social reasons, it makes good sense to regard the practice of managed grazing as an effective system for strengthening dairy and livestock farming in Wisconsin. The UW-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems (CIAS) partnered with GrassWorks, Inc. to develop a statewide, participatory discussion about managed grazing that they called “Blue Sky Greener Pastures” (BSGP). [...more]

Finding a cost effective, persistent  legume for Wisconsin pastures (Research Brief #85)

Finding a cost effective, persistent legume for Wisconsin pastures (Research Brief #85)

Is there a legume that establishes and yields well, persists and is cost effective? Through on-farm research, Wisconsin beef grazier Jim Munsch set out to answer this important question on his Deer Run Farm. [...more]

Value Chain Teaching Materials

Value Chain Teaching Materials

The national Agriculture of the Middle initiative has produced three sets of curricular resources on value-based food supply chains for university-level business and economics courses. [...more]

The Driftless Region Food and Farm Project

The Driftless Region Food and Farm Project

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. [...more]

Perceptions of Raw Milk’s Risks and Benefits (Research Brief #83)

Perceptions of Raw Milk’s Risks and Benefits (Research Brief #83)

Raw milk for human consumption that has not been pasteurized is a controversial product. Unpasteurized milk may contain pathogens that can lead to serious illness. Nonetheless, a study led by researchers Özlem Altıok and Michael Bell of the UW-Madison Department of Community and Environmental Sociology found that customers cite improving their health among the top reasons for drinking raw milk. A growing number of consumers feel that pasteurization robs milk of some of its nutritional and health benefits. [...more]

Mid-scale food value chains case study: Red Tomato (Research Brief #82)

Mid-scale food value chains case study: Red Tomato (Research Brief #82)

Michael Rozyne, one of the creators of the international fair trade company Equal Exchange, founded an organization called Red Tomato in 1996. The goals for Red Tomato were to develop a dual purpose non-profit to market sustainably grown fruits and vegetables in the Northeast, and to provide consulting services for regional food system development nationwide. This research brief focuses on the first goal. [...more]

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CIAS in the community

Farm to School Featured in “Grow”

CIAS farm to school programs—and staff member Sara Tedeschi—are featured in the Spring 2013 issue of CALS Grow magazine. CIAS has been working on farm to school since 2001, and our work has influenced farm to school programs nationwide. Read the article here, or listen to a PodCALS interview with Sara.

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