CIAS leads diverse projects on food systems, or what happens from the farm gate to an eater's plate. This work is helping to get local, sustainably-grown food to eaters through schools, Community Supported Agriculture farms, and unique partnerships with growers, processors, farmers' markets, grocers and other food-related businesses.

Specialty Foods Enterprise Budget

Customer demand for high-quality, unique specialty food products is growing rapidly. Many farmers are interested in processing specialty foods from the fruit, vegetables, meat, dairy products and grains they are already producing. Successful specialty food enterprises, however, require careful financial planning. CIAS has developed a spreadsheet to help farmers make financial and management decisions about […] more

Dairy Sheep Enterprise Budget

Low commodity prices have inspired farmers to look at alternative enterprises, like sheep dairies, to increase their farm incomes. With careful financial planning and management, sheep dairies can make money for farmers. CIAS has developed a spreadsheet to help farmers make financial and management decisions about new or existing dairy sheep enterprises. It is applicable […] more

Working with Retail Buyers

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, and what do they like and dislike about locally produced goods? This report can help […] more

Dairy Goat Enterprise Budget

CIAS has developed a spreadsheet to help farmers make financial and management decisions about new or existing dairy goat enterprises. It is applicable to most kinds and sizes of enterprises. This budget was developed using Microsoft Excel 2000. If you are running a much earlier version of Excel and can not open this file, please […] more

Community Supported Agriculture farms: management and income (Research Brief #68)

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 partner institutions listed below conducted the 1999 National CSA Farm Survey. Overall, they found […] more

Community Supported Agriculture farms: national survey results (Research Brief #67)

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 season’s produce. Most CSA farms provide primarily vegetables and fruit, but some also include meat, […] more

CSA Across the Nation: Findings from the 1999 and 2001 CSA Surveys

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 movement in the U.S. This work was updated in a second national CSA survey done […] more

Flavor, not health claims, key in marketing pasture-based cheese (Research Brief #66)

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? more