CIAS Receives Wisconsin Idea Grant for Local Food

Posted January 2008

The UW-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems has been awarded a grant from the Ira and Ineva Reilly Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment that will help feed Wisconsin’s growing appetite for locally grown food. The project will look at tackling distribution challenges that make it difficult to get more regionally grown food into mainstream grocery chains. Building markets for food grown in our region can potentially reinvigorate rural communities and improve farm profitability.


The Ira and Ineva Reilly Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment is a unique gift to the University of Wisconsin-Madison that is designed to involve faculty, staff, and students, and to honor the Baldwins” pioneering leadership in extending the talent, knowledge, and resources of the campus to the people of the state, the nation, and the world.

For details about this project and other 2008 Baldwin Awards, read this UW-Madison news release:
Wisconsin Idea grants bring a community focus to current affairs

Register Now for Flower Growers School

The Wisconsin Cut Flower Growers School offers practical information on how to grow and sell flowers using organic and sustainable production practices and manage a cut flower business. It will be held February 18-19 on the UW-Madison campus. More information is available here.


CIAS in the community

CIAS recognized for work on value chains

The Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems and Community Development has recognized CIAS and Agriculture of the Middle as "influential initiatives" working on value chains over the past ten years. Value chains are strategic alliances between farmers, processors, distributors, retailers and other partners in the food supply chain. These partners work together to deliver high quality, differentiated food to the marketplace and share profits equally. CIAS has researched and developed teaching materials on value chains. CIAS researcher Steve Stevenson contributed to two articles in the value chain issue of JAFSCD; view the abstracts here and here.

[More posts...]