The goal of the Apples to Apples Project was to help hard cider growers—and makers—select apple varieties for a high-quality, artisanal product. To accomplish this, researchers compared the results of laboratory analysis and tastings of single-varietal ciders to identify desirable flavor characteristics.

A growing hard apple cider industry in the U.S. has the potential to contribute to local, sustainable food systems. In order to better understand this resurgent industry, CIAS surveyed hard apple cider businesses across 12 states in the North Central Region.

Full Circle is an organic farm to table delivery service based in western Washington that grows, sources and distributes fresh produce to West Coast communities on a subscription basis.

Red Tomato is a non-profit organization that carries out marketing and distribution functions for 40 fruit and vegetable farmers, mostly in the northeastern U.S.

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

Expanding the fruit and vegetable industry in the Upper Midwest could have a huge economic impact in the region. A new analysis from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University, in collaboration with CIAS and other regional partners, estimated potential state and regional economic values associated with increased production of fresh fruit and vegetables in a six-state area.

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.

Beginning in 2003, Wisconsin apple and cherry growers and the University of Wisconsin worked with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to address orchard […]

Since 2003, Carandale Farm has been evaluating 42 unusual fruits for environmental, social, and economic sustainability. The goal is to find nutrient-rich fruits that can […]

The Wisconsin Apple Growers Association, four grower networks, one consultant, NRCS and UW researchers are working with CIAS to develop a production approach that reduces […]