Fresh market vegetable growers with multiple crops and markets make numerous, complex production and marketing decisions. The Veggie Compass farm management tool was developed to help farmers make these decisions, based on data gleaned from their farm operations.

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.

CIAS builds partnerships to incubate innovative ideas in agriculture, research new specialty crops, build markets for local food, train the next generation of farmers, survey organic agriculture, reduce pesticide use on farms, increase profit on family farms, and more. This document describes new projects we are launching, projects we’re currently working on, and long-term projects we continue to monitor.

Are you considering a new value-added business for your farm? Budgeting tools from the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems at the University of Wisconsin-Madison can […]

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 […]

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, […]

Farms using managed grazing typically produce less milk per cow than confinement farms. However, a series of economic studies in Wisconsin and elsewhere show that, […]

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 […]

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 […]

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?