The Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems (CIAS) at UW-Madison was awarded a grant through the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service’s Farmers Market Promotion Program for a project titled “Grains to Institutions: Expanding Value Chains and Cultivating Resources for Upper Midwest Grain Growers.” CIAS will use this $516,000 grant over three years to increase the ease of using regionally produced grains in local institutions, in collaboration with the Artisan Grain Collaborative (AGC) and Upper Midwest grain producers, processors, and Wisconsin partner institutions.

This project will develop a suite of resources for entities across the grain value chain from growers to buyers to accelerate procurement of local grains and continue to build farm to institution efforts. Planned resources include an institutional culinary toolkit including explanations of different regional grains and information about grain storage, processing and culinary uses. These materials will be complemented by stories about how and why farmers choose to grow these grains and an analysis of available processing and supply chain infrastructure.

To see the full announcement, go to https://news.cals.wisc.edu/2020/10/29/project-to-expand-supply-chains-for-regional-grains-to-local-cafeterias/. For more information, contact Brianna Fiene at bfiene2@wisc.edu or Vanessa Herald at vherald@wisc.edu.