There once was a thriving linen industry in the Driftless. Is it time to revive it?

A team organized by Leslie Schroeder at Midwest Linen Revival is working on a business plan for linen in Wisconsin. John Hendrickson & Michelle Miller at UW CIAS and Sam Bibby at UW Extension (Ettrick) are working with Leslie to develop the plan, from seed to linen fabric at scale. Project investors are needed to stand up the industry, and early findings indicate that three thousand acres of flax, preferably within a 150 mile radius, is necessary to realize fabric production at scale. This year, Leslie, John, Sam and another 8 farmers put in small scale flax test plots for 2026 to identify promising varieties. Developing seed, R&D for tow and shive, and developing small scale fabric production will be on-going. The report will be available fall of 2026. In the meantime, learn more at https://www.wisconsinlinenrevival.org/