This two-day workshop will be held February 15-16 at the College of Menominee Nation in Keshena, Wisconsin, and this workshop will connect to additional workshops and training opportunities throughout the 2019 growing season, including the Wisconsin Intertribal Seed Stewardship Cohort that will be hosting monthly online training sessions.
To register and learn more, go to: https://iacgreatlakes.com/workshop/
The 106th Northern Nut Growers Conference will be held this July in LaCrosse!
July 27-28, speakers from across North America will share their experience with a variety of nuts – chestnuts, hazelnuts, oaks, butternuts, hickory nuts, walnuts, even cashews. Sessions will cover breeding, crop management, marketing and business development.
The tour organized for July 28th includes a hike through a native chestnut grove, a tour of Mark Shepard’s polyculture farm, and a look at the American Hazelnut Company’s processing facility. The tour ends with dinner at the Rooted Spoon.
Register by July 1 and save. Register now at the NNGA website at or go directly to the meeting registration website at: https://uwlax.ungerboeck.com/prod/emc00/register.aspx?OrgCode=10&EvtID=5084&AppCode=REG.
Time is short to make the registration deadline for this workshop – one that you won’t want to miss! Check out the draft agenda and handouts we are preparing for the event! Registration information here.
(ps: more than 60 people turned out for the aronia field day in Soldiers Grove at Star Valley — see previous post)
8:30-9:00 a.m.                 Welcome & introductions
9:00-9:45 a.m.                 Principles of ecological gardening
9:45-10:30 a.m.               split into 2 groups:
10:30-10:45 a.m.             Break
10:45-11:30 a.m. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Small Group discussion /Tour at Nature Nooks
11:30-12 p.m.                   Lunch
12-12:30 p.m.                   Travel to Cullen and Micaela’s Long Arm Farm
12:30-2:30 p.m.               Tours at Long Arm Farm with 3 groups :
2:30-3:00 p.m.                 Travel to Mike Breckel’s Hawkstone Vineyard
3:00-4:15 p.m.                 Tour at Hawkstone Vineyard – motivation and philosophy, elderberry production, processing and markets
4:15-5:00 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Elderberry tasting (tentative), Wrap Up
Handouts:
To register, use using
the form available on the CIAS website at www.cias.wisc.edu and send with payment to Michelle Miller at UW-Madison CIAS, Attn: Growing Woody Perennials in the Kickapoo Region, Ag Bulletin Building, 1535 Observatory Drive, Madison, WI 53706. Contact Michelle with registration questions at mmmille6@wisc.edu or 608-262-7135. For workshop questions, contact Marian
Farrior: mlfarrior@wisc.edu, 608-265-5214.
It is time to register!
There are three upcoming events for food and agriculture enthusiasts in the Driftless:
More information on each event is posted below. Please register / RSVP as soon as possible.
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Aronia field day, Saturday August 24th, 9:30-2pm, Star Valley Flowers, Soldiers Grove, WI. To register, RSVP to phil@starvalleyflowers.com
The Midwest Aronia Association is co-sponsoring an aronia field day on Saturday, August 24, hosted by John Zeher, owner of Star Vally Flowers (www.starvalleyflowers.com) John has been an avid supporter and a team member of the Wisconsin initiative to promote aronia even before the existence of MAA.  His sales manager, Phil Mueller, is one of three MAA Board members from Wisconsin. John and Phil are experienced growers of deciduous shrubs and have been marketing to the cut flower industry for over 25 years.  They have a long history of growing aronia as part of their cut flower business and also manage 30+ acres of organically gown aronia planted in 2012.
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Growing Woody Perennials in the Kickapoo Region, Thursday September 12, 8:30-5, Viroqua.Â
Space is limited, and registration is old-school (no on-line registration option or plastic) so please register early.
Register using the form available on the CIAS website at www.cias.wisc.edu and send with payment to Michelle Miller at UW-Madison CIAS, Attn: Growing Woody Perennials in the Kickapoo Region, Ag Bulletin Building, 1535 Observatory Drive, Madison, WI 53706.
Contact Michelle with registration questions at mmmille6@wisc.edu or 608-262-7135.
For workshop questions, contact Marian Farrior: mlfarrior@wisc.edu, 608-265-5214.
Location: We will begin the day at Nature’s Nook: S4878 Cty. Rd. S, Viroqua, WI 54665.
Directions: From Viroqua, take Hwy 56 east to Hwy 82. Turn left on Hwy 82 and go to County
Road S. Turn right on S. Nature’s Nook is about 1/2 mile down County Road S on the left.
Draft agenda:
This workshop is sponsored by UW-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems and the UW-Madison Arboretum, with a grant from the Kickapoo Valley Reforestation Fund. Our wonderful collaborators include: the Vernon County Land and Water Conservation District, My Wisconsin Woods, the Aldo Leopold Foundation, the Kickapoo Woods Cooperative, and Southwest Badger RC & D.
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Driftless Experimental Wine Festival, October 20, 2013. Go to www.AppleRiverWinery.com, Driftless page for more information. To register as a vendor, email MountHopeVineyard at yahoo.com
To receive a registration form for exhibitor/consumer email MountHopeVineyard@yahoo.com
The Driftless Experimental Wine Festival was initiated to bring together boutique and independent wine makers who produce wines made from grapes grown within the Upper Mississippi River Valley AVA (Northwest Illinois, Northeast Iowa, Southeast Minnesota, and Southwest Wisconsin), the Driftless Area. Efforts have been realized to develop initial flavor profiles for French-American Hybrid grapes and Northern Cultivars developed at the University of Minnesota. In order to further those efforts, terroir influenced wines need to be explored.
This event is the first step in a series that will exhibit experimental wines produced only from local and state specific (UMRV AVA) grown grapes. The experience will provide consumers with an opportunity to enjoy similarities and begin to identify differences, terroir influence, between those wines. Gross proceeds from the event will fund scholarships at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale in Horticulture (viticulture) and Architecture (winery design).
Want to know what woody perennials to grow for the long-term health of your land and the region? Learn how to use ecological principles and considerations to manage your land, and see what some beginning growers are doing in the Kickapoo region.
Thursday, September 12, 2013, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm • Viroqua, WI
Participants will visit:
This workshop is designed for landowners with properties of all sizes who need a bit of inspiration and insight about how to get started, what is working on the ground, and what to plant in hedgerows, woodland edges and streambanks. Join us in exploring these three different locations and approaches to applying ecological principles to growing woody perennials in the Kickapoo region.
Course materials may be downloaded here, developed by presenters Marian Farroir, UW Arboretum and Regina Hirsch, UW Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems:
Registration fee: $40, which includes a box lunch from the Viroqua Food Co-op; or $30 and bring your own lunch.
Register using the form available on the CIAS website at www.cias.wisc.edu and send with payment to Michelle Miller at UW-Madison CIAS, Attn: Growing Woody Perennials in the Kickapoo Region, Ag Bulletin Building, 1535 Observatory Drive, Madison, WI 53706.
Contact Michelle with registration questions at mmmille6@wisc.edu or 608-262-7135.
For workshop questions, contact Marian Farrior: mlfarrior@wisc.edu, 608-265-5214.
Location: We will begin the day at Nature’s Nook: S4878 Cty. Rd. S, Viroqua, WI 54665.
Directions: From Viroqua, take Hwy 56 east to Hwy 82. Turn left on Hwy 82 and go to County
Road S. Turn right on S. Nature’s Nook is about 1/2 mile down County Road S on the left.
Draft agenda:
8:30-9:00 a.m.                 Welcome & introductions
9:00-9:45 a.m.                 Definitions, Principles of ecological gardening
9:45-10:30 a.m.               2 groups: 1) Small group discussion/Functions worksheet: What are the functions you want fulfilled on your land? What are your land’s needs, yields, characteristics? 2)     Tour at Nature Nooks
10:30-10:45 a.m.             Break
10:45-11:30 a.m. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Small Group discussion /Tour at Nature Nooks
11:30-12 p.m.                   Lunch
12-12:30 p.m.                   Travel to Cullen and Micaela’s Long Arm Farm
12:30-2:30 p.m.              3 groups : 1) philosophy, context & background, plant selection, how to plant different species (sheet mulching, etc.), plant selection for hedgerows, what is working well, markets; 2) animals, chicken tractor and rotations, plants for fodder, cheese cave, markets; 3) plant varieties, plant selection, propagation, what to grow along riparian zones & edges, sun/shade, guilds, juglones tolerant plants
2:30-3:00 p.m.                 Travel to Mike Breckel’s Hawkstone Vineyard
3:00-4:15 p.m.                 Tour at Hawkstone Vineyard
4:15-5:00 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Elderberry tasting
This workshop is sponsored by UW-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems and the UW-Madison Arboretum, with a grant from the Kickapoo Valley Reforestation Fund. Our wonderful collaborators include: the Vernon County Land and Water Conservation District, My Wisconsin Woods, the Aldo Leopold Foundation, the Kickapoo Woods Cooperative, and Southwest Badger RC & D.
Thursday, June 27, 2013Â 9:30-4pm
Viroqua & Viola, WI
Hosted by: Rooted Spoon Culinary, Viroqua, WI and New Forest Farm, Viola, WI in collaboration with the Hazelnut Development Initiative, the Midwest Aronia Growers Association, and the UW Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems.
Two panel discussions will address the marketing of hazelnuts, aronia and mushrooms. Chefs will speak to their experience working with forest products from local growers. Hazelnut and aronia growers, and a mushroom forager, will share their experience marketing to local restaurants.
After a lunch at Rooted Spoon Culinary highlighting some of these forest products, the venue will shift to New Forest Farm in Viola, WI (about a half-hour drive). Here, attendees will tour the largest hazelnut planting in Wisconsin situated within this perennial permaculture farm. Please, no sandals on the farm tour.
Marketing the Native Understory agenda
9:00-9:30 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Sign-in, registration, coffee
9:30-9:45Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Welcome and introductions -Â Norm Erickson, hazelnut grower and Master of Ceremonies. Also, Dani Lind, chef; Brady Williams & Michelle Miller, UW-CIAS
9:45-10:45Â Â Â Â Â Grower Panel: Norm Erickson, Rochester, MN , hazelnuts; Michael Mathiasen, St. Charles, IA, aronia; Joe Skulan, Lodi, WI, foraged mushrooms.
10:45-11:00Â Â Â Â Break
11:00-12:15Â Â Â Â Chef Panel: Chef Ryan Boughton, One Eleven Main, Galena, IL; Monique Hooker, chef and author of Cooking with the Seasons: A Year in My Kitchen; Brad Niemcek, Kickapoo Culinary Center
12:15-1:00Â Â Â Â Â Â Lunch and informal networking
1:00-1:20        Lessons from value-added nut enterprises in the Midwest: 5 case studies –Brady Williams Click hazelnut businesses for the power point presentation
1:20-1:40Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Upper Midwest Hazelnut Development Initiative, Jeff Jensen, President Minnesota Hazelnut Foundation (invited) and Jason Fischbach, UW Extension – Bayfield County (invited)Â and Midwest Aronia Association, Phil Mueller.
1:40-2:00Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Unstructured networking
 2:00               Leave for Mark Shepard’s New Forest Farm in Viola to tour hazelnut and aronia plantings and learn about permaculture systems.
The registration fee for this event is $10. Space is limited to the first 80 people to register. Register on-line
Some of the businesses sending representatives include:
Representatives from the following towns and cities have registered:
Marketing the Native Understory: Selling Driftless Hazelnuts, Aronia and Mushrooms Direct to Chefs
June 27, 2013, Viroqua / Viola, Wisconsin
9:30-4pm
Hosted by: Rooted Spoon Culinary, Viroqua, WI and New Forest Farm, Viola, WI in collaboration with the Hazelnut Development Initiative, the Midwest Aronia Growers Association, and the UW Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems.
Hazelnuts and aronia are newly emerging, cultivated woody perennial crops in the Upper Midwest, and wild mushrooms are part of a long tradition of foraging in this region. These “forest products†can help chefs create locally-sourced signature dishes, and can help landowners supplement and diversify their income.
Selling direct to chefs may be an important way for growers and foragers to get their products to market, invigorate production and develop the necessary processing infrastructure. One of the main barriers to chefs purchasing local products is a lack of information about crop attributes or availability. With this in mind, the UW-CIAS is working with local partners to connect chefs and growers from around the Driftless Region at this event. Throughout the day, growers and chefs will have opportunities to develop contacts with potential buyers and suppliers.
Two panel discussions will address the marketing of these crops. Chefs will speak to their experience working with forest products from local growers. Hazelnut and aronia growers, and a mushroom forager, will share their experience marketing to local restaurants.
After a lunch at Rooted Spoon Culinary highlighting some of these forest products, the venue will shift to New Forest Farm in Viola, WI (about a half-hour drive). Here, attendees will tour the largest hazelnut planting in Wisconsin situated within this perennial permaculture farm. Check back for updates on the agenda and participating organizations.
The registration fee for this event is $10. Space is limited to the first 80 people to register. Visit our web page, where we will post agenda updates and participating organizations. Or, if you are ready, you can register on-line.
August 2012, CIAS convened a meeting of people passionate about specialty pork. Specialty-finished, heritage breed pork is much-sought-after, especially by restauranteurs interested in an authentic, innovative and sustainable menu item. Heirloom breeds, unique finishes, and artisanal processing are coming together to give consumers a taste of regional flavor. In the Upper Midwest prok finished with hazelnuts, chestnuts, acorns, and apples provide that regional flavor. This one-day forum, co-hosted by Rooted Spoon Kitchen Table, brought together farmers, processors, restaurants and vendors to discuss regional pork. They shared their expertise and experiences, and discussed next steps toward developing a regional supply chain for local pork.
More than 30 stakeholders from around southern Wisconsin gathered in Viroqua for a forum on the region’s nascent specialty pork sector. Some pasture-based hog farmers have begun finishing their animals with specialty products to alter the flavor and distinguish their products to consumers. CIAS recognized that this could be a new niche for small- and medium-scale pasture-based operations in the state, and so we convened a forum to discuss its potential. We posed the question of whether a marketing program akin to “Wisconsin Specialty Pork†could serve participants along the pastured pork value chain. With farmers, processors, vendors, and representatives from CIAS in the room, the group held a lively one-day discussion on issues facing the growth of a specialty pork economy.
We first heard from growers Jeannie Herold (Hazel Valley Farm) and Mark Osterberg (Hawk’s Cry Farm) on the value they’ve found in hazelnut-finished hogs. Both Herold and Osterberg began their operations with hazelnuts before incorporating hogs. Without the necessary industrial facilities available, they have found that pigs are the next-best way to process their hazelnut crop. Herold sells her pork directly to consumers, and she reports that her customers appreciate the rich flavor the meat takes from the nuts.
Next Christopher Pax (Black Earth Meats), Scott Buer (Bolzano Artisan Meats), and Tim Blokhuis (Pete’s Meats) presented on the state of specialty pork from the processor’s perspective. During a break, Caitlin Henning (MSc candidate in Agroecology) discussed her fieldwork on denominations of origin for specialty pork in Spain and how lessons from that country could help farmers and vendors in Wisconsin market specialty pork as a terroir product.
For the final panel discussion, Jeremy Johnson (Willy Street Grocery Cooperative), Nik Novak (Together Farms), and Talish Barrow (Graze Restaurant) talked with the group about marketing challenges and opportunities for specialty-finished pork. While the panelists haven’t yet observed consumer demand for specialty finishing, their businesses have responded to consumer interest in local and pasture-raised pork. Barrow proposed that specialty finishing could be another niche for farmers and vendors with the right amount of consumer education.
Most farmers attending the event were curious about whether specialty finishing could work for their operations. Surveys completed during the event indicate that there is interest in both specialty finishing and product aggregation to take advantage of larger markets and niche consumers.
Another note – if you are on FaceBook, check out the Black Pork site. Lovely photos! https://www.facebook.com/BlackPorks
Meeting participants:
| Last Name | First Name | Affiliation/Organization |
| Armbrust | Matt | Organic Processing Institute |
| Barrow | Talish | Graze Restaurant |
| Bernardoni | Bob | Roller Coaster Farm |
| Blokhuis | Tim | Pete’s Meats |
| Buer | Scott | Bolzano Artisan Meats |
| Doherty | Charlotte | Roller Coaster Farm |
| Fabos | Steve | April’s Garden |
| Fox | Dan | Fox Heritage Foods |
| Fox | Art | Fox Heritage Foods |
| Goetzman | Sandra | Fair Wind Farm |
| Goetzman | Tom | Fair Wind Farm |
| Henning | Caitlin | UW-Agroecology |
| Herold | Jeannie | Hazel Valley Farm |
| Hoch | Harry | Hoch Orchard and Gardens |
| Holmstrom | Deanne | Holmstrom’s Grassy Acres |
| Holstrom | Jamie | Holmstrom’s Grassy Acres |
| Hunter | Jonny | Underground Food Collective |
| Johnson | Jeremy | WSGC |
| Johnstone-Buer | Christin | Bolzano Artisan Meats |
| Keeley | Keefe | UW-Agroecology |
| Mabe | Nick | Hoch Orchard and Gardens |
| McCann | Nick | Iowa State Univerisity |
| Moths | Jessi | CIAS |
| Novak | Nik | Together Farms |
| Osterhaus | Max | Hawks Cry |
| Osterhaus | Mark | Hawk’s Cry Farm |
| Pax | Christopher | Black Earth Meats |
| Prusia | April | April’s Garden |
| Schneider | Stephanie | Together Farms |
| Schriefer | Gene | Iowa County UWEX |
| Solberg | Dan | prospective farmer |
| Toepper | Lorin | Madison College |
| Williams | Brady | CIAS |
| Wong | Kristina | Hawks Cry |
| Wright | Carla | Organic Processing Institute |
UW Extension recently released a new report “Setting A Yield Goal for Hazelnut Breeding in the Upper Midwest”. This report summarizes some of the work-to-date on an ambitious project to improve hazelnut germplasm, develop appropriate-scale nut processing equipment, and develop sustainable business models to support commercial hazelnut production in the Upper Midwest. University of Minnesota is the project lead, with partners at UW Extension, UW Stevens Point, UW-Madison Department of Horticulture and CIAS. The project is part of The Upper Midwest Hazelnut Development Initiative, a collaboration of researchers in Wisconsin and Minnesota working with early-adopter hazelnut growers to develop an Upper Midwest hazelnut industry.
Hazelnuts are native to the Driftless region, with considerable potential as a perennial, high-value, drought-tolerant, permaculture-friendly crop. Keep your eye on this project and tell us your interests and concerns with hazelnuts.
Wildcrafting and Permaculture
Those gathered to discuss wildcrafting and permaculture opportunities focused on the low barriers to entry and the vast potential of a series of underutilized wild crops, including: a variety of fungi, watercress, ramps and wild fruits. The abundance of these crops in the Driftless Region leads to opportunities for entrepreneurial collectors to create new markets. While the knowledge of such crops is present in the community, little has been done to organize interested collectors to share information and resources.
Next steps:
We would like to encourage your participation in continuing conversations. Please step forward by posting a comment below or by emailing us. If you have suggestions on how we can proceed please don’t hesitate to share them.