MFAI is offering an exciting opportunity for home makers to try making their food products with Kernza(R) and join a growing coalition of folks investing in environmentally friendly crops. Join our Kernza Makers Challenge today! Kernza is the first perennial grain undergoing widespread commercialization, and is looked to as a new leading crop to promote […]

  EAST TROY, Wis. — Analytics are a key measuring tool in professional sports today, but data-driven assessments aren’t limited to that industry. In Wisconsin, agricultural researchers are asking farmers for feedback about a popular conservation practice. Cover crops, commonly used in the early days of agriculture, have made a comeback as a way to […]

The website for southwest Wisconsin’s Uplands Watershed Group, for which MFAI serves as the fiscal agent and coordinator, recently featured a new video about small grains such as barley, oats, wheat, and rye.  No surprise that MFAI would make it a priority for our talented staffer, Donale Richards, to film and produce it.  For over […]

Multi-state Coalition Aims to Advance Agriculture by Driving Research, Education and Adoption of KernzaⓇ, the first U.S. Perennial Grain Crop A multi-state coalition of researchers, farmers, educators, industry leaders, policy experts, and climate scientists was recently awarded a competitive 5-year, $10 million grant through USDA NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative’s (AFRI) Sustainable Agricultural Systems […]

MFAI is once again involved in hemp research this year – the third in a row. We are currently testing grain and CBD Hemp in a varietal trail. There are 44 varieties in the CBD Hemp trial inclusive of some CBG varieties. Of these 44 varieties, 22 were raised from seeds, 4 from seedling liners, […]

MFAI is hosting a FREE live virtual field day, Wednesday, August 5, 2020, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm (CST). MFAI’s Agroecologist and Agronomist are teaming up to share their 2020 field research! Agenda with Topics and Q&A time: 1:00 – 1:05 pm  Introduction MFAI Research Farm Tour 1:05 – 1:25 pm Soybean + Rye Interseeding […]

MFAI is the recipient of a $250,000 grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Sustainable Agricultural Systems (SAS) program for perennial crop development efforts (see USDA’s announcement here: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDANIFA/bulletins/291fdfc). MFAI was a member of a diverse coalition of more than 15 institutions, including universities, NGOs, farmers, bakers, and governmental agencies throughout the […]

Do you enjoy being outside in the summer? Working with plants? Starting in July, we will be hiring. This is a temporary position with our Research Department. Our organic corn breeding program uses classic plant breeding and modern screening methods to develop alternative corn varieties that perform well in organic systems, have elevated levels of […]

Do you enjoy being outside in the summer? Working with plants? Starting in July, we will be hiring. This is a temporary position with our Research Department. Our organic corn breeding program uses classic plant breeding and modern screening methods to develop alternative corn varieties that perform well in organic systems, have elevated levels of […]

Organic soybean producers in the Midwest have developed weed management programs that rely on tillage-intensive measures that include stale seedbedding, tine weeding, rotary hoeing, and inter-row cultivating. While these measures are often effective, there is much interest in decreasing soil disturbance and tillage in order to conserve soil structure and organic matter, and to obtain […]

Every year, every season, brings its challenges. This year has been like no other; shuffling seeds back and forth to my home office during a pandemic as I helplessly watched my home state become the epicenter in the U.S., followed by being propelled into grief and mourning as a far more dangerous virus, systemic racism, […]

We are very excited Nicole will be joining MFAI’s Research Department next month! She will be instrumental in helping us develop practical research trials on our 200+ acre certified organic demonstration farm. Nicole grew up in Southeastern WI and consequently loves dairy cropping systems and forages. She double-majored in Agronomy and Spanish at the University […]

Two weeks ago, the Uplands Watershed Group met – by video conference, of course. Among other topics, we learned a lot about composting, from basics to refinements.  Thanks to Iowa County Agricultural Extension agent Gene Schriefer and several farmers with extensive experience in composting for educating us.   Here is Gene’s presentation.

Direct Seeding Dioecious Hemp in a Row Cropping System March 26th, 2020,  10am-12pm CST/11am-1pm EST Please join for this free online webinar to learn about hemp genetics, seed certification and regulations, novel planting methods and agronomics for cannabinoid production, transportation, and return on investment for this novel production model. Register: Novel CBD Production Webinar Contact: […]

“Thank you for those inspiring speakers and the delicious food you shared at dinner last night!”  That was an email from a participant at Uplands Watershed Group’s 4th annual Conservation Celebration Dinner, again held at Folklore Village, near Dodgeville, Wisconsin.  The theme of this year’s gathering was “Water, Water Everywhere: Climate Resilient Farming.”  The evening […]

On December 5, 2019 several end of season hemp educational and networking events are planned around the state . Click on the town for details for that event Melrose, WI Green Bay Area Dr. Leah Sandler will speak at this day long event. Hillsboro, WI Mauston, WI 

One of the great things about being a certified organic farm is that we are required by law to “maintain or improve the natural resources of the operation, including soil and water quality.” Natural resources in this context means the “physical, hydrological, and biological features of a production operation, including soil, water, wetlands, woodlands, and […]

Dear Industrial Agriculture, It’s been a great experiment – a social, political, climatic, public health, and agricultural experiment, but I think it’s time for us to break up. A lot has changed, and I don’t think we’re a good fit for each other anymore. We had our “Get big or get out” moment in the […]

The annual farm-supporting musical and cultural extravaganza that is Farm Aid came to MFAI’s doorstep this month. Last Thursday, advocates from around the nation gathered in Lake Geneva for a day of exploring topics as diverse as empowerment histories of many Peoples of Color in this country to the ongoing farm crisis to the history […]

Friday, September 6th, 2019, 8:30 am – 1:00 pm, $20 This event will focus on growth comparisons of 10 -15 different high CBD oil Hemp cultivar lines with comparative CBD/THC tested levels, grain hemp production and a visit to an 8+ acre direct seeded high CBD oil hemp field. The tour starts at Michael Fields […]

This field day is SOLD OUT. Friday, September 13, 2019, 1-5 pm This CBD hemp field day, organized by West Star Organics, Circadian Organics, UW-Madison Horticulture and Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, will focus on the harvesting, processing, and markets of CBD hemp. Included in the afternoon will be a panel discussion led by experienced producers, […]

In collaboration with the University of Wisconsin’s Great Lakes Bioenergy Center, the Department of Soil Science and UW-Extension, the Institute has launched an effort to improve estimates of soil erosion reduction achieved with cover crop use. We are measuring canopy development and biomass production of several cover crops in multiple cropping systems in on-farm trials […]

Please join UW Extension, DATCP, and Michael Fields Agricultural Institute for the second in a series of webinars on industrial hemp production on August 7th, 2019 from 4 – 7:30 pm. This webinar builds from prior presentations and will address current research being conducted around the state, DATCP sampling protocol and timelines, grower questions from […]

Michael Fields Agricultural Institute researchers have long conducted research on farming practices that build healthy, biologically active soils, and our policy team has supported policies that create incentives for their inclusion in farming systems. A recent opinion piece in the on-line news group Food Tank speaks to the many reasons healthy soils matter so much […]

Conversations with farmers, crop consultants and crop insurance providers lead us to the conclusion that prevented plant will be claimed on significant acreage in 2019, especially since the full coverage crop insurance deadline for corn has passed. While this situation is difficult, especially in the current farm economy, it’s important to plan ahead and use […]