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DATCP Dairy Processor Grant – Applications Due September 1, 2026
Grants through this program are available to processors for projects designed to do any of the following: increase production, profitability, processing, marketing, or distribution of Wisconsin dairy products; increase capital investment in the dairy industry; apply new technologies related to dairy production; improve the competitiveness of the Wisconsin dairy industry; make more efficient use of farmland and other agricultural resources for dairy production; and create or retain jobs in the dairy industry. Grants will be awarded for projects up to $50,000 and two years in duration.
DBIA Dairy Business Builder Grants – Applications Due September 30, 2026
Small to mid-size farmers or processors interested in diversifying on-farm activity, creating value-added products, enhancing dairy byproducts, or export programs are eligible to apply for up to $150,000 through the Dairy Business Builder program.
Small Business Development Grant (SBDG) Program – Applications Due October 2, 2026
The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC)’s SBDG is a competitive program that assists economic development organizations, membership organizations, municipalities, Tribal governments, and counties to support small business development in their respective areas. WEDC has allocated $1.5 million for fiscal year 2027, with individual grants ranging from $50,000 to $250,000. Eligible uses of funds include, but are not limited to, matching grant programs (such as startup, façade, expansion) and small business financing for firms with fewer than 25 full-time employees. Interested applicants should contact a WEDC Account Manager to determine if their project is right for the program.
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Food Finance Forum and Expo – August 18, 2026 (Wisconsin Dells, WI)
This year, the Food Finance Forum and Expo will bring food and farm business entrepreneurs into the same room with grocery retailers from across Wisconsin. By attending the Food Finance Forum and Expo during the Wisconsin Grocers Association Innovation Expo, food businesses can access not only food finance and business expertise, but unprecedented exposure to the Wisconsin retail sector.
The Great Apple Crunch – October farm-to-institution event
This is an annual event promoting local food purchasing and local apple growers. For this simple event, schools, early childhood education sites, hospitals, farms, and other locations across Wisconsin celebrate by crunching into a locally grown apple in October. Promote your farm, celebrate with your own Crunch event, and/or sell apples to a growing network of local institutions through the Great Apple Crunch. Learn more on the event's website and through these Apple Crunch farmer resources.
Growing Wisconsin Conference – January 17-19, 2027 (Wisconsin Dells, WI)
The Growing Wisconsin Conference is a three-day event that offers educational seminars, networking opportunities, and business management strategies to growers of fresh produce and the industries using that produce. Registration is now open.
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With funding support through the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program (RFSI), the Community Action Coalition of South-Central Wisconsin (CAC) welcomed state and local partners to a celebratory ribbon cutting ceremony in Madison for its new terminal market and produce processing facility on August 11, 2026. The project, named the Foodshed Partnership, utilizes CAC’s 10,000-square-foot facility with an existing framework of cold storage, refrigerated trucks, warehouse space, and racking. Designed to be a hub for aggregation, processing, and storage, the Foodshed will support farmers—particularly those who have faced barriers to infrastructure and wholesale market access. It does this by helping farms improve on-farm food safety practices, learn about wholesale standards, sell produce to new wholesale markets, access food processing services, and store produce in CAC’s cold, frozen, and dry warehouse storage.
The RFSI project has built the necessary capacity to minimally process raw produce and to make new value-added products that are ready-to-use and ready-to-eat, such as blanched and frozen produce and fully cooked ingredients and meals. These products and services will be made available through Pasture and Plenty, a Madison-based farm-to-table deli, meal kit service, and catering company partnering with Community Action Coalition on this project. Pasture and Plenty staff are working to finalize licensing and compliance details to begin food manufacturing in the new space, which has involved recipe documentation, production schedule mapping, labeling, packaging, and more.
The Foodshed’s first big product launch is Midwest Marinara, a Wisconsin-grown, vegetable-forward sauce on track to launch in schools this fall through collaboration with Pasture and Plenty, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, school nutrition staff, and REAP Food Group’s Farm to School program. In addition to institutional buyers like schools, donation and purchasing initiatives will enable CAC to supply locally sourced Midwest Marinara to local food pantries in Dane, Jefferson, and Waukesha counties.
Through aggregation, storage, distribution and processing services, the Foodshed helps growers move more product with less logistical burden. By aggregating local produce from multiple small and mid-scale farms, the Foodshed makes it easy to source high-quality local produce with consistent availability and streamlined ordering. For both farmers and buyers, aggregated ordering and delivery can save time, reduce transportation demands, and make it easier to consistently distribute fresh, locally grown products to Wisconsin communities.
 The new processing line at the Foodshed Partnership facility, which arrived in 10 crates after traveling by boat across the Atlantic Ocean from the Netherlands, by train from the East Coast to the Midwest, and by semi-truck from Iowa to Madison.
 Foodshed Partnership staff celebrate in the newly constructed Foodshed kitchen behind sample stations for their Midwest Marinara product.
 Ribbon cutting ceremony attendees chat with each other during a tour of the terminal market and produce processing facility.
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 This newsletter provides a collection of resources for informational purposes only and is not an exhaustive list. Any websites or hyperlinks included are provided for reference and convenience. The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) does not endorse, guarantee, or assume responsibility for the accuracy, relevance, or completeness of any non-government websites, companies, or applications mentioned.
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