Wisconsin Locavore Overview

Wisconsin Locally Grown Product

There are plenty of seasonal Locavore opportunities to find exactly the fruit, vegetables, beef, lamb, poultry, wine or dairy products that you may be looking for. The 2007 USDA Farm Census reported that Wisconsin had approximately 74,463 farms and the average number of acres per farm was 194. Of those farms, 3,319 showed that they raised vegetables for sale, there were 1,135 orchards, 1,281 organic farms and 437 CSAs in the state.

Synopsis of 2007 USDA Ag census for Wisconsin

Classification
Number of farms within the State
Top five counties with the greatest number of farms in each type of classification
Farms with Vegetables harvested for sale
3,319
Fond du Lac Dane Marathon Dodge Door
Number of Orchards
1,135
Door Vernon Dane Bayfield Polk
Sweet Corn
1,350
Fond du Lac Dodge Dane Portage Sheboygan
Potatoes
609
Portage Langlade Vernon Dane Rock
Tomatoes
779
Dane Vernon Columbia Rock Eau Claire
Apples
935
Door Bayfield Dane Polk Sheboygan
Peaches
46
Door Monroe Dane Fond du Lac Green
Cantaloupe
229
Columbia Dane Waupaca Vernon Fond du Lac
Watermelon
185
Columbia Dane Sauk Marinette Rock
Strawberries
455
Vernon Clark Dane Monroe Eau Claire
Blueberries
133
Bayfield Vernon Eau Claire Monroe Dane
Raspberries
406
Vernon Dane Door Bayfield Monroe
Blackberries and Dewberries
86
Vernon Bayfield Portage Pierce Rock
Poultry and egg production
2297
Dane Trempealeau Vernon Buffalo Green
Dairy cattle and milk production
13,081
Clark Marathon Grant Chippewa Vernon
Beef and Cattle ranches
11,593
Grant Vernon Monroe Crawford Richland
Bison
88
Sauk Marathon Dodge Forest Richland
Aquaculture or other animal production
5,816
Dane Grant St. Croix Marathon Vernon
Farms that collect Honey
611
Vernon Dane Polk Clark St. Croix
Farms that collect Maple Syrup
1,486
Clark Marathon Vernon Shawano Lincoln

For more specific detail on what local fruits and vegetables are available (and when), please check out our Wisconsin availability guide.

 
How to find Wisconsin Growers and producers

To search our database for growers, producers and wineries near you, use one of these three methods:

1. Go to the Proximity search page. Enter the Zip code that you want to use as the basis for your search, enter the number of miles around the Zip code, click or unclick the business types you want to search for, then click the "Search' button. When the results appear, if you want more information about a specific business, you can click on the map marker and then the farm or business name within the information box.

If you would rather not enter a Zip code, you can enter a City and State name or a County and State name.

2. To see all of the Profiles within a specific State, go to the menu selection entitled "State Information" in the blue menu section at the top of the page. Scroll to your State name and as you move through the State names, you will see two menu choices appear to the right of your cursor. Click on the one that includes the words "Growers and Producers". When the list shows on your screen, you may sort by County name (click on the word "County"). If you are looking for a specific product such as Peaches or Beef or Honey, simply enter your search term in the appropriate box. For the Wisconsin Grower list, click on this link: Wisconsin Grower list .

3. Using the search box in the upper right hand corner of the screen, just enter the terms you wish to search for..there is no need to include a coma. As an example, if you want to find Peach growers in Wisconsin, just type in the words Peaches Wisconsin and click on the Search button.  There is no need to enter connecting words such as "and" or "in".

Additional Wisconsin Locavore information

Every state has a Cooperative Extension System. Regional offices offer location specific advice on a broad array of topics (including gardening), and may be able to provide you with contact information for growers who are not yet registered on our site. Most have gardening hotlines and offer informational fact sheets, soil testing and pest identification for free or a nominal cost. Often the help is provided by Master Gardeners who are trained to assist the agriculture agents with home gardener's needs. To find contact information for your local County Extension Office – Wisconsin County Extension Offices.

  • If you would like to ask questions of fellow Wisconsin Locavores, discuss tips, share recipes, stories, pictures or any another great “Slow Food” discovery, please post it in our Wisconsin forum by clicking here: Wisconsin Locavore Forum
  • State sponsored “Locally Grown” program - Savor Wisconsin
  • Wisconsin County Fair Schedules – This link provides schedules for County Fairs within Wisconsin as well as many other local festivals – Wisconsin County Fairs