Wisconsin has long been a national leader in agriculture, but with evolving economic, social, and environmental pressures, sustaining this leadership will require intentional, coordinated action. Wisconsin Forward Agriculture (Forward Ag), a statewide coalition led by WiSys, is working to make the state’s agricultural system more resilient and secure.
Forward Ag brings farmers, industry professionals, university researchers, government entities, investors, and other stakeholders together to shape Wisconsin’s agriculture-tech research and development agenda. Since its inception, over 400 stakeholders have been engaged through this coalition, including all 13 Universities of Wisconsin institutions, agricultural nonprofits, agribusinesses, technology transfer organizations, tribal organizations, and more.
Vision: To achieve agricultural resilience and food security through economic, environmental, and social innovations.
Forward Ag is looking to close the gap between research and the market, making new technologies and innovations practical and affordable while considering the social and economic pressures of modern farm life. Wisconsin is well-positioned to advance and grow Forward Ag because of the state’s large, diversified agricultural sector and the resources of its Universities of Wisconsin campuses. The initiative aims to bolster private investment in Wisconsin’s agricultural sector, which historically lags in venture capital investment (ranked 46th) according to US News. Forward Ag is working to develop new ways to stabilize farm income, protect natural resources, and revitalize rural communities.
Connecting Stakeholders Physically and Digitally
Forward Ag’s potential for long-term success is driven by its use-inspired research model, connecting researchers directly to the people they’re working to help. Under this approach, the researchers learn the evolving needs of the agricultural sector and their communities and work in collaboration with those communities and other cross-sector partners to address those needs. By embedding stakeholder insight into the earliest stages of research and development, Forward Ag is accelerating the translation of new ideas into scalable, market-ready solutions to yield a bigger impact sooner. Forward Ag’s Governance Board and working groups include cross-sector partners that are inclusive of people and groups engaged across the agricultural value chain. Forward Ag’s Industry Advisory Board spans producers, food processors, and environmental organizations, as well as energy, bioenergy, and technology companies, positioning the initiative to be competitive, sustainable, and economically resilient across Wisconsin’s agricultural system.
This regional coalition of researchers, institutions, and companies are building relationships to deepen the statewide connections and collaborations. While facilitated convenings do happen locally, WiSys VentureHome®’s locally-led and centrally-supported innovation hubs are connected through a digital network to ensure full community participation across the state.
Steps toward Environmental, Economic, and Social Successes
First Cohort of a Use-Inspired Research Fund: This grant fund supports efforts to reimagine agricultural residues that were previously treated as waste as sources of new revenue. By applying new technologies and market-driven approaches, Wisconsin farmers can transform these byproducts into high-value products, reducing waste disposal costs, diversifying revenue streams, and strengthening long-term operational resilience while delivering new value to consumers. More information on the funded projects can be found here.
Launch of the Farm Finance Breakthrough Program: This is an initiative to strengthen collaboration between agricultural lenders and conservation professionals, with the goal of integrating soil and water conservation into mainstream agricultural finance. By fostering dialogue and mutual understanding between these groups, the project seeks to identify practical ways to align lending practices with long-term land stewardship and risk reduction. This project is a pilot element of the WiSys Forward Agriculture Policy Lab, a platform for developing the policy innovation necessary for Wisconsin’s leadership in agricultural conservation technology and practice.
Launch of the Rural Resiliency Peer Resource Partners: These provide a trusted peer connection for farmers, farm-family members, and ag businesses. Trained coaches work to connect farms/families/businesses with the resources they need, teach them how to be more sustainable and resilient through the reduction of their stress levels, and provide strategies to help them make better decisions and become more effective advocates for themselves. These activities work toward the goal of creating a resilient ecosystem for farmers and rural communities.
Forward Ag was launched in 2023 by over 70 partners across Wisconsin through a $1 million National Science Foundation (NSF) development award in the inaugural NSF Engines program. In 2025, Forward Ag was selected as an Innovation Engine semifinalist, making it to the top 10% of all applications. Governor Evers directed an additional $1 million through a Key Strategic Partnership with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation to continue the work of this successful partnership.
CORE PARTNERS
Additional Partners
AgriGro Marketing • Annie’s Project • Arise Nutrition • Codd-Vantress, LLC • Compeer Financial • Cranberry Creek Cranberries • Dairy Innovation Hub • The Development Association • Doyenne Group • Food + Farm Exploration Center • Food Finance Institute • Fork Farms • Forward BIOLABS • Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance • GEA • Greater Green Bay Chamber of Commerce • Greater Oshkosh Economic Development Corporation • Harvest Fuel, Inc • Ho-Chunk Nation • Johnsonville Holdings • Lakefront Brewery • Matthew Zell Family Foundation • Meister Cheese • Midwest Food Products Association • Office on Main • Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce • River Alliance of Wisconsin • Rural Residency Project • Starting Block • Titletown Tech • Trim-Bel Valley Dairy • UW-Milwaukee Connected System Institute • The Pablo Group • Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association • Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association • Wisconsin Technology Council
WiSys hiring Director of Forward Ag
As an important part of our ForwardAg network, WiSys is excited to share that we are embarking on a search for the inaugural Director of Forward Ag. The Director of Forward Ag will develop programs, cultivate industry partners through an Industry Advisory Board (IAB), and build resources aligned with Forward Ag and WiSys strategic priorities to support innovation and technology transfer across Wisconsin.
Interested individuals can apply using the following link: Director of Forward Ag | WiSys | LinkedIn.
Project Summary
Agricultural systems must become more productive and resilient to feed an expected population of 10 billion people by 2050. Those same systems must also confront declining biodiversity, unsustainable resource use, labor inequality and climate change.
Nurturing healthy ecosystems and supporting sustainable management of land, water, and energy; while balancing trade-offs between production yield, labor, water, energy, land, and climate is a key objective of this project.
We are leveraging the WiSys VentureHome® network of innovation hubs to provide physical and digital infrastructure across Wisconsin to accomplish this goal. This distributed network will facilitate cross-sector collaboration that is locally led, and centrally supported.
ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES
The broad impact of the work conducted under this partnership will be to nurture healthy agricultural ecosystems and supporting sustainable management of land, water, and energy; while balancing trade-offs between production yield, labor, water, energy, land, and climate.
Specifically, this partnership will aim to achieve the following outcomes:
Translate use-inspired research through inter-institutional and industry collaborations
Bolster entrepreneurial support through WiSys VentureHome® network of community partners
Grow a skilled workforce through industry-focused coalitions and curriculum providers
Support the launch of sustainability tech startups and products
Attract investment capital from multiple sectors to fund audacious ideas in the field of sustainable agriculture
Policy recommendations that support sustainable practices
Develop technical and entrepreneurial skillset among underserved populations, across the demographics of gender, geography, race, and economic status.
Identify and prepare for future needs of the farming industry, including workforce needs.
