Wisconsin USDA Rural Development continues supporting our Innovation Kitchen on Public Radio. Thanks!

USDA Rural Development in Wisconsin has been a great asset to our state's economy, and specifically to our Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen. Their State Director, Stan Gruszynski and our Area Director Carol Wetuski have shown strong support for our projects and made a difference when it counted.

Stan and Carol were on Larry Meiller's Wisconsin Public Radio show on Thursday, March 31. When asked about recent successes of Wisconsin USDA Rural Development they gave a great overview of the Hodan Center's wonderful Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen and its role in regional economic development. Full link is below.

Wisconsin's USDA Rural Development team helped with not only important early equipment purchases for the launching of the Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen, but even more important is their ongoing recognition and professional support for our work.

I've transcribed some of Stan and Carol's good words here:

Carol Wetuski: “One of the big initiatives is the Hodan Center where we were helping in Mineral Point. The Hodan Center is where we talk about local foods initiatives.

It’s a great resource for food entrepreneurship and getting food entrepreneurs started up – businesses.

We were instrumental in helping finance some of the equipment that went into that center.”

Stan Gruszynski: “And that’s a good jumping off point.

We just met with him (Rick) recently. People don’t know this but what they’re looking at in terms of this local food production isn’t just affecting these few counties in that area.

This is a broad swath. All the way from Minneapolis to Chicago has an interest in food production in southwest Wisconsin.

If they can get these local foods initiatives off the ground - and they are going to do that - because they are off the ground in some areas - it’s really going to create new opportunities for our local farmers and growers and producers and processors.

And that’s the emphasis that our national office, Secretary Vilsack has really been trying to stress – is that what we need to do is create sustainable rural communities.

That if we’re going to have a future - and he believes we can have it - then we need to kind of retool how we handle agriculture in rural communities. And how we get the most value of that agricultural dollar by processing and selling locally.

So, the 'Know your farmer, know your foods’ initiative, which has come out of the national office is one that is a good fit not only for southwest Wisconsin, but we’re hoping to expand it into other areas of the state as well."

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Thanks to Stan Gruszynski, Carol Wetuski and all the great Wisconsin USDA Rural Development folks that are helping support development projects across our state and the entire region.


Wisconsin USDA Rural Development. USDA Rural Development Wisconsin brought over $929 million back into the state in 2010 – funding that assisted rural communities and individuals in a variety of ways to finance and foster growth in homeownership, business development, and critical community and technological infrastructures.

USDA Rural Development interview. WPR /Larry Meiller show archives. Search for the show Thursday 3/31/2011. 11:45 AM

Download Wisconsin USDA Rural Development interview on Wisconsin Public Radio. Condensed transcript. 3/31/11

Hodan Center's Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen

Iowa County Area Economic Development. Come Grow With Us!