The FARMWISE Team spent over a year interviewing buyers in Indiana and Kentucky to learn more about what motivates them to source locally grown and produced foods. From school food service directors to chefs, dieticians to business owners, we gathered background details on the many motivating factors that lay within each connection made and each meal served.

To build a regional food system, and maintain a strong network, you must start with a foundation of communication, collaboration, and listening. This is patient work and can sometimes feel slow or at a pace we are not used to in life. FARMWISE Value Chain Professional shares his impressions of building a foundation to make a connection.

We work to connect growers with buyers and also- with eaters. But what about shaping the purchasing decisions of our growing population? These future decision makers are engaged with their food systems in a variety of ways. Recently, FARMWISE Indiana Value Chain Professional Jen Musall spent the day with our future chefs and food buyers and share her experience.

FARMWISE Newsletter: February 2026

There are no seasonal and weather restrictions in the dairy industry. Cows must be milked and the work must be done- rain, heat, or snow.

Recently, FARMWISE Value Chain Professional Becky Landes visited a farm in her region, and we asked her to share her experience.

We use data to inform our actions and often times the data comes to us in handwritten notes, voicemails, and via a fax. Several of our Value Chain Professionals have been working with and attending their local produce auctions last growing season. Learn more about how we organize that important produce data.

Work with FARMWISE Indiana: stay tuned for upcoming opportunities!