In spring 2024 White Bison Farm was awarded a $15,000 contract to sell pork and bison to the Wisconsin Local Food Purchase Assistance (WI LFPA) program. Now the farm is providing high quality, nutritious food to the people in their community who need it most.
White Bison Farm is located on 78 acres just outside of Laona, in the heart of the Chequamegon National Forest. Situated in the Wisconsin northwoods, Dave and Jodi Cronauer raise Idaho Pasture Pigs, American Bison, and Gypsy Vanner Horses on their farm and they manage the Idaho Pasture Pig Registry. Jodi is also the author of the book “Raising Pigs on Green Pastures”.
Jodi is local to the area and grew up in Florence, Wisconsin. Dave is a transplant from western Pennsylvania where the couple originally started their farm. The Cronauers have been farming in Laona since 2014.
“We started out raising KuneKune pigs and we were one of the first people in the country to have that breed,” Dave said. “A breeder we knew from raising Kunekune pigs was developing the Idaho Pasture pig breed and the Idaho Pasture Pig (IPP) breed made more sense for us because KuneKunes are a slower growing pig with a smaller carcass and the IPP fit into the goals of their farm better than the KuneKune breed. The Idaho Pasture Pigs were being developed as a grass-fed, pasture-raised pig, so we decided to try a few to start. We immediately fell in love with the breed and decided to add some more to our farm. One thing led to another and here we are today.”
Dave and Jodi are passionate about raising food for their community and they take a lot of pride in producing high quality meat that they can stand behind.
“So many of our customers say our pork is like what their grandma used to raise,” Jodi said. “It’s heartwarming because then we know we’re doing it right. That’s what we’re aiming for: pork when it used to taste like pork, instead of something flavorless. There’s a big difference. And when our customers come back to us and they’re reordering again and again, that’s the goal. That tells us we’re doing what we want to be doing and we’re doing it right.”
In addition to pigs, White Bison Farm is home to a herd of rotationally grazed bison, including a rare white bison. The herd is grazed through 13 pastures, spending two to three days on each pasture. The whole grazing cycle takes about one month and the bison remain on pasture year-round.
The couple describes their bison herd as pretty “hands off,” because they allow the animals to just do what nature intended. “The bison are basically still wild animals. They haven’t been domesticated so they still follow natural patterns which is great. Nature has the calves born when the grass is proper, just like a deer,” Dave said. “It makes them very self-sufficient.”
Dave was originally inspired to start raising bison because there were heart issues in his family and he wanted to be able to provide a heart-healthy meat. Human and animal health is at the forefront for White Bison Farm.
“One of our goals is to get good food to people,” Dave said. “We like to provide food that is raised humanely and is loaded with nutrients. We believe that animals should be on green pasture when possible and have ‘good quality’ hay while still on pasture when the grass isn’t growing. Our meat is nutrient-dense. It’s not CAFO-farmed where it’s cheap and tasteless. Good food we can be proud of is what we strive for.”
Jodi and Dave decided to apply for the 2024 season of WI LFPA because they decided to change from the wholesale relationship they had. They couldn’t find a good butcher to work with in the area of the wholesaler, but they still wanted to provide quality meat to good people. WI LFPA was a great alternative.
“The WI LFPA is a quality program,” Jodi said. “It’s quality meat going to a quality program, helping people in Wisconsin. It’s everything that I would prefer to be doing as a farmer. I really enjoy this program because WI LFPA understands farming. They understand the what, why, and how of what we’re doing.”
White Bison Farm is especially grateful for the transportation and cold storage infrastructure that is provided by the Wisconsin Food Hub Cooperative through the WI LFPA.
“The fact that the Food Hub will go to the butcher and pick the meat up for us so we don’t have to worry about storage is huge,” Dave said. “Most of us small farmers do not have walk-in freezers to store the volume we produce. The fact that they will go pick it up is such a blessing. Temperature controlled transportation, storage space, all of those things that most small farmers don’t have, they are providing for us.”
The WI LFPA transportation process is designed to be simple and easy for farmers, thanks to the Wisconsin Food Hub Cooperative’s commitment to building an economically sustainable local food network that prioritizes small to mid-sized farmers.
“We tell [the Food Hub] that we have meat ready, where to pick it up, and they just go get it and distribute it to whoever needs it at that time,” Dave said. “It’s been really good and I think this program is run really well. The fact that the Food Hub is willing to do the logistics saves us so much heartache. Normally we are trying to figure out where our meat is going to go in our freezer, how long we have to store it for, and how we transport it to who wants it. WI LFPA was so simple.”
By being part of the WI LFPA program this year, White Bison Farm was able to make a large sale rather quickly. This meant they had the working capital to pay their butcher, buy hay for winter, and reinvest in their farm – an uncommon experience for most small farmers.
“This year we’re providing $15,000 worth of quality pork for people in need to enjoy,” Jodi said. “That’s so exciting. I don’t have anything but good things to say about WI LFPA.”
Wisconsin’s LFPA program is strengthening food and agricultural supply chain resiliency, supporting Wisconsin farmers, and distributing fresh nutritious foods to underserved communities. This project is a collaborative effort between the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Marbleseed, The Wisconsin Food Hub Cooperative, and Wisconsin Farmers Union.
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