Food Finance Institute

09/03/2026

🚜🌱 Wisconsin beginning farmers: Are you ready to unlock capital for your farm business?

The Food Finance Institute's Unlocking Capital for Beginning Farmers program helps farmers who have been in business for fewer than 10 years better understand financing options, prepare for lender conversations, and build a stronger foundation for growth.

✅ Free educational cohort
✅ Practical tools and resources
✅ Designed specifically for beginning farmers
✅ Learn how to access the capital you need to grow

Learn more and apply: https://zurl.co/Ee9Tq

09/03/2026

🌱 Ready to grow and scale your food business?

The FFI Fellows Program helps food-focused entrepreneurs build investable business models and strong financing strategies — with free expert coaching, peer support, and $10,000+ in program benefits.

Whether you're in food, beverage, ag tech, or value-added processing, this is your opportunity to connect, refine your strategy, and get investor-ready.

📅 Applications are open!
🔗 https://zurl.co/tezcs

09/01/2026

Great interview with Ayla Guild of The Hive Taproom! We're so proud to have worked with Ayla and Tim to build on their success, including being awarded a Value Added Producer Grant and purchasing a tap trailer. "If you have a passion for your product, there are people who can help you make that dream a reality." We couldn't agree more!

Ayla Guild and her husband, Tim, opened The Hive Taproom in 2018. She credits the Farm Finance Institute (FFI) for helping launch and grow their venture.

09/01/2026

Help your food + farm clients grow with confidence. 🌱

Our Consultant Training will prepare you to:
📈 Strengthen business models for profitability
📈 Build financial packages that attract capital
📈 Support clients through fundraising + growth
📈 Stand out as a finance-savvy consultant

Includes certification, tools + templates, networking access, and a 1-year Unlimited Learner Pass.

Save your spot / Get session updates: https://zurl.co/1SRGy

FOLLOW

08/27/2026

Scaling a food business takes more than increasing sales—you need the infrastructure to support the growth.

Our GROW: Infrastructure live training series helps food and beverage entrepreneurs strengthen the operational backbone of their businesses, with expert guidance on:

🔒 Protecting your brand, recipes and intellectual property
💻 Building a scalable tech stack
📈 Strategic planning for long-term growth
🤖 Using AI and automation to increase capacity
🏭 Navigating the operational pivots that come with scaling
👥 Building and managing a high-performing team

6 live virtual sessions | Sept. 2–Oct. 7 | Wednesdays, 1–2:30 p.m. CT

Registration is $95 and includes expert instruction, Q&A, and practical tools you can put to work in your business right away. Free for Unlimited Learner Pass holders.

Ready to build a stronger foundation for growth?

Learn more and register: https://zurl.co/OJmh4

08/26/2026

💡 Looking for funding to grow your food or farm business?

Finding the right capital can be challenging—whether you’re just starting to explore your options or you’ve already heard “no” from lenders or investors.

Join Food Finance Institute Founder and Innovative Finance Expert Tera Johnson for Sources of Capital for Food Businesses, a FREE webinar designed to help you better understand your financing options and identify the right funding partners for your stage of growth.

You’ll learn a practical framework for thinking about capital structures across different types of food businesses, including how project financing can support food and agriculture infrastructure projects and RFSI-funded opportunities.

👉 Register today: https://zurl.co/87XH1

FOLLOW

08/24/2026

Join us at this Small Business Clinic, where FFI is co-leading a track on food business! Featuring presentations by the FFI Team! Topics include:

🌾 Growing a Food or Farm Business
🍝 Cottage Food & Mobile Food Business Basics
📲 Digital Marketing for Food Businesses

Register now — join for the whole day or just the parts you're most interested in!

https://businessentrepreneurship.zohobackstage.com/SmallBusinessClinicVernonCounty #/

We're bringing a Small Business Clinic to Vernon County next week! Join us in Viroqua on Thursday, August 27th, for a free Small Business Clinic at Western Technical College!

Attend breakout sessions, sign up for one-on-one consulting with a variety of experts, and connect with fellow entrepreneurs. Topics include marketing, finance, legal, funding, AI, and more, plus a dedicated Food, Farm & Agriculture Track.

Register today: bit.ly/sbc-vernon

08/21/2026

🎁 It's a wrap! Another fantastic year of connecting, learning, and growing at the Food Finance Forum and Expo! This event forged stronger connections between food entrepreneurs and Wisconsin grocers, as we filled the Local Lane at Wisconsin Grocers Association Innovation Expo in the Wisconsin Dells!

🧀 🥐 🥩🥕 We laughed, we cried (happy tears!), we learned, we ATE SO MUCH delicious food from across our state and region. And many of us took the plunge at the Wilderness Hotel & Golf Resort's many refreshing water parks! 🌊

🙏 Till next year, thank you so much to all who joined us and all who worked hard to make this year's big event a success!

Read more in our news post: https://zurl.co/M87ks

Carr Valley Cheese Maurer’s Market

08/14/2026

The 2026 FFI Forum & Expo is just days away! 🎉

On Tuesday, Wisconsin’s food and beverage community will come together for a day of connection, learning, and new opportunities.

Meet fellow entrepreneurs, connect with industry partners and resources, and build relationships with people from across Wisconsin’s food and beverage ecosystem.

📅 Tuesday, August 18, 2026
📍 Wilderness Resort | Wisconsin Dells

There’s still time to join us! https://zurl.co/k78SO

08/12/2026

The 2026 FFI Forum & Expo is less than a week away! 🎉 Meet some of the voices taking the stage in Wisconsin Dells.

🎤 Keynote
• John W. Miller, Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC)

🚀 Business Showcase
• Ayla Guild, The Hive Taproom
• Sean Kinney, A Wandering Fire

Hear from leaders working to strengthen Wisconsin's food and farm economy and entrepreneurs sharing the experiences, challenges, and lessons behind building their businesses.

📅 August 18, 2026
📍 Wilderness Resort | Wisconsin Dells

We hope you'll join us! https://zurl.co/hrta4