Driftless Provisions
Old World Meats in Wisconsin
By Greg Lovell
Any Midwesterner worth their salt is probably very familiar with salami, beef sticks, and summer sausage. One or all of them can usually be found at most social gatherings up here, not to mention in a fair amount of lunch boxes and picnic baskets.
What if these Midwest staples could be elevated in some way, perhaps through the quality and types of ingredients or approach to the land and animals?
Enter Ryan and Kristen Wagner, the husband-and-wife owners and operators of Driftless Provisions out of Viroqua, Wisconsin, who envisioned something better to grace our backyard grillouts and meat and cheese trays.
Driftless Provisions offers a premium line of classic meats based on sustainability, quality, and clean ingredients.
A Cure for Boredom
Ryan’s path to becoming an expert salumist began in his very own root cellar, where he honed the craft of making traditional European meats with an American twist.
As an avid outdoorsman inspired by the rolling landscape and family farms of Wisconsin’s Driftless region, he began experimenting with salami harvested from his hunting excursions and at-home butchering. Entirely self-taught, he jumped right into the “sausage culture” of Wisconsin, using everything from bear and venison to the traditional pork and beef.
It all started with a focus on salami, which begins like fresh sausage, where meat is ground, mixed, and then stuffed into natural casings. From there, it’s hung in a fermenter for one to two days before moving into a drying chamber, where it cures over six weeks. Rather than being cooked, salami is preserved through fermentation and drying, developing its signature flavors and texture over time.
Ryan’s tasty hobby soon expanded.
“Ryan found a way to combine place and experience with those around us,” said Kristen Wagner. “That love of food and connection through sharing and storytelling has led us to where we are today.
And where they are today is a robust family- and veteran-owned business crafting a range of premium dried, smoked, and fresh meats using humanely raised pork and grass-fed beef. Customers seeking clean ingredients in quality meat products made close to home are sure to find excellent options.
“Our process honors land, animals, and farmers, prioritizing sustainability,” Kristen continued.
Production from the Ground Up
Prior to moving to Viroqua, Ryan wore a number of hats, including Marine, civil engineer, and wilderness program director. He also earned an MBA from UW-Madison. This unique blend of experiences eventually helped shape his approach to all aspects of Driftless Provisions.
During graduate school in 2015, Ryan began to see the potential of starting a business that brought together his love for hunting and crafting artisan meats. At the time, there was only one salami producer in the state of Wisconsin, so the market was favorable.
Driftless Provisions officially launched in 2019 through midwest co-packing partnerships. By 2020, they secured their own production space in the Food Enterprise Center in Viroqua. By 2022, they transitioned all recipes to be free of synthetic nitrates and introduced packaging to extend shelf life.
“Ryan and I are both entrepreneurs at heart, so owning our own business has been such a fun adventure together that allows us to co-create a life for our family full of meaning and purpose,” said Kristen.
Currently, the Driftless Provisions operation features a production and package room, solar-powered drying chamber, walk-in cooler and freezer spaces, and additional warehouse space. They currently employ a team of nine full-time and two part-time employees.
Casing Out Potential Growth
While salami continues to be their number one seller, Wagner says brats and breakfast sausage are becoming local favorites and the recently-launched grass-fed beef sticks are gaining popularity.
Continued partnerships with regional meat processors have fostered additional growth and enabled Driftless Provisions to expand the product line. With success comes the challenge of balancing fiscal responsibility with ambitious scaling, including outside of Wisconsin.
“The past couple years have also brought forth more national opportunities to expand our product reach,” said Kristen.
As they peer into the future while traveling across the country to attend various national tradeshows, Ryan and Kristen always keep one foot firmly planted back home.
“We love being active participants in our local economy, supporting local employment, and having the ability to build meaningful relationships with local farm producers, industry partners, and key players in our local and regional economy,” she said.
Right now, the vision is to grow as a nationally recognized and trusted brand while building a company rooted in stewardship, or, as Kristen puts it, “caring for the land and animals that feed us, inspiring more people to choose quality over cost for a more sustainable and thriving food system.”
Now that’s good taste for anyone, anyway you slice it.
Driftless Provisions products can be found at the People’s Food Co-op and several other area grocers and specialty shops.
Customers can also order products online through their website.
This article is also available to read in our Summer 2026 edition of The Garlic Press!