Isaac Matchett of Matchett Sheep Farm in Charlevoix raises sheep for meat and wool.  Right now with the uncertainly of the COVID-19 shutdown, he continues to work toward his normal goal of ensuring the farm is never stagnant.  He’s active in his church, Michigan Sheep Producers, and Michigan Farm Bureau.  In his free time he enjoys playing pickup soccer with friends and tourists that visit Charlevoix, and spending time with his wife Brianna and their two young sons, who are fascinated with every farm machine.

Isaac talks about:

• How many lambs a ewe has, to the exact decimal point
• The farming sparkle he sees in his boys
• The seasonal nature of sheep farming
• His most-asked questions about wool
• Why he likes to be working in his free time

Sheep shearing video referenced: 

LINK TO VIDEO

Connect with Michigan GROWN, Michigan GREAT:

• Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
• Checkout our website at MichiganGrown.org
• Want to be featured as a Michigan AF business? Email us!

Thanks for listening and come back soon to hear about more people, foods and places that are Michigan AF!

Cindy Visser and her family grow over 100 varieties of vegetables and flowers in Zeeland.  They sell at many farmers markets, direct to restaurants, and through their CSA.  Cindy, Phil, and their seven children have been working together on the farm since 1981.  They immediately responded to the challenges of COVID-19 by changing where and how they sold their products.  Cindy, an obvious extrovert, loves connecting with her community to talk about farming and faith.

Listen as she talks about:

• Her husband’s saying, “Sometimes making it work is the hardest work.”
• The invigorating smell of plowed dirt and the excitement of seeing a plant grow
• Perspective gained from a difficult farming loss
• How each child learned a different essential skill at the tech center
• The group of girls she leads in her church to teach inward and outward beauty

http://visser-farms.com/

Connect with Michigan GROWN, Michigan GREAT:

• Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
• Checkout our website at MichiganGrown.org
• Want to be featured as a Michigan AF business? Email us!

Thanks for listening and come back soon to hear about more people, foods and places that are Michigan AF!

Kate Livingston farms with her family on Livingston Farms in St Johns, where they raise grass fed beef, maple syrup, and peppermint and spearmint oil.  Her family farm has been in the same location since 1902.  Kate enjoys biking on the local rail trail, paddleboarding, working a variety of side jobs, and drinking maple syrup straight from the spigot. 

Listen as Kate talks about:

• The increase in meat sales due to COVID-19
• Her love of going barefoot and being outside
• Her advice about letting things go, especially in 2020
• The farming practices they use to raise their cattle
• Her future plans for a storefront for direct sales

https://www.livingstonfarmsmi.com/

Connect with Michigan GROWN, Michigan GREAT:

• Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
• Checkout our website at MichiganGrown.org
• Want to be featured as a Michigan AF business? Email us!

Thanks for listening and come back soon to hear about more people, foods and places that are Michigan AF!

Amanda Shreve is the Executive Director of the Michigan Farmers Market Association (MIFMA).  After earning a degree in horticulture from Michigan State, Amanda knew she had a passion for the industry.  She found her home at MIFMA, where for the last decade she has been working to support and promote farmers markets.  MIFMA also provides professional development, advocates for farmers, and works to make sure everyone has access to fresh and healthy food.  The MIFMA team visited more than 40 farmers markets last year, and whenever Amanda was at a market, she couldn't be stopped from trying lavender-flavored anything.

Listen as Amanda talks about:

• What skills a good market manager learns – even if they were ‘voluntold’ into the position
• How no two days are the same in such a diverse role
• Why they form partnerships with other organizations – including the Michigan Ag Council
• What steps they are taking during the coronavirus shutdown
• The most common questions you get about farmers markets

Connect with Michigan GROWN, Michigan GREAT:

• Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
• Checkout our website at MichiganGrown.org
• Want to be featured as a Michigan AF business? Email us!

Thanks for listening and come back soon to hear about more people, foods and places that are Michigan AF!

Carl Bednarski has dual roles – he’s the president of Michigan Farm Bureau and a crop farmer in Tuscola County.  Five days a week, he’s full-time in the office in Lansing, leading both the agriculture and insurance sides of Farm Bureau.  On the weekends, he’s with his wife Lisa and three adult sons raising sugar beets, dry beans, soybeans, and wheat.  He said Lisa realized after 20 years that farming is his hobby, because there’s nothing he’d rather be doing.

Listen to Carl talk about:

• The perspective gained when getting an off-farm job before returning to the farm
• The resiliency and risk-taking involved in agriculture
• His favorite, most satisfying crop to raise
• His funny story about a humanely-raised animal and a Washington DC chef
• The basic values shared by people who are not going to move away

Connect with Michigan GROWN, Michigan GREAT:

• Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
• Checkout our website at MichiganGrown.org
• Want to be featured as a Michigan AF business? Email us!

Thanks for listening and come back soon to hear about more people, foods and places that are Michigan AF!

Since 2018, Pamela Ruegg has been the Chair of the Department of Animal Science at Michigan State University.  She’s had a variety of roles within the ag industry, including positions as a veterinarian, a faculty member at the Atlantic Veterinary College in Canada, and a technical services consultant.  Though she’s worked in 39 countries and spent many years living in Wisconsin, she’s a Michigander through and through – her favorite spot to be is in front of a campfire watching a Lake Michigan sunset, she got married on Mackinac Island, and she loves dairy products, meat, and of course – pasties.

Listen as Pamela talks about:

• Her current pets and animal favorites
• Her outdoorsy interests, like kayaking and hiking
• Meeting her husband in a dairy barn
• Her overall goal, in every job, of being impactful
• The European and South-America-for-Beginners countries she recommends

Connect with Michigan GROWN, Michigan GREAT:

• Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
• Checkout our website at MichiganGrown.org
• Want to be featured as a Michigan AF business? Email us!

Thanks for listening and come back soon to hear about more people, foods and places that are Michigan AF!

As a Career Consultant at MSU in the College of Agriculture & Natural Resources, Jill Cords connects students with businesses to foster positive working experiences. On her second shift, she and her family raise cash crops and beef cattle in Charlotte. She’s also a 4-H leader in Eaton County. This year she plans to spend a week at the 4-H Fair, take a vacation, and watch her kids play many soccer and football games.

Jill talks about:

• Her career path that led to her very rewarding job
• The aquatic center she makes a point to visit
• The hot, high-demand jobs in agriculture right now
• Her optimism about this year’s harvest
• Why she already has plans set for two years from now

Connect with Michigan GROWN, Michigan GREAT:

• Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
• Checkout our website at MichiganGrown.org
• Want to be featured as a Michigan AF business? Email us!

Thanks for listening and come back soon to hear about more people, foods and places that are Michigan AF!

Dave Armstrong has been President and CEO of GreenStone Farm Credit Services since 2009.  He’s on several industry boards, he’s treasurer at his church, and he works out daily.  In fact, he and his wife Debra walk 2.5 miles almost every night – except when it rains.  In 2020, he’s looking forward to the 16 technological initiatives GreenStone has ahead and combining work travel with fun.  He and Debra have an adult daughter, Lindsey, who just bought a house, and she didn’t even need lending advice.

Listen as Dave talks about:

• How his internship led him to a career he didn’t know existed
• His parents’ farming background and his involvement in agriculture growing up
• Patronage Day, grants, and why loves working with people with a sense of humor
• How we are human beings, not human doings – and how that relates to volunteerism
• The game he plays with his coworkers to stay current with all new technology

www.greenstonefcs.com

Connect with Michigan GROWN, Michigan GREAT:

• Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
• Checkout our website at MichiganGrown.org
• Want to be featured as a Michigan AF business? Email us!

Thanks for listening and come back soon to hear about more people, foods and places that are Michigan AF!

Amy Laper of Anderson & Girls, is the second generation on her family’s Stanton farm. After graduating from MSU and working on an off-farm job, her parents asked her back, and she’s now been there for 25 years. They run a market, a gift shop, a bakery, a petting zoo, and have so many fall visitors, they can’t even begin to count them. On the side, Amy is the township treasurer and a basketball coach. Amy, her husband Alan, and her son Austin love going on fishing trips in the summer.

Listen as Amy talks about:

• How their business doubled when they added a free petting zoo
• How the Disney mentality is a goal for them
• Why her tongue-in-cheek title is Manager of Everything
• Which animal visitors like the most out of camels, lemurs, reindeer, fox, and goats
• Her family’s upcoming search for a tarpon

http://www.andersonandgirls.com/

Connect with Michigan GROWN, Michigan GREAT:

• Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
• Checkout our website at MichiganGrown.org
• Want to be featured as a Michigan AF business? Email us!

Thanks for listening and come back soon to hear about more people, foods and places that are Michigan AF!

Jolene Griffin is the Director of Industry Relations at the United Dairy Industry of Michigan. Jolene is from a dairy farm in Hastings, where she spends a lot of time with her family, including her beloved nieces and nephews. She enjoys traveling to new places, participating in activities out of her comfort zone, and checking out everything new in the grocery store.

Jolene talks about:

• What she loves about working in the dairy industry
• Her two main goals with her nieces and nephews
• The amazing amount of technology on a modern farm
• A list of 23 things she plans on accomplishing this year
• Giving the sermon at her church – and then doing it again

Connect with Michigan GROWN, Michigan GREAT:

• Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
• Checkout our website at MichiganGrown.org
• Want to be featured as a Michigan AF business? Email us!

Thanks for listening and come back soon to hear about more people, foods and places that are Michigan AF!