Hilaree Fraly is a BASF Innovation Specialist, which means she works with farmers to help plan their growing seasons and figure out solutions for their crop problems.  Originally from Montcalm County, she started in FFA, graduated from Michigan State, and began working for the ag industry.  She loves that her job consists of getting in her truck to talk to farmers, and that she can take her dog - Merle J. Haggard -  to work every day.     

Listen as she talks about:

• What millennial stereotype is the least accurate in her experience
• Why her internships were the best job training
• What presents she’s crocheting for her family (shhh)
• Her 2020 motto – it’s gotta be better!
• Her upcoming, very organized trip to Ireland

Instagram & Twitter: @hilareef

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!

Dan Vogler owns Harrietta Hills Trout Farm LLC, the largest private fish farm in Michigan.  For 22 years, he has been on the farm with his parents Jim and Katherine, his wife Susan, and their six children.  He’s president of the Michigan Aquaculture Association, and he served on the Board of Directors of the United States Trout Farmers Association for a number of years.  He’s also very active in Michigan Farm Bureau.  He likes what his children call ‘productive’ hobbies, like cutting firewood – even though they have a propane furnace - mountain biking, deer hunting, and yes, even fishing. 

Listen as he talks about:

• His standing lunch date with his wife
• What percentage of seafood is local vs. imported
• What fish eat when they’re not the same size as their peers
• Why homeschooling works well for his family
• Why you can’t immediately see the thousands of animals on his farm

harriettahills.com

Connect with Michigan GROWN, Michigan GREAT:

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• 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!

Andy Rozendaal is the farm director at Eighth Day Farm in Holland, MI.  The urban farm, which is right in the middle of a ripped-up parking lot, focuses on taking care of the land as well as people.  The faith-based, non-profit also donates 10% of what they grow to low income families.  Andy grew up on an Iowan dairy farm, went to Iowa State, and then entered the seminary.  After serving a church for nine years, he felt a call to get his hands in the soil.

Listen as Andy talks about:

• How he didn’t listen to the advice not to date anyone from his church when he met his wife
• The most common question he gets at the farmers market
• Going on vacation when you already live in a vacation spot
• The 150-200 volunteers that come to work on the farm
• Upcoming Florida, camping, and kale-eating plans

www.eighthdayfarm.org

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!

Brittney Rooney is an urban farmer in the Brightmoor neighborhood in Detroit.  She, along with her partner Kieran Neal, started the two-acre farm with the long-term goal of growing an agroforestry system.  While their 500 trees are maturing, they are direct marketing vegetables.  Originally from Minnesota, after focusing on political science and environmental law at school, Brittney decided she wanted to be on the production side of agriculture. 

Listen as she talks about: 

• Buying the farm, house, and dream
• Diving in with blood, sweat, and tears…plus finding the right tool
• How she spends her three-month vacation
• Her biggest art project, and the next one coming up
• How you can be both a feminist and love domestic activities

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!

Alison and Ben Sklarczyk own Sklarczyk Seed Farm LLC, which is one of the only hydroponic seed potato farms in Michigan, the other being a research farm at Michigan State University.  They produce six million mini tubers a year, plus grow 1100 acres of corn, soybeans, wheat, and barley.  They have two kids and are on their way of achieving their goal of them visiting 50 states before they graduate.  They’re at 24, with 21 of them convenient locations for a potato meeting!

Listen as they talk about:

• The moment Ben knew he didn’t want to be a mechanical engineer
• Why Alison chose to work on the farm, and when she knew it was the right decision
• Their vast school, community, and industry involvement
• Grandparents bringing them chips from around the world – grown in Michigan
• The responsibility and reward of being an employer

www.ssfseedpotatoes.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!

Jay Parr farms 1300 acres of sugar beets, soybeans, and corn.  He works alongside his dad Jeff in Brown City, where he also lives with his wife Tara and daughters Millie and Hazel.  A graduate of Michigan State University, Jay enjoys going to livestock shows, snowmobiling, and taking their camper on vacation and parking it perfectly.

Listen as he talks about:

• Why his daughters’ swimming lessons are the perfect place to answer farming and GMO questions
• How he and his dad speak to each other
• How being a picky eater is different than only eating what you like
• How they are preparing for their third child – not fast enough
• Why he’s trying to direct his girls away from sheep

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!

Christie Apple is an agronomy and soil health specialist at Timac Agro USA. She is a self-proclaimed ‘soil nerd’ and loves everything to do with soil health and plant nutrition.  She works with clients, trains farmers and other agronomists, and in her free time, farms her own land.  She’s active in Farm Bureau, FFA, and 4-H.  She and her husband - also an agronomist - have five teenagers.  She enjoys her rose garden, playing the piano, singing in her truck, and spending time with her large family.   

Listen as she talks about:

All the Apple comments she endures

Her farm upbringing and how it led to her career

How they are trying to guide their five kids

Why agronomy is like being at a crime scene

How growing hemp – a new crop – has different challenges

Facebook: CropScout Christie 

Instagram: @cropscoutchristielee

twitter.com/capplechristie

Linkdin

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!

Ben Randle is general manager at GDW Farms LLC, which is a turkey farm.  After a career as an electrician, Ben took on a new role as a farmer, where he helps raise turkeys from one-day to 20-weeks old.  In Hamilton, he’s the assistant basketball coach and school board president.  He and his wife have one high school senior and three kids in college.  (All four next year!)  He loves hunting, kayaking, and never sitting still.

Listen as Ben talks about:      

• How 20-week old turkeys are like ornery 18-year-old boys
• Why he became a part of the school board
• How he can control 28 buildings from his phone – especially useful at 2:00 a.m. in February
• Antibiotics, marketing, the attack on protein, and how to best care for animals
• Vacations with his wife, hunting with his kids, and joking about all of them

Connect with Michigan GROWN, Michigan GREAT:

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• 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!

Lori Hedrick and her husband Jeff own The Wild Pumpkin, where families can visit a petting farm, navigate a 1000-bale maze, go down mega-slides, play in the corn box, eat warm donuts, and of course, get pumpkins.  Outside of the farm, Lori also is a special needs teacher for students transitioning into independent life.  After a devastating barn fire last year, Lori and her family were buoyed by massive community support.  This season – with the right weather, a new barn, and a new parking lot – is already promising to be brighter.

Listen as Lori talks about:

• How their initial goal was to have the animals pay for themselves
• Why Buster the 29-year-old emu is intimidating to feed 
• The story of their barn fire, and how their community rallied around them
• Her students and what she loves about them
• What exotic destination she and her family might visit next, and why

thewildpumpkin.com

Connect with Michigan GROWN, Michigan GREAT:

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• 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!

Madeline Meyer is a senior at Michigan State University, majoring in animal science and minoring in food processing and technology. She’s from a dairy farm in Ionia, and she grew up being involved in the farm, 4-H, and FFA.  She’s now active in the MSU Dairy Club, MSU Block & Bridle, Collegiate Farm Bureau, and is serving as the FFA Convention Director.  At the World Dairy Expo, she and her team just took 5th place in the country.  Outside of school, she rides horses, spends time with her parents and five brothers, and plays basketball with her intramural team.      

Listen as Madeline talks about:

• What she loves about World Dairy Expo, and why she’s addicted to it
• Why their team motto is: ‘When in doubt, udder out.’
• Her internships on a California dairy and with Purina
• What unusual foods cows eat
• Her favorite cow, pictured here, that she got for her birthday

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!