Sara Reisinger is the event planner and manager at Leaman's Green Applebarn in Freeland.  This year, her family’s farm and agritourism business is celebrating its 130th anniversary. In addition to a corn maze, apple picking, and movie nights, they also host very popular goat yoga classes.  Sara recently worked with her township to create an agritourism ordinance, represented her industry as the Michigan Apple Queen, and threw out the first pitch at a Detroit Tigers game.     

Listen as Sara talks about:

• Why agritourism is agriculture
• The Princess, Star Wars, and Santa events at her farm
• Her upcoming plans for an event barn
• Goat personalities, and how they resemble four-year-old boys
• Her favorite podcasts, and why she wishes she listened to more

www.greenapplebarn.com

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

Sarah Zastrow founded Bay Area Wellness to help people deal with pain, stress, and their mental health.  She and her husband have a crop farm, plus she is from a farm, and she is invested in providing stress management resources to farmers.  She enjoys traveling to new places, working with her husband and the other generations on the farm, reading – and sharing what she learned.

Listen as she talks about:

• The importance of dealing with mental health issues in farming and in all arenas
• How a proactive rather than reactive process appealed to her
• Her path in college and as an EMS
• How family dinners change when you meld two families
• What you remember when you go on vacation

If you or someone you know needs assistance, please contact Sarah Zastrow

989.859.5659

[email protected]

Or visit https://www.mibayareawellness.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!

Noelle Nachreiner has the dual role of Executive Director of the Michigan Ag Council and Manager of the Agent Charitable Fund for Farm Bureau Insurance.  Noelle and her husband recently moved from Indiana back to Michigan with their dog, Hank the Tank.  Noelle’s past with 4-H and FFA made her want to work in the agricultural area, because she’s passionate about farming, food, communication, and ending hunger.  She is a self-proclaimed leadership nerd, which means she’s exactly the person you want at any event you need a volunteer. 

Listen as Noelle talks about:

• Her quirky new fixer-upper
• How her husband’s woodworking business got started
• Being a breakfast connoisseur
• Her work and travels as president of JCI, also known as the Jaycees
• Her first horse showing award - as a two-year-old!

Michigan Ag Council: michigangrown.org

Agent Charitable Fund: endhungerinmichigan.org

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!

Claire Smith certainly didn’t want to work on her family’s seventh generation farm, but when her parents suggested trying to grow teff, she was intrigued.  Teff is an ancient grain that’s a main ingredient in Teffola, a nutty grain granola they now make, sell, and distribute.  It all started from a suitcase of grain brought from Ethiopia!  One of seven children and a decided extrovert, Claire also makes time to meditate, exercise, and read.    

Listen as Claire talks about:

• What teff actually is, and why they decided to grow a specialty grain
• How she loves to work with people willing to try something new
• Her meditation goals and app she uses
• What she likes to read alone in a diner
• How her Canadian background plays into her pronunciation

Teneragrains.com

Connect with Michigan GROWN, Michigan GREAT:

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

When Triston Cole met his own representatives as part of his teenage 4-H Capitol Experience, he never pictured becoming an elected official. But after starting his own farm and becoming involved with policy, he changed his mind. When he’s not working for his constituents, Triston enjoys hunting, cross country skiing, fishing, and raising adults - not kids.

Triston talks about:

• Their farmstand incident that led to policy-making
• Being surprised by not one, but two bears on his porch
• His past success as a cross country ski racer
• His tenuous first date with his wife
• How as parents they try to support their kids, no matter their interests

www.tristoncole.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!

Jeno Rivera is part of Urbandale Farm in Lansing, as well as Director of the Liberty Hyde Bailey Scholars Program at Michigan State University. She is a former high school ag teacher and professor in the MSU Residential College for Arts and Humanities.  She roller skates, forages everywhere, and owns every tool on earth. 

Listen as she talks about:

• Sewing, making her own soap, and her farming plans
• How Urbandale Farm started, and where it wants to go
• How she was probably not the best marketer for a vegetarian restaurant
• Food deserts, and how Lansing is making strides
• Her large family – she’s cousin #102!

www.lufp.org

www.canr.msu.edu/people/jeno-rivera

Connect with Michigan GROWN, Michigan GREAT:

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

Kevin Robson grew up and still works on his family’s farm, called Robson’s Greenhouse, which started in 1929.  He also works for Michigan Farm Bureau Insurance as an Agribusiness Specialist, and he is the Executive Director of the Michigan Blueberry Commission.  He loves spending time at his family cottage on Higgins Lake, embracing the positive aspects of the Millennial stereotype, and supporting both his college - and its rival team.

Listen as Kevin talks about:

• Why his grandma was so sad when she saw the cottage for the first time
• His favorite vegetables and meat meal his mom makes
• How he didn’t believe the ‘if you love your job you’ll never work a day in your life’ until he lived it
• How he takes full advantage of the Up North experience in all seasons
• What his real friends call him

www.robsonflowers.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!

Taylor Truckey is the Farm Engagement Manager at AgVend.  She at first thought she wanted to work in another area, but her hobby farm and 4-H background convinced her she wanted to work in agriculture.  She is helping pay off her student loans by running her own photography business, and she’s planning a big celebratory trip when she reaches her goal next year.  She enjoys hiking with her dog, doing her side hustle, and communicating with her community of supporters – online and in real life. 

Listen as Taylor talks about:

• Her aggressive use of Instagram and why she deleted Snapchat
• What she sacrifices to get what she wants
• Her love language and her Venmo info
• What kind of people make her want to work in agriculture
• How intimidating a German Shepherd puppy can be

www.truckandcophoto.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!

Dede Beck of Uncle John’s Cider Mill is running a business that has the goal of giving people of all ages to do something together. She works in accounting, merchandising, hiring, training – you name it, all for the 50,000 visitors that come each fall weekend. She, her husband Mike, and daughter Lauren enjoy skiing in the offseason, bicycling on the road or trails, and racing up sand dunes just for fun.

Dede talks about:

• What the phrase ‘cider mill sheik’ means
• The best advice she got for the M22 Challenge run, bike, and kayak race
• How funny it is to see a snowboarder on skis
• The very specific questions visitors ask about growing apples
• The basic joy of cider and donuts

www.ujcidermill.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!

 Elizabeth Taylor is the Ag Relations & Communications Manager at Michigan Sugar. She’s in charge of a long list of events and programs, but her most recent exciting project is Cream & Sugar, a gourmet ice cream shop opening in Bay City. She likes being with her family on Lake James, running and lifting heavy weights, and working with farmers.
 

Elizabeth talks about:
 

•  The Munger Potato Festival and the popularity of Figure-8s
•  Bay City sugar beet factory tours - coming up soon
•  Her most-favored, longest-used phone apps

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!