Chris and his family live in Monroe County and grow corn, soybeans, wheat, plus some organic acres.  He also is a sales representative for Actagro.  Currently, Chris and his wife Rachelle spend a lot of time gazing adoringly at their 7-month-old daughter Adelaide.  As a seventh generation farmer, his family has been farming the same ground since 1831 … which sets them up perfectly for a bicentennial party in 2031! 

Chris talks about:

• His chance meeting with his wife Rachelle
• What makes them a winter family in Michigan
• How fun the never-ending process of buying equipment can be
• Why the tech crowd at the Consumer Electronics Show was amazed by farm machinery
• How tissue testing and sap analysis can show exactly what’s in a plant – and the excitement around that

www.actagro.com

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

Scott Ferry is a fourth generation dairy, beef, and crop farmer in Litchfield.  He was Sparty in college, and now he brings that same enthusiasm to his farm and family!  When he’s not working, he’s skiing, hiking, or keying his own farm truck.       

Listen as Scott talks about:

• The blood, sweat, tears - and dancing - involved in being Sparty
• How he and his wife Ali celebrate the end of each harvest   
• His favorite secret (now not-so-secret) gems in the U.P.
• Fulfilling a promise to his Navy pilot friend to visit
• The kamikaze stage of kid skiers
• First time - and cheapest time - dress shopping with his daughter

www.ferry-farms.com

www.facebook.com/FerryFarms

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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!

Luke DeHaan is a blueberry farmer in Ottawa County.  After he graduated with an engineering degree and worked as a civil engineer for six years, he decided to join his wife and her family on the farm.  They now run a processing facility, a farm, a market - and during the winter months, a snowplowing business.  90-hour weeks are the norm during the busy season, but it doesn’t matter - all of his kids say they want to be blueberry farmers, too!

Listen as he talks about:

• The positive aspects of brainwashing kids
• How weather rules his life
• His church and Farm Bureau involvement in his spare hours
• Monster truck events with boys
• The first app – and second app – he checks first thing in the morning

eatberrysmart.com

crossroadspropertyservices.com

crossroads-blueberry-farm.business.site

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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!

Shelly Hartmann of South Haven is a blueberry farmer at True Blue Farms. She and her husband Dennis, along with their family and like-family team members, run a blueberry farm that covers growing, packaging, retail, u-pick, online, and catalog sales. They have been called the largest blueberry growing operation in the country – plus, they grow cranberries and apples! Shelly serves on several industry boards, likes to go antiquing, and loves vacationing in her own hometown.

Listen as Shelly talks about:

• How blueberries are 100% consumable and the perfect fruit – no peel, pit, core!
• How u-pick helps make memorable experiences with your family
• The journey from 10-acres and different jobs to today
• How a tornado in 2016 ruined their packing facility
• National Blueberry Pie day and their events surrounding that
• What it means to have ‘blue blood’

Truebluefarms.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!

Gregg Smyth worked at Phillips Orchards and Cider Mill as a hobby until he and Brian Phillips decided to make the family farm their full-time business. Gregg now runs the Gatehouse Market, enjoys the benefits of small-town living, and works as a flight attendant in his free time.

Listen as Gregg talks about:

• The long family history surrounding Phillips Orchards
• Forming relationships with local, talented artisans
• The length of time you have to spend worrying about apples
• Painting and working out as a form of therapy
• The path to selling hard cider as a new item
• Why sitting on patios is always going to be popular

http://www.phillipsorchards.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!

Matt Scramlin has had a lot of roles, like a regional rep for Michigan Farm Bureau, a trainer at American Farm Bureau, an auctioneer, a meatcutter, and a sheep farmer, but through all of it he’s been one thing – a Farm Bureau junkie. Listen as he talks about his family’s long history with the organization, showing and judging sheep around the country, and how his work takes him through the food cycle every day.

He talks about:

• How a sheep breed’s cuteness factors into showing, with comparison to Westminster
• How he hit 44 states in one job
• His auctioneering gigs
• How he found out his grandma was big into Farm Bureau when he saw her in a picture with the governor signing legislation
• Movies, poker, and working with his family
• The approaching Super Bowl of sheep farming

scramlinsouthdowns.com

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

Ben LaCross is a cherry farmer in Leelenau County, the cherry capital of the world. He and his wife Kelsey are competing in Traverse City’s half Ironman Triathlon, he’s working on solving agricultural issues, they’re raising three kids going in different directions, and he’s focused on raising a great crop every year.

Ben covers:

• The charming story of how he met his wife, the Cherry Queen, on his cherry farm
• Why pits are really the pits
• Why he chose farming after college from all the other opportunities
• How his son wants to play in the NBA not only because he loves basketball, but because he would get summers off to work on the farm
• Struggles of cherry industry imports right now, and what he’s trying to do about it
• Writing, audio books, and how cherries are the perfect fruit

https://leelanaufruit.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!

Natalie Pennington is a “stay at farm” mom of two. She and her family have a farm market called Hearty Harvest, raise sheep, provide agtainment, and host dinners on the farm. She is the youth minister at her church, has gone on missions to Guatemala and Haiti, and is married to a man who joins in the 5-9 lifestyle along with his 9-5 job.

Listen as she talks about:

• The ‘What’s in my Food’ dinner on the farm
• Why going to the grocery store with babies is a nightmare
• What questions people ask her about food, and how great it is for them to see her daughter eating their fresh fruit
• How chores turned from something she had to do into something she was dying to do
• How not owning a tv adds to their farm lifestyle
• Her passion about serving people here and overseas

https://www.facebook.com/Hearty-Harvest-264996623537544/

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

Kelly Leach is a fourth generation farmer on Avalon Farms in Climax. Her family grows hydroponic lettuce, tomatoes, and vegetables. Listen as she talks about her beloved Michigan State Spartans, new food trailer adventure, coaching cheerleading, and how she will cook a meal for anyone … or give them a kidney.

She talks about:

• Family roles, and how they can read each other’s moods
• How great employees, as well as an adorable 11-year-old nephew, make farming enjoyable
• Golfing every month except January and February
• Teenagers, plus the good and bad about being an adult
• Her grandma’s special name for the Spartans

http://www.avalonfarmshomegrown.net/

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

Keely Efaw enjoys advocating for agriculture so much that she’s even earned a title - Michigan Miss Agriculture USA. She spends her time earning her associate’s degree in agriculture technology and spoiling her dogs, including a one-eyed bird dog. She’s looking forward to experiencing the excitement and sadness of her last year of cattle showing.

She shares about her:

• Love of animals and plan to work with them as a career
• Transition from having pets to raising farm animals
• Boyfriend’s love of animals, despite allergies and hives
• Inspirational teachers and career center guidance
• Moving from a city to the middle of nowhere

https://www.missagricultureusa.org/

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!