Meet Annie Link, a multi-generational dairy farmer who milks about 2,000 cows and raises crops in West Michigan. Her family’s farm started in 1915 when Annie’s great-grandfather married the farmer’s daughter. She and longtime friend (and podcast host) Carla visit about:

• The inspiration behind hosting tours for neighbors and other visitors
• A business transition that allows for more community engagement
• An adorable adopt-a-cow program
• A sports legacy that is continuing and an explanation of a “mat maid”
• Training…or not…for marathon running
• Where an obsession with cheese has led Annie
• A life-changing experience
• The things she appreciates about Michigan
• A surprising detail about her lifestyle…or should that be hairstyle?
• The best advice she’s been given in life
• What her learning goals are and how they fit around doing laundry

Sites mentioned in this podcast:

• Farm website: https://www.swisslanefarms.com/
• Dairy Discovery: https://www.facebook.com/DairyDiscovery/
• Swiss Lane Dairy: https://www.facebook.com/swisslanedairyfarms/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/dairydiscovery

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 Smith is a husband and father of four. He works with his father- and brother-in-law to grow wine and juice grapes, corn and soybeans in southwest Michigan. He also serves as the Executive Secretary for the Michigan State Horticultural Society. Get to know him and the roles he balances, covering:

• The main things he’s working on like one of the largest specialty crop shows in North America; combatting grape berry moths, fighting plant diseases and finding labor; and trimming grapevines
• Where his juice grapes end up – get excited for this local product, Michiganders!
• His roots in asparagus and cherries…and being an aerospace engineer obviously
• The course of his career and flight simulation
• What his four daughters like helping their Papa do during harvest
• The coldest job that leaves a person chilled to the bone in winter
• A unique seasonal gift he and his wife enjoyed their first autumn living in Florida
• A meal everyone in their household is enjoying right now
• The timeline farmers must get their semi-trucks loaded with grapes to the processing facility
• The most beautiful places he’s seen in the world
• The best advice he’s been given regarding change

Sites mentioned in this podcast:

• Great Lakes EXPO: https://glexpo.com/
• Follow Ben on Twitter at https://twitter.com/bendsmith83

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!

Meet Ben Tirrell, whose family has owned the same farm for more than 100 years. They raise sheep and beef cattle, plus corn, soybeans and wheat. He shares about a variety of topics including:

• What he can tell about a farmer’s personality right out of the gate
• A few unique challenges of farming near the city
• Favorite family traditions with his two daughters
• How he spends time when he’s not working full- and part-time
• A worry he has for our future
• A skill he tries to focus on both professionally and personally
• A sport that should be featured on ESPN
• Ways he’s involved in his community beyond raising food
• The best advice he’s been given
• What’s been different about going to school now
• Ways that farmers are reaching out to others to be more open about farmlife

Sites mentioned in this podcast:

• MDARD Right to Farm program: https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/0,4610,7-125-1599_1605---,00.html
• Michigan Farm Bureau: https://www.michfb.com/mi/

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!

Meet Tony Stefani, husband and father of four, who works with his dad to grow cut-your-own Michigan Christmas trees. He and Carla visit about:

• What it’s like to work all year for a business open nine days
• What you should do when you visit a U-Choose/U-Cut farm
• A family Thanksgiving tradition
• The different scents of tree varieties (you may remember this from last year’s Harvest Hangout with Tom Trechter)
• How he spends his time when he’s not working two jobs and completing a bachelor’s degree
• A book recommendation
• How Michigan Christmas trees get their (lengthy) start
• His favorite meal with endless possibilities
• His favorite quest with kids
• A more famous Stefani with a similar lifestyle (ha!)

Sites mentioned in this podcast:

• Hillside Christmas Tree Farm: https://www.hillsidechristmastreefarm.com
• Farm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HillsideChristmasTreeFarm
• Michigan Christmas Tree Association: https://www.mcta.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!

Meet Zack Snider, a young farmer who raises pigs, turkeys, corn and soybeans with his family in West Michigan. He talks with us about:

• The most surprising thing about him (spoiler: it’s not far from having a seasonal werewolf running around the house)
• The difference between male and female turkeys
• A skill he has had since perhaps before he could walk
• A remodel project he’s working on
• Neat technology he and his dad work with to do the best job they can
• Barns with names…that are relevant for a very important reason!
• Sounds his son makes and other fun things Sawyer is learning
• Setting the record straight about family business in animal agriculture
• Three people he might invite to [Thanksgiving] dinner
• Family holiday traditions
• Things he’s most thankful for in this life

Sites mentioned in this podcast:

• GreenStone FCS: https://www.greenstonefcs.com/resources/partners-magazine/2018/Fall-2018/10152018-rolling-with-the-changes
• Michigan Pork Producers Association: http://www.mipork.org/
• Michigan Turkey Producers, a co-op of 15 farmers: http://www.miturkey.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!

Meet Sam Krhovsky, a farmer who has corn, soybeans and wheat, plus a roadside stand. Off the farm, Sam was an agronomist and is now a sales manager for DEKALB®/Asgrow. Listen in as she talks with us about:

• How her plans shifted from wanting to be a physical therapist
• What she enjoyed most about the other side of the Mississippi River
• The most beautiful places she’s traveled
• Her favorite Michigan expressions and other lifestyle changes
• An opportunity to step outside of her comfort zone
• A balance of products (GMOs and non-GMOs) that exist to meet consumer demands
• The thing (actually, people) she’s most thankful for in life
• Questions she often hears at the farm stand that are unexpectedly complex
• How a company rebranding may open doors to more conversations like this one

Sites mentioned in this podcast:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/sassyagronomist
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sassyagronomist/
• GMO Answers: https://gmoanswers.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!

Meet Brian Pridgeon, a seventh generation pig farmer who also seasonally grows corn, soybeans and wheat with his brother, dad and uncle. He shares lots of laughs with Carla about topics including:

• The obvious connection between a master’s degree in communications and raising pigs
• Where he met a woman who said yes to being a farmer’s wife
• A life-changing experience post-Thanksgiving three years ago
• Where he’ll be traveling at the end of harvest and this winter
• The job he dreads most on the farm and another job that is a surprisingly neat experience (note: not “neat” as in clean!)
• Songs he’s playing on the piano lately, following a 2-hour singalong concert
• The perfect pairing for Ernie Harwell’s voice on the radio
• What he’s learned from his dad and uncle
• Technology they’re using that helps cut down farmer fatigue
• Something he wishes Michigan had more of
• What he would do for a career if he wasn’t a farmer

Sites mentioned in this podcast:

• Michigan Commission of Agriculture and Rural Development: https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/0,4610,7-125-1572_2878-8251--,00.html

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!

Meet Allyson Maxwell. She is a corn, sugarbeet, soybean, wheat and seasonal pumpkin farmer raising two boys and a farmdog. Whew! She makes a minute to chat about:

• How a healthy garden became a 12-acre business venture
• Why sugar differed where she grew up in Kansas City, Kansas
• Food labels, including what is a GMO? How about genetic modification vs. plant breeding vs. genetic engineering?
• Should you wash your produce?
• What kinds of products can be found in her grocery cart?
• Her baking dreams
• What activities their family does together
• A technology that may have a future on their farm
• A bug bite that led her to where she is today

Sites mentioned in this podcast:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/AccidntlFarmGrl
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/accidntlfarmgrl/
• Farm Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaxwellsPumpkinFarm/
• Farm Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maxwells_pumpkin_farm/

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!

Meet Nicole Heslip, a farm broadcaster with dairy farm roots in southwest Michigan. She talks with us about being a media professional among these other topics:

• A farm growth story of her family’s first-generation farm and agribusiness
• Applying to college to chase her dream to become a state FFA officer
• The worst job she had related to spreadsheets
• An anniversary when she and her husband laughed so hard they cried
• Buying and opening a business, renovating a house while buying a new one AND parenting all at once
• The best place to attend a beer festival in Michigan
• Why she drives so much in the winter
• Her guilty pleasure foods
• Maximizing the strengths of individuals for the love of food and beer
• Fitness secrets pre-pregnancy and pre-baby and how things have changed present-day

Sites mentioned in this podcast:

• Brownfield: https://brownfieldagnews.com/brownfield-members/nicole-heslip/
• Michigan FFA: http://www.michiganffa.com/ 
• Michigan Farm Bureau: https://www.michfb.com/mi/

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!

Meet Carla Schultz, a livestock and crop farmer working alongside her husband, four kids and her parents in Michigan’s “thumb” region. Try to keep up as Carla (and Carla!) plow through the topics of:

• Teaching young people about careers as hydrologists & plant scientists beyond raising animals
• What she likes to do for fun
• Her honest kids and toning down a competitive spirit
• The meal that’s a good fit for everyone in their household
• The best place to vacation away from farm tasks
• Her husband’s journey from the Marines, carpentry and welding to managing their farm
• Rebranding a business name
• A book series she recommends for fans of murder mysteries
• Building a barn house and other business goals
• What it was like to commercially clean a food processing facility
• Creative solutions to fitness working into a life routine
• The best advice she’s received in life

Sites mentioned in this podcast:

• FARM Science Lab: https://miagclassroom.org/lab/
• CommonGround of Michigan: http://findourcommonground.com/blog/community/michigan/
• 8 Plates Farm website: https://www.eightplatesfarm.com/
• Mayville Sunflower Festival: https://villageofmayville.org/sunflowerfestival/

Agrifit challenge: https://www.facebook.com/agrifitchallenge/

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!