Meet Angie Setzer, who is responsible for buying and selling grain (corn, soybeans and wheat) from farmers. Listen in as she talks about:

• How a person gets started in this job…even if unconventionally
• Putting your eggs (and other foods) in more than one basket
• Working by way of “trial by fire” and managing risk
• Learning your ethical compass in less-than-ideal situations
• Transitioning from a career being her baby to...motherhood and step-grandmotherhood
• Presenting a breakout session in high heels while holding a child
• Serving sandwiches with fancy mustard
• Living life positively
• Finding comfort in solitude but being able to speak to a room full of people
• Setting the record straight about family farms and digging into the layers of agriculture

A link mentioned in this podcast is:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoddessofGrain

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 Jed Welder, retired Army Ranger who returned to Michigan to farm. Jed considers himself a small farmer, and works with 33 different land owners to raise 1,500 acres of corn, soybeans, wheat and oats. Listen in as he discusses:

• The best office he’s ever sat in
• Transitioning from the Army to farming
• Raising kids on a farm and fitness regimens on the farm
• Putting plants first before social events
• Giving directions in farm country
• The differences between isolation on a farm and being in a military unit
• Setting goals to be efficient, doing more with what he has
• On balancing community goals of sportsmen and farmers
• Building relationships with people around you
• The speed limit and farmers’ sense of urgency

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 Rita Herford, a diversified Michigan farmer who grows soybeans, edible dry beans, wheat, corn & sugarbeets. She talks about several things including:

• Finding time for family during farmwork hours
• Having a baby [quickly] during planting season and self-employed “maternity leave”
• Managing expectations for a 2-year-old who expects the fair to be like a movie
• Getting an email from The White House and clearing a schedule during harvest season
• How sports medicine and physical therapy goals turned into agricultural research and sales, which then turned into farming fulltime and wondering where time has gone
• A dream day including behaved children and no cooking or cleaning
• The farmkid shuffle if they’re sick on a weekend
• Breaking stereotypes of peoples’ images of a farmer
• Combining households upon marriage…and then making changes after babies are born

Twitter: https://twitter.com/herfordrita

Facebook: Gentner-Bischer Farms - https://www.facebook.com/GentnerBischerFarms/

Shoutout to Stephanie, a fellow Michigan farmer, Rita’s college roommate, who raises Rita’s favorite food: https://youtu.be/t4TPRTtyjeU

Kellogg’s Sustainability campaign: http://www.openforbreakfast.com/en_US/content/sustainability/safe-food-for-families.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 Nicole Wren, a Michigander who started a dairy farm with her husband, Brad. Nicole talks about a variety of topics including:

• Reasons they started a farm (and what significant details were left out!)
• What life lessons their three kids are learning on the farm
• The roles that’ve changed between Nicole and Brad as their business has progressed
• What Nicole does when she’s not working on the farm (T-shirts anyone?)
• Mixing up the best toppings for burgers
• In ten years of farming, the most romantic, heartfelt memory, which, of course, included cows
• The best beaches in Michigan
• Business risks like bottling milk and farm tours, and using creativity
• The best advice Nicole ever received
• Should the next generation continue their farm?

Sites mentioned in this podcast:

• Michigan Farm Girl blog, Facebook, Instagram & Pinterest: http://mifarmgirl.com/
• Laura Lynette Shop: https://lauralynetteshop.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!