Michigan AF Podcast

Matt Munsell owns Munsell’s Poultry Processing in Fowlerville, where he lives with his wife Amanda and daughter Elnora. Along with processing poultry for farmers markets, restaurants, and backyard growers, he and his family grow 1000 acres of crops, plus raise steers and pigs. They run a greenhouse and roadside stand right on the farm. Matt enjoys horseback riding with his wife, being active in Farm Bureau, and spending time with friends. Since they’re also farmers, that means they see each other when it’s raining.

Listen as Matt talks about:

• How poultry processing actually works
• His positive experience giving a farm tour to his wife’s city friends
• His thoughts on changing and volunteering
• What steps his farm took during the spring shutdown

Links:

 Munsells Poultry Processing

Munsell Farms

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!

Deidre Iciek is a comprehensive nutrient management plan consultant, and she and her family also own Iciek Dairy in Gladwin. As a CNMP consultant, she works with farms to make sure their manure management systems are compliant, which includes help with reporting, permitting, and training. Deidre, her husband Walt, and her two sons love traveling domestically and internationally, camping at Higgins Lake, and going to MSU football games.

Listen as she talks about:

• Food tours with her siblings in Brooklyn, NY and Colombia, SA
• The continual need for evolution in the agriculture industry
• Her path through ag that led to her job now
• How you get a field named after you
• Her future trip to Ireland with her whole family

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!

Afton Blight of Blight Farms took a year off before college and worked at a non-profit in South America. There she learned she liked working outside, enjoyed the seasons of Michigan, and wanted to see the results of her work – namely to watch crops and livestock grow. After graduating in animal science from MSU, she now farms with her family in Albion. She and her husband Branden also own and run River Dell Venue, an event barn on the Kalamazoo River.

Listen as Afton talks about:

• Her daily routine, which starts and ends with hogs
• Why bookwork isn’t her first choice
• How she loves that her husband is a plumber, but what career would save her the most money
• How to tell when a pig isn’t excited to see you
• The hair smell test for going out

Mentioned in podcast - blightfarms.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!

Markeisha Wesley is graduating with a BS in agribusiness management from Michigan State University. She’s also worked as the assistant manager for the Detroit Kitchen Connect Program, which is an Eastern Market Corporation program that trains and supports food entrepreneurs. Markeisha enjoys traveling to other countries, being in nature, and enjoying outdoor activities with her friends.

Listen as she talks about:

• Her goal to start a fresh flower urban farm
• The fun of making homemade pasta
• What it’s like going to college online
• The satisfaction of gaining knowledge and experience through work and school
• How her interest in agriculture started, and where it’s going to take her

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!

Lyndsay Earl is a member representative at Michigan Milk Producers Association, which is a milk co-op. Originally from a dairy farm, Lyndsay graduated in animal science - agribusiness management specialization - from Michigan State University. She enjoys working with dairy farmers to diagnose problems, perform inspections, and do employee trainings. She, her husband Seth, and their daughters enjoy spending as much time as possible on Hamlin Lake.

Listen as she talks about:

• The first-ever Stakenas Stampede race they created this year
• What people want to know about dairy farming
• Their active involvement in American Farm Bureau and Michigan Farm Bureau
• Fitbits for cows, manure flushing systems, and other farm technology advancements
• Adventure races and representing Team Chocolate Milk

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!

Amy Spitznagel owns Idyll Farms, a goat farm and creamery located in Northport, Michigan. Following a career as a teacher, flight attendant, and actress, Amy and her husband Mark decided to embrace the farm-to-table and environmental movement with a pasture-based goat farm. With goat cheese pairing perfectly with wine in the Leelanau region, the rolling hills being good for pasture, and the great fit with their family, their farm was born. Amy, her husband, and children spend as much time as they can on the farm and live in Bloomfield Hills.

Amy talks about:

• How goats historically get a bad rap for their independent, inquisitive spirits
• The farm’s award-winning goat cheese
• The goat milking process, and what people are surprised to learn about goats
• How she loves foraging in the woods
• Her future plans to travel to Africa

Visit their website

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!

Caitlin Luck is a senior at Michigan State University majoring in agricultural education. Her family farm in Sand Creek grows corn, soybeans, and wheat. She knew since seventh grade she wanted to go into agricultural education at MSU, and all her activities through 4-H and FFA led to achieving her goal. She begins student teaching next year. She enjoys antiquing with her family, DIY projects, reading, and camping.

Listen as she talks about:

• The animals on their farm, and why her mom is a crazy chicken lady
• How communication with consumers can only improve the state of ag
• Her brother’s funny experience at the fair
• Her upcoming presentation at the MSU swine farm
• The one person she talks to on the phone

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 Zaleski, Michigan Ag Council Ambassador, became interested in agriculture by growing up around it in Port Austin and participating in FFA in high school. He’s a junior at Michigan State University, where he’s majoring in Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources Education, with the ultimate goal of working in community outreach. He likes to hike, run, and be outside, and when he’s forced inside, he likes to watch documentaries and movies – including, yes, Tiger King – like all of America in 2020.

Listen as Ben talks about:

• Why volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House and Haven House is important to him
• The Harvest Hangouts and farmers markets he’s participating in as ambassador
• Making pasta noodles by hand, plus working in a restaurant
• Why he switched his major to get back into agriculture
• The best and cheapest pizza in East Lansing

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!

Erin Keller recently graduated with her BS in Biosystems Engineering from Michigan State University, and now she’s an engineer at Consumers Energy. She became interested in agriculture through her science classes at MSU, her interest in sustainability, and her experience working at MSU Extension. She loves hiking, writing, reading, and art – her recent painting of Kid Cudi is one of her favorite pieces.

Listen as Erin talks about:

• Being a walk-on on the MSU track team and why the javelin was fun
• Sustainable agriculture and environmental health issues
• Bringing football-level cheering to track and cross country
• Living in East Lansing with her dog, Breslin
• Why she wanted to be an agricultural ambassador

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!

Jacob Hoskins, who recently graduated from Ferris State University, just started as a program technician for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency in St Johns. After working on farms in high school and enjoying the industry, he knew he ultimately wanted a job in agriculture. He’s looking forward to his work as an ambassador because he wants to be even more involved with the industry. He likes hiking, fishing, and going up north with his family. Jacob and his wife Sara are also getting ready to welcome a new puppy into their East Lansing home.

Jacob talks about:

• How he learned about integrity from his best friend
• Detasseling corn and working on a produce farm
• Why maps are the first thing he looks at on his phone
• Just how steep the banks are on the Pine River
• Why the hamburgers at his house are the best

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!