Michigan AF Podcast

Katelyn farms with her grandparents, parents, brother, and husband on their centennial farm in Washtenaw County. They milk 400 cows and raise crops to feed them. Her main area of interest is taking care of the animals, including health management, making sure milking is going smoothly in the parlor, and raising calves. She’s heavily involved in promotion, 4-H, and Farm Bureau. When she’s not working, she loves to travel and read – currently Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie mysteries.

Listen as Katelyn talks about:

• How they invite everyone in their neighborhood over for a big open house
• Her first time hiking – which was climbing Mount Fuji in Japan
• Taking care of calves in the 95 degree heat
• Her grandpa’s influence on always trying to improve
• Being selected as the 2020 Young Farmer Ag Leader

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!

Jesse Jensen is a beekeeper at Greene’s Honey Farm in Edmore. He’s been a beekeeper for nine years, and when he’s not working the bees, he’s taking care of his own hives at home. He, his wife Lauren, and their son Hoyt also love taking Ranger rides, watching Hoyt play in the sprinkler, and swimming and boating at Higgins Lake.

Listen as Jesse talks about:

• The full-time job of beekeeping, including feeding, treating, and taking care of the bees
• Hunting, snowmobiling, and the best day of the year
• The year timeline of shipping bees around the country
• How taking care of bees is like milking cows – they don’t wait for you to have time for them
• The biggest bee problem right now

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!

Sarah Tomac started selling pumpkins on the side of the road as a child…and her farm now grows 250 different varieties of pumpkins, squash, and gourds. She and her family also raise sweet corn, Indian corn, and soybeans. She loves the history of International Harvester, she’s an author and co-author of many books, and she’s raising three children. What she keeps coming back to is that although farming is a lot of work, she’s having a lot of fun doing it.

She talks about:

• Hand pollinating pumpkins – the why and how
• Using rare seeds they get from a world traveler, including a variety called a cracked egg
• Her favorite description from a 5-year-old farm visitor about her fall decorations
• Her time living in Australia, and why she prefers Michigan
• How sibling rivalry gave her a great start in the business world

Tomacpumpkins.com

Sarahsgranary.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!

John Bowsky is a conservation technician at Blue Water Conservation District in Sandusky, and he also farms with his family on their fourth-generation crop farm. On their centennial farm they raise 470 acres of wheat and soybeans. He’s 4-H swine superintendent, livestock committee chair, and Farm Bureau Young Farmer Chair in Sanilac County. Outside of work, he enjoys golfing, 4-wheeling, and camping with his friends.

He talks about:

• His ties to the land, and what he hopes for future generations
• The 100 acre-wildlife preserve on his farm’s land
• Watching the fox family grow up in their backyard
• Why golf courses look like great hay fields
• His new experiment with no-till

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!

Darcy Hansen is an agronomy consultant at Star of the West Milling, where she helps farmers put together their crop plans and scouts fields to identify solutions. She and her husband Coy also raise Black Angus cattle, Boer goats, and pigs at their home in Minden City - which she jokingly calls their funny farm. Darcy is a 4-H leader, 4-H Fair Superintendent, Chair of Promotion & Education for Sanilac County Farm Bureau, and township clerk. With increased demand for local meat due to COVID-19, she and Coy plan on expanding their farm in 2020.

Darcy talks about:

• How some new procedures due to the pandemic are making business more efficient
• Why she loves her last three years on the Star team
• Her surprise engagement at the county fair
• Stopping at roadside stands on her honeymoon to ask about farming
• Using all of her organizational experience to do a township drive-through food pantry

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!

Joe Bixler works for MSU Extension as a Statewide Government & Community Vitality Educator, and he’s also part of the Community Food Systems team.  Originally from the Thumb, he’s worked in agriculture his entire career.  With the COVID-19 crisis, he’s been very involved forming partnerships with food banks to distribute food to families in need.  Joe is a member of the school board, he’s very involved in his community, and he’s designed a backyard just for his six grandchildren, complete with a playhouse and slide.         

Listen as he talks about:

• Distributing food during all kinds of weather this spring – including snow
• His main reasons for working in agriculture
• Beans, dairy, red meat, and all the different kinds of cultural food available and necessary
• New GMO labeling laws
• Buying takeout during COVID-19 for his 18-year-anniversary

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!

Caleb Fuehring of C & D Fuehring Farms grows cherries, asparagus, apples, Christmas trees, corn and soybeans.  He and his wife Hannah are celebrating their first wedding anniversary while experiencing their first worldwide pandemic.  Caleb has seen farm technology improve considerably from the days when he was mowing orchards in an open cab tractor – with all the bees.  He enjoys a community of farmers, friends, and family that push him to work hard.

He talks about:

• Why his friends joke about autosteering
• Being a two-time finalist for the Michigan Farm Bureau Achievement Award
• The best advice he got from his grandpa
• How he married a girl from his rival high school
• His future plans, from a bin & dryer setup to an Upper Peninsula trip

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!

Terry Page started renting land when he was 13, and by the time he graduated high school, he farmed 100 acres and owed 550 hogs.  He now is raising soybeans, wheat, alfalfa, and corn on 2600 acres, and he also custom harvests for multiple other farms.  He enjoys bowling, hunting, fishing, and woodworking.  He and his wife Jody - who helps supply amazing dinners for the planting crew - also are raising two young sons, Gavin and Garret.    

Terry talks about:

• Finishing his basement in rustic barn wood and beams
• The national competition after winning the Michigan Farm Bureau Achievement Award
• The worst game of charades you’ve ever seen
• How he’s getting what he deserves when it comes to his boys
• Watching the harvest, getting statistics – all remotely

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!

Rich Baker of Rich Baker Farms, LLC in St Joseph County has a diverse operation. He grows seed corn, potatoes, cash crops, and he has a custom spraying operation.  He welcomes over 700 visitors at his orchard, and he raises cattle, hogs, horses, and goats.  On top of all this, he’s a member of the township board, the fire department, and the medical first responder team.  He’s also a 4-H leader and the head of safety and maintenance for the fire department.  Rich, along with this wife Cody and daughter Zoey, love spending time on the lake with their boat and camper.

Listen as Rich talks about:

• How his parents punished him by not allowing him to go to the farm
• How the first farm check he wrote changed his perspective
• How the seed corn process actually works
• What he likes about farming, even in the rough years
• Why irrigation season is like Christmas morning every day 

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!

Blake Gordon of B & C Gordon Farms raises wheat, corn, soybeans, and sugar beets in Croswell.  He and his dad, Cliff, often don’t need to use a two-way radio to communicate, because they know what the other is thinking.  Blake enjoys farming so much that when he’s not doing it, he likes to play the video game Farm Simulator.  Blake is also a Pioneer seed salesman and a Michigan Farm Bureau Young Farmer Leader Award finalist.  Like many essential businesses, COVID-19 hasn’t changed his day-to-day operations, but it does change the markets. 

Listen as he talks about:

• His most-used apps, in addition to Snapchat
• Autosteer, and how it helps in record-keeping
• The best parts about working with Pioneer
• Tractor pulls, county fairs, and supporting the community
• His optimistic view of the challenges of farming

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!