Here is a story from the Detroit Free Press about agriculture in Michigan (full story here).

From the story:

Touching four of the Great Lakes and offering a variety of terrains and biodiversity, Michigan offers a range of agriculture products almost unique in the nation. And Michigan is the leading producer of several products — tart cherries, blueberries and hanging flower baskets, among others.

snip

That diversity has helped Michigan growers respond to a growing demand for local food products. Worries about climate change and the economy have more people thinking about where their food comes from. And, in a perilous time, it’s nice to know your local farmers.

We sell a wide range of fruits and vegetables at Magicland Farms; I bet a lot of people don’t realize the things that can be grown in Michigan. We also do the things the farm in the story does: utilize a high tunnel, try to get plants in the ground as soon as practically possible, start seeds early in our basement.

Remember Buy Local, Buy Michigan!

As an aside, the picture in the sidebar of the story show the workers transplanting tomatoes into peat pots. That is what has been occupying a lot of our time lately as well.

Also, you do need to be an optimist in order to be a farmer. Hope springs eternal on our farm.

Michigan agriculture blooms with lifestyle farming, specialization

Here’s a story I just ran across on Mlive.com, the Michigan news website. It was interesting to me because we, too, are a family farm. My husband originally bought the property back in the early seventies, one parcel in 1970 and the other in 1972. The roadside market, as it is now, was started in 1985, although from 1975 through 1984 he sold his produce across the street, with the help of his kind neighbor Mildred VanBuskirk.

It is nice to see that others are trying their hand at this rewarding lifestyle although it is sad that, more often than not, one must also work off the farm in order to make ends meet.