This concludes our series of posts about small farmers and artisans in southwest Michigan. We featured stories about Local, Pat and Ellie Mullins's new retail business selling artisanal meats; Tabula Rasa Farm and its determined owners Bill and Greta Hurst; and the grass-fed beef Bob and Janet Schuttler are raising on Middlebrook Farm. In each case, their business is only a few years old, but growing under the impassioned care of dedicated founders. They represent just a few of Michigan's thousands of fabulous farmers and producers.
Small Farming’s Future in Michigan
Will small farms and their artisanal-producer partners make a lasting resurgence or are they a trend that will fade into memory? The growing desire of consumers to know where their food comes from and how it’s grown seems to have lasting power. And sooner or later oil prices will make it impossible to move food as cheaply as we have become accustomed to. These things are wind at the backs of the Michigan producers profiled this week and others with a local focus.
Blowing in the opposite direction is the hard, unforgiving work of farming, often perceived more romantically than realistically. Working with small farmers and suppliers presents challenges to those who depend on them for key ingredients in their own products. Then there is the consumer expectation for everything to be available all the time, the cost associated with small-scale endeavors, and the economic uncertainty that is part of any entrepreneur’s lot.
But the individuals we met this week are committed to the lives they’ve chosen. They are:
- passionate about their work,
- humble about their situations,
- eager to learn,
- willing to work hard and change if needed, and
- keenly aware that financial success isn’t guaranteed.
They seem to be in the right place (a fertile environment, easily reached by agri- and culinary tourists) at the right time (when the Governor is promoting agriculture as an economic engine for the state). Although there are no guarantees in farming or in life, the odds seem to favor Pat and Ellie, Bill and Greta, and Bob and Janet. Agriculture has a long history in Michigan, and it’s poised for a promising, tasty future.
More information on Michigan’s agriculture and culinary assets can be found at:
- Pure Michigan - Michigan’s Official Travel and Tourism Site
- Michigan Farm Market and Ag Tourism Directory - 2010 edition, check back for the 2011 edition
- Lake Michigan Shore Wineries - A quick look at many Southwest Michigan wineries
- Michigan Wines - The official site for wines of the state
- Michigan Brewers Guild - The source for all things artisanal beer in Michigan
- Michigan Cheese Makers - The cooperative for Michigan’s cheesemakers
Paula Bartholome combines part-time teaching at DePaul University’s School for New Learning and occasional work through her firm Parallax with a full-time love of all things food – growing, eating and promoting – in her Southwest Michigan hometown, New Buffalo. She blogs about living simply, eating well and walking softly on the earth at Garden-Table and occasionally about blooming where you are planted at BajiggityLife. Email her at gardentotableinfo@gmail.com.
