Category: Know Your Farmer

Let’s get together as community and support local farmers with a CSA share! Community supported agriculture offers eaters ultra-fresh food, and a successful business model for growers.

Did You Guys Eat?/¿Ya comieron? is an award-winning documentary that takes you behind Michigan’s farms, showcasing the hard work of farmworkers and producers. Produced by Alma College, the film highlights the skilled labor and challenges in the food industry. Discover the pride and resilience of Michigan’s agricultural workers and catch a screening in 2026 to learn more about where your food really comes from!

Confused about what “organic” really means? Michigan’s Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP), hosted by MSU Extension, helps farmers make the switch through mentorship, education, and community support. Learn how this initiative empowers farmers, strengthens local food systems, and makes truly organic produce more accessible across Michigan.

In Michigan’s peak growing season, it’s vital to recognize the people behind our food: farmworkers. We spoke with Not Our Farm, a nonprofit farmworker storytelling project, about their mission to uplift and protect non-owner farmworkers. Learn how NOF builds power, addresses workplace injustices, and advocates for farmworker rights—ensuring ethical food systems that care as much for workers as they do for the food we eat.

Pop into North Kent Connect of Rockford or the People’s Food Co-op in Kalamazoo, and you’ll recognize the names of local farmers in bright displays of fresh produce. But what does it take to stock those shelves? Learn more about local sourcing in the produce department for these West Michigan markets.

With federal funding paused or canceled, farmers face financial risk, broken trust, and stalled growth. Contracts that support organic certification mentorship and farm labor support are uncertain, and climate-smart agriculture investments are left to small businesses to figure out. Learn how this impacts Michigan’s Lakeview Hill Farm and Old City Acres, and the local food economy these small farms represent.

Queer farmers are cultivating more than just food—they’re nurturing joy, connection, and community across the Midwest. In Playing in the Dirt, Michigan cheesemaker Taylor Hartson shares stories, art, and reflections from over 100 queer growers in a vibrant celebration of identity and land. This beautifully collaborative project reminds us that agriculture can be a space for play, liberation, and belonging.

Backus Farms and B&B Farms are led by generational farmers, focused on high-quality beef on the sunrise side.

Meet three growers from various Detroit neighborhoods — and learn what makes each unique!

In this 2023 Local Food Guide story, we talked to the Zyndas about their legacy plans to keep Full Circle Farms generational.