| Written By Lara Wadsworth |
I drove 20 minutes out of the city, past the Grand Rapids airport, with airplanes flying overhead. My GPS instructs me to turn down a dirt road, and I slowly drive to the end of the lane. Passing homes and countless trees, I finally arrive at an inconspicuous farm. I see to the left is a cute little green building with a sign that says “Green Wagon Farm Store”. I park and get out. I wander past some farm equipment and see a young girl. I wave and ask if Heather is here. She says, “Oh yeah, Mom is in the kitchen!”. She leads me inside a pole barn where we step through a door, and all of a sudden, we’re in a living room as modern as any suburban house. She runs through the room and disappears. I hear some distant voices saying, “...here to see you…” and then a sunkissed woman with straight brown hair rounds the corner, hand extended. “You must be Lara.” I’ve just met Heather for the first time in person. She’s the farm manager here at Green Wagon Farm, and I’ve come on a swealteringly hot June day to get a tour and learn about their business.
Green Wagon Farm is a sustainable, certified organic, no-till, family-owned market farm located in Ada, Michigan. The produce grown on their farm is available to local community members at farmers markets, through CSA memberships, and the farm store. They not only supply local homes and individuals with access to a fresh harvest, but also to local restaurants and grocers. Come along with me to fall in love with their work and learn more about the many benefits local farms and growers can provide to your community.
I had just stepped into their family living room. Heather shakes my hand, grabs a radio, and instructs me to follow her. I do, and we step outside, cross the rocky parking lot, and enter a warehouse. Directly in the back, there are about four people packing up green boxes and washing produce. She begins telling me about their Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) program and the layout of the farm. From the way she’s talking, I can tell she’s passionate about her community here.
Heather and her husband, Chad, have been running Green Wagon Farm for about 10 years now, and they are raising their four kids right here on site. They have about eight employees year-round and up to 15 during their peak season. With these humble resources, Heather and Chad have filled a special niche in the Southwest Michigan Area. They produce fruit, vegetables, microgreens, and flowers for restaurants, florists, families, schools, and local farmers' markets.
A central tenet of how their farm works is biodiversity. As I mentioned above, they have many different crops growing at all times, so they always have something to offer, even if there is a failed crop. Not only this, but they have strips of pollinator flowers littered throughout the farm and an experimental food forest where they grow mulberries, goji berries, and more. Green Wagon Farms is zeroing in on the perfect balance between working with nature and wielding nature to create a beautiful symphony of natural processes and cultivated environments. This results in a diverse, synergistic ecosystem that allows residents and businesses of my local community to benefit from delicious, locally grown fruits and vegetables without the question of where they came from or what impact it has on the environment.
Heather shared with me that they love to grow microgreens because it is easy, has a quick turnaround rate, is in high demand, and they can grow them year-round. She said that microgreens are one of their most reliable money makers in any given month of the year. We walked into the greenhouse, and as the sun beat down on us, we walked through rows of pea, radish, and salad microgreens. She showed me how she harvests them quickly and easily, making them available nearly every week for their members and clients. She said, “They are popular, easy, and delicious.”
As Heather leads me around the farm, pointing out various things, a theme emerges. In order to make it as a gardener, grower, or farmer of any kind, you have to be flexible and adapt to new situations every year. She tells me that they have been growing the same types of peppers (using crop rotations) for 10 years in a row with no issues, but this year their entire crop was attacked by broadmites. It was devastating, but they know they have many other crops to make up the difference. Each year, they expand their operation a little bit more. This year, they plan to put in some more berry patches. A few years ago, they added a fruit orchard that they are eagerly awaiting to produce fruit.
They have many eggs in many baskets all at once, so even if they don’t get a pepper harvest this year, they still have plenty of kale, celery, sweet potatoes, radishes, and other items to provide their customers and clients with. They are a certified organic farm, and they also believe strongly in benefiting the planet by avoiding pesticides and unnecessary chemicals. This means that they are always learning the hard way how to deal with pests, diseases, and unpredictable weather pressures. Despite describing all of these challenges that Green Wagon Farm faces, Heather seems energetic and optimistic. It is clear that she and her whole team are laser-focused on their goals and have meaningful motivations driving them each day.
I asked Heather, “What is your favorite part about running the farm?” She replied without much hesitation, “The community and shared knowledge that exists in the market farming industry.” She went on to describe how unique this industry is because of how open each farmer is with each other. They share varieties, experiences, information, records, and more. It is a cooperative effort to provide high-quality, healthy food for our communities. She also related to me how she cooks a meal for her whole staff every day. At lunchtime each day, the Green Wagon Farm crew sits down together to enjoy a home-cooked meal made primarily with their own produce. She says that it’s a wonderful way to inspire unity in the staff and get to know everyone at the same time. While she said that it sometimes feels overwhelming to manage so many employees, it was clear to me how much Heather cares for everyone at Green Wagon.
Heather and I talked extensively about efficiency and the need to constantly be evaluating every aspect of their operation, down to the tools they use on a daily basis. She said, “It’s important to hone in on what the customer wants and focus on that when making decisions.” She elaborated by saying, “The customer doesn’t care how often you water your seeds or if there is vermiculite on the flats while the seeds are germinating. But they do care about having a high-quality tomato that is free of pests and blemishes.” So, that’s what they focus on. They streamline all their processes with the final consumer in mind.
They also take into account their own skills. She told me, “We don’t grow broccoli well, so we just don’t grow it anymore.” They grow three different types of kale and many cabbages, but they tried for years to grow broccoli with no success, so they moved on to other things and stopped wasting their time and money. That way, they can have more assurance that their community members can rely on Green Wagon Farm for high-quality organic produce week after week. She mentioned that Ben Hartman’s book The Lean Farm helped them increase efficiency and reduce waste significantly.
Just before I left the farm, I asked Heather, “If there was one thing you want my readers to know, what would it be?” She smiled and thought for a moment. She finally said, “Definitely words of encouragement.” She said to tell people not to give up. In horticulture, a failure is just a chance to learn and start again. She said, “Keep trying new things and never stop learning when things go wrong.” She expressed that even though farming is hard work, it is so rewarding when you’re able to accomplish your goal. The difference between a successful grower and a failed grower is that one keeps trying and the other gives up. They both will experience trials. So, what can you learn from a small market farm in Michigan? Never stop learning. Never stop growing. A passion for plants and the planet is often all you need to get started.
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