- Hello, everyone.

Matthew Ozanich here and welcome to "Destination Michigan."

We're coming to you today from the town of Shepherd in Central Michigan.

And like so many small towns across the state, it has charm character and a lot of farmland.

In total, the Great Lakes State boasts over 9 million acres of farmland and farmers make up 22% of the state's workforce.

So today, we thought it only right to hit the road and meet a few folks who aren't afraid to get their hands dirty in an effort to keep the rest of us fed.

(upbeat music) We've had the good fortune in "Destination Michigan's" past to visit many farms and meet the farmers whose passions keep one of the state's strongest industries alive.

So to kick off this program, we thought we'd take a quick look back to gather some insight from a few old friends on what drove them to take up the agricultural lifestyle.

(soft music) Over the years on "Destination Michigan," we've been to just about every corner of the state, and one of our favorite places to visit has always been the farmlands, and boy does Michigan have a lot of them.

In total over 50,000 farms are scattered all across Michigan growing and cultivating around 300 different products.

That makes Michigan one of the most agriculturally diverse states in the nation.

Though methods of farming have undoubtedly changed over the years, one thing that remains the same is the fact that this is a way of life that requires patience, knowledge and a lot of hard work.

- Growing season for nobody who's ever lived on a farm from first frost to last frost, and of course, with all the work that comes before and after that, but it's a wild ride.

And it's a lot of fun.

And it's always different and just when you think you know how to do it, Mother Nature gives you the old knockout punch and you go, "Wow, I never saw that coming.

And I guess we'll put that on our radar that it could happen."

You just never know.

And farming, it's a gamble.

So I think the more diversified you can get, the better off you are.

And you just never know.

(soft music) - If you don't have it in your blood, you can't do that job that takes that 12 to 16 hours a day.

My father always said that when you make money, you save money.

If you wanna farm comfortably, you need three years in your coffer.

And then you can farm comfortably to take the highs and the lows out of it.

And he was right.

I mean it took me... Yeah I have been farming...

I think I took over the farm when I was 20-some, so it's been over 40 years, and finally I can breathe again.

- So you just kind of work your way from the outside in.

- [Mathew] Carrying on family traditions is a big part of the Michigan farming story.

You'll find that 99% of Michigan farms are family owned.

And in many cases, new generations of farmers are picking up the torches laid by their forebears, adopting not just the land but years of experience and know how.

- In 1972 My father-in-law started the farm with 10 acres.

He grew it to about 6000 acres that we farm now.

We've watched the farm grow in past few years that my partner and I have owned it, but really my father-in-law did a really great job of growing a lot of nice trees and expanding the farm and getting a lot of acreage in different varieties which has really helped our business 'cause we have different species to sell.

We're not a one-tree farm.

So we've got a good selection of trees and a lot of the way we grow trees is based on site selection, knowing what grows best where, and he did a lot of that hard work early to figure out what grows best and how to do it.

We listen to what he's done, and how he's put things in place.

It's given us a good foundation to continue right now and and do it for the next generation.

(saw engine revs) It's a hard business, you just can't jump into it overnight.

So a lot of what we've seen is farmers that have retired and they just haven't replanted.

So we've just seen attrition in the growers in Michigan, and the guys that are sticking with it, you just gotta have a lot of fortitude and persistence to keep going.

And it ebbs and flows, so you just take what you get and just, like I said, you gotta rely on the good Lord to give you all the good conditions to get the crop out.

- [Mathew] In addition to those carrying on their families' farming legacies, we also find an entire new generation of farmers taking that leap into the agricultural lifestyle.

Starting a farm from scratch is a daunting task for any rookie farmer.

But the rewards can be incredibly fulfilling and surprising.

- It's really spiraled, I wouldn't say out of control, but in a very different direction, and in many better ways than we ever could have drawn up.

So it's definitely been a crazier, faster and cooler, more exciting journey than we expected.

And now we have eight full-time employees besides ourselves, and that's something that we never planned to have ever.

We never planned to have employees period.

And so the fact that we now have eight people that are depending on us for their pay and their work and everything, that has really added new meaning to sustainability.

- And I love the team that we've cultivated.

They all are local, and it feels really good to know that it goes beyond just having a dream, and it's more of a...

It is the lifestyle that we always are circling around, but you don't know what you don't know and so it kind of just makes sense.

But I really enjoy that we're doing it together and that we're raising our next generation.

- You take a look into Michigan farming communities and one thing that you notice right away is how much farming is a family affair that has carried on for numerous generations, so much so that there's actually a program in place called the Michigan Centennial Farms Program.

Now these are farms that have stayed within the same family for over 100 years.

And believe it or not, there are hundreds of Centennial Farms all across the state.

And next we're gonna pay a visit to one of those farms where generations of persistence and ingenuity have kept the crops coming in.

The Mid Michigan town of Grand Ledge is teeming with farmland and it's been that way for a long, long time.

But today we find Josh Winters of Winters calico Field Farm hard at work.

- I work in the field all summer until just about after oat harvest.

We are certified organic, and so we fight the weeds all the time.

This year we've got field corn, and soybeans and oats.

- [Mathew] Josh isn't the first member of the Winters family to tend these fields, not by a long shot.

Winters Calico Field Farm is a part of the Michigan Centennial Farm Program.

In fact, the Winters farm is actually assessed with Centennial Farm having been in the same family for 150 years.

- Coming to this area was my fourth great grandfather.

And then his family when they came with him.

And this particular farm was purchased by my great grandfather.

They farmed this, then my grandmother, up to what we have here today, that's a lot of generations here.

1967 was when our farm became centennial.

You start thinking "Wow, we've been here 100 years, and we have a mile of road named after our family."

- [Mathew] While Jim was raised on the farm, he didn't really think it was something he would continue on with.

He had trained to become a welder and the prospect of being a farmer just wasn't in the cards, but it was his father who encouraged him, "No matter what you do.

Never let go of the family farm."

- I don't ever recall him encouraging me to be a farmer.

I remember him saying that if you end up with the land, don't ever sell it 'cause you'll never get it back.

And at that time I didn't know near as much about the family history as we know now, and I didn't cherish it like I cherish it now.

Now every year, somebody that has a Centennial Farm cannot find someone in their family that wants to take on the farm lifestyle, so that it severs the centennial farm.

The farm goes up for sale.

It's gone.

- [Mathew] Now that Jim knew the family was going to hold on to the farm, the question then came, "Well, what do we do with it now?"

And it was Josh Winters who said, "You know what, let's do it.

Let's try our hand at farming."

- So I bought one bag of seed and we planted a half an acre of navy beans.

We put together an old combine, I've never had a combine.

(soft music) - I will never forget when you harvested that first batch, I'll call them batch because I'm a city girl, of navy beans, and the picture that I love the most is you and Josh on the top of that combine.

And the tradition in his family was to take a cooking pot and to scoop out that first scoop of navy beans and they held it up in the air.

(soft music) - My grandfather bought a tractor in the late '70s, probably '78, or '79.

That was our big tractor when we started.

It's 65 horsepower, and rebuilding that equipment to work for us and also going into organic, we weren't going into the conventional chemical agriculture and so we've built a lot of equipment, even our corn 16-inch rows, where conventional corn is 30-inch rows.

So we basically have a row of corn in between the rows, same population, and we think maybe it's starting to pay off.

- [Mathew] While Jim and Josh have their hands full in the fields, another member of the Winters family was hard at work digging into the story of the farm.

Jacob winters, a school teacher, dove into old records and photographs to uncover what he could about his family's farm history.

- I just started with census material, trying to figure out when people came to this area.

I was able to look at some property maps.

And then I went to certain Register of Deeds and I was able to find the the actual documents of when they purchased the land.

- [Mathew] The historical records could tell the family who owned what piece of land and at what time, but even with all of that information and all that paperwork, it doesn't tell the entire story.

- One of the most important things that I found out is that it's not about a date.

My grandmother's farm is 1867.

My father's farm right here was purchased in 1903, but it's how it grew throughout those years that I find fascinating.

It's really seen how it expands, and in some instances how it decreases over time just because of money situations, or you just can't take care of it anymore.

So that's what I feel is probably one of the interesting things about Centennial Farms.

It's always home.

You come back and you say this is where it all started.

And so doing the history part of it, it just keeps it alive for everyone else.

(soft music) - When you have the ability to go back and tap into the history of your ancestors, and try to grasp what they had to endure to survive, to raise their family, they did it.

It's something to be able to draw a strength and say, "I don't have it so bad."

Keep at it, find a good in things, be grateful for what you have.

- [Mathew] But what does the future hold?

It's always uncertain, but the Winters family care and devotion of their farms certainly isn't wavering.

And with a new generation taking up the torch Winters Calico Field Farm has a bright future ahead.

- Someone that bought a piece of ground 50 years ago, they got 50 more years to go.

Is somebody in that family going to find value and enjoy the lifestyle.

You know, my son Josh, he's farming.

He's into it.

He's purchased his own farm.

Will it be his family that's the next generation?

We don't know that.

- My wife and I, and our two children live in the city.

I mean, it's so, so surreal coming out here.

It's so calm and peaceful.

And just making sure that it continues to be a part of the family is... 30, 40 years down the road, we can pass it off next generation to continue this legacy.

(soft music) - A devotion to farming that crosses generations is pivotal in the livelihood of Michigan farms, not just to keep the crops coming in each year, but also to educate those who are gonna have to carry on these traditions and practices long after we're all gone.

For our next story, we're gonna head to Ann Arbor to introduce you to T. C. Collins, a passionate farmer who never forgets the importance of planting seeds of knowledge.

- Growing up at the age of two or three, it was always something that our family did.

We done chores early in the morning.

Chores consists of picking tomatoes, picking beans, to cutting the grass, collecting the grass, making compost to hanging clothes on the clothesline.

Our family line really came in from Louisiana and also Virginia and those two merged together because we learned a lot about the slave trade, and by my grandfather, grandpapi, he taught me everything about growing different varieties of watermelon, black walnuts, english walnuts, tobacco, cotton, and it just stuck with me.

- [Stefanie] T. C. Collins has been growing and harvesting produce alongside his family since he can remember.

He would eventually share his knowledge of farming with his own children, but it wasn't until his daughter began preschool that planted the seed of things to come.

- My daughter was like four or five years old, in preschool.

See, our preschool had a policy of no sweets in the school.

So I told her, "Let's ask them if we can bring in potatoes and teach the school about how to grow potatoes."

They saw that it was a good idea for that one classroom.

It ended up being the whole school district.

so it's all about letting the kids having hands-on experience, letting them get their hands dirty, let them plant the seed and let them take that potato seed home with the growing instructions and let them harvest the potato.

I believe to this date it's over 5000 kids per year with the potato program with four school districts, three daycare and one private school.

- [Stefanie] The potato program helped launch Willow Run Acres, a collection of acres of land spread across southern Michigan, including here at Vestergaard Farms outside Ann Arbor.

T. C manages all the sites throughout the year.

A typical day includes tending to all the fruits, vegetables, and herbs growing in the gardens along with school visits and field trips.

- Well, we teach them about garden safety is number one, we teach them about reading the weather patterns.

We also teach them about self awareness, self pride, and self choice.

We also give them the opportunity to be self sufficient by growing their own seeds and letting them know that when plants die, it's okay, we can always get more plants, we can always get more seeds.

So we want them to know that having a failure in Willow and Acres farm is okay because we can always get more plants.

- [Stefanie] Something else that makes this particular location special is T. C's tribute to his family.

With his ancestors being a part of the slave trade, he dedicated a portion of the garden to teaching others about the Underground Railroad.

It talks about the different flower slaves used to help guide them on their journey.

- For example, when we have the morning glories, the morning glories was a plant that opened up early in the morning.

That's when the slaves knew not to leave the premises or the plantation.

They also knew that once the morning glory closes, the four o'clock will open.

And they knew again to stay sheltered in place.

So when the four o'clocks closed, we had luminary plants such as the moon flower, we had the lotus plant, where we had other luminous plants that were highlighting the moonlight in the evening, or give off a sweet scent.

That's when they knew to take their journey.

My mission is to make sure that the new generation that learns about the Underground Railroad in a different way.

That is not just they were travelers, they not were just jazz musicians, they were pioneers.

So our mission is to make sure that each two-year old or a three year old or even if it's an older person, learn something new that they did not know, - [Stefanie] At Willow Run Acres, the past is helping shape the future, giving kids an immediate sense of pride in what they're growing in the present.

- A majority of everything that we grow is for the person that grows it or the family that grow it to take it home, because we want them to have that reward of what they grew.

Because if you always put a price tag on farming and gardening and and things of that nature, it takes the fun out of what you grew.

So we want you to grow it and we want you to take it with you because that's your reward.

- When it comes to farming in Michigan, teamwork makes the dream work.

No farm is an island, and strong relationships between neighbors is crucial to keeping store shelves stocked.

For our next story, we're gonna to introduce you to two very different operations with a very important connection.

(soft music) - It's an amazing feeling to be here after 81 years, being a part of a family-owned company.

- We're a fourth generation farm, me being the fourth generation.

And it started with My great grandpa about 83 years ago.

- [Stefanie] For Joe Kinville with Guernsey Farms Dairy and Aubrey VanLaan with Walnutdale Farms, a timeless tradition in a way of life lives on.

- We are a third generation family-owned company based in in Northville Novi Michigan area.

We're celebrating our 81st anniversary this year.

It was in 1940 when my grandparents started Guernsey Farms Dairy.

They had 14 kids.

All 14 of them were a part of the business at some point.

My mom who is the youngest of the 14, is the only one of that generation that's still working in the business and she works three days a week in the office and is ready to be home taking care of grandbabies.

We have about 12 or so family members actively working here.

- [Stefanie] Guernsey is perhaps best known for their rich and creamy ice cream.

They have around 70 flavors and are a summertime tradition in households across Michigan.

The family takes great pride in their history, quality and of course taste.

It's a science first learned by Joe's grandpa in what we now know today as Michigan State University.

- We've put an emphasis on quality and making good quality dairy products and I think when people people try our products it is different from what they've had in the past.

You know, milk it's so commonly talked about as just a commodity, milk is milk, ice cream is ice cream.

We don't view it that way at all.

We put a lot of time, effort and money into making products of the highest quality, So our whole milk for example, is nearly about 3.5% butterfat, whereas the state standard in Michigan is a 3.25% butterfat.

So an extra quarter percent of butterfat allows people to kind of have a little bit more flavor in their milk.

And then you know, "Fat is where it's at."

That's the saying in the dairy industry.

The more the creamier the product is, the more fat that's in it, the better it tastes.

- [Stefanie] As important as it is to process the milk just right, it also really matters where Guernsey gets it from.

Enter Walnutdale Farms, a mega multi-generational family dairy farm located just south of Grand Rapids.

Over all the acres that they own and farm, they have around 1700 cows, and they need to be milked a lot.

- Each cow here gets milked three times a day in our parlor, where they stay and where they live.

We ensure that they're just comfortable, and they're well fed.

Their main job and our main priority is to keep them healthy and for their milk production so that we can make dairy products.

A day here we ship off the dairy somewhere around like 145,000 pounds of milk a day.

So it's a lot, because if you think one gallon of milk weighs 8.6 pounds, it's quite a bit.

So we average about 90 pounds a cow a day.

- [Stefanie] Holy cow, right?

So about a third of all that milk goes to Guernsey.

With so many cows to milk, the work never stops around here, 24 hours a day, but the rewards are, oh, so sweet.

- I feel super blessed.

And I explain to people, it's not just a job for us.

I mean, this is just kind of our life, and our way of life because you don't really ever get away from it.

I mean, even going on vacation, you don't really get away.

So it's me, I think it's a cool opportunity.

I love animals.

I see that in some of my kids already too, so I'm hopeful, but it's okay if they don't want to come back, but I'm hopeful they want to do so.

- When customers drive out of their way to drive past grocery stores and other dairies to come to our place, I can't describe how good it makes us all feel.

When we see families out here, smile and eat an ice cream and kids' all faces are all dirty with ice cream on the rocks out here.

I mean that's that's why we come to work every day.

That's why we do what we do.

- For many farmers, the best way to get their products into the hands of customers is through farmers markets.

Michigan, in fact ranks third in the nation for farmers markets.

And if you ever needed a sign that winter is on its way out, Just keep an eye out for markets popping up in every city and every town.

(soft music) You may recall a few years ago on "Destination Michigan" when we made a visit to the bustling Eastern Market located in the heart of Detroit.

Operating for well over a century, it's one of the biggest summertime draws in the city.

- The most rewarding parts of this job is hearing countless families recite how their grandfather or uncle started their family business empire by getting off the boat or the plane and vending here at Eastern Market.

So we take that responsibility of being a way to gain access to the market at low cost.

It really has propelled a lot of people on their way.

A merchant today $35 $40 to be here, they're gonna to sell to 2,000 to 3,000 people.

On Saturday at $80, $85 a day you're selling to 30,000 to 40,000 people a day and you're getting immediate customer feedback.

The food is an attraction, but what's a bigger attraction is the other people that come here.

And it's the experience of coming to Eastern Market where people are more likely to come with their kids and their grandkids.

No matter how good the grocery store is, you wouldn't necessarily plan a three-generation trip to your best local grocery store.

(soft music) - [Mathew] Eastern Market is a marvel of local produce but much farther north and the town of Cadillac, their farmers market is pushing to create that same kind of buzz and excitement in northern Michigan.

(soft music) - We have definitely taken the market from five to 10 vendors each day, up to 50 to 60 vendors each day.

We have live music, we have children's activities.

It's a one-stop shop for your gifts and your groceries, as we have so many artists here, sharing their wares, as well as all of your vegetable farmers, microgreens, honey, maple syrup.

We've got meat farmers coming in, mushrooms, and so many fruits, flowers.

It's a really amazing place to shop.

- [Mathew] Regardless of a market's location, the real magic comes in the connection that's made between farmer and consumer.

But it's also a great place for farmers to come together and share what they've learned.

- We're friends with all the farmers.

They've been very helpful.

Some of the older farmers are teaching us newer farmers how to do things and we get some tips and advice from them.

And I even offer some of the products from other local farmers on my website because I'm trying to get local food and produce out into our community.

So it's kind of a network of friendships and family, really.

- So do yourself a favor, get out to your local farmers market and make a friend with a true Michigan farmer.

And just like that, this episode of "Destination Michigan" comes to a close.

From Christmas trees to ice cream, we have covered a lot of ground today and we hope you will all join us again soon.

From everyone here, thank you so much for watching.

We'll catch you next time (upbeat music)