Thanking the Farmers – A Visit at Providence Farm

Traveling the rolling landscapes of Northern Michigan, you can see a beautiful patchwork quilt of small farms brimming with natural beauty. Many of these small farms supply fresh, locally-grown greens, vegetables, fruits and meat products to grocery stores, restaurants, and farm markets throughout our region.

In some cases, these farms offer subscriptions or shares in the fresh produce, fruits and meat produced over the year. Called Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), these farms offer members the freshest foods and a great opportunity to engage more directly in the continued viability of regional agriculture.

In this video presentation, we meet Andrea and Ryan Romeyn, the owners of Providence Farm in Antrim County. With years of effort and plenty of sacrifice, the Romeyn Family has succeeded in establishing a sustainable, organic CSA farm.

Sitting on their porch, we talked about the hard, but satisfying work of organic vegetable farming in Northern Michigan. We asked Andrea and Ryan how they are dealing with the impacts of climate change and invasive pests.

We noted that farmers all across northern Michigan have had to deal with more extreme temperatures, bigger storms, and less predictable weather patterns. Andrea and Ryan said that they are committed to becoming more climate resilient. They explained that farming is all about anticipating and adapting to change. In fact, they are preparing for whatever comes next through conservation, increasing flexibility, greater diversity, and by staying rooted in their community.