State Conservationist Garry Lee

Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding has made its way to the USDA with $19.5 billion over five years for climate smart agriculture. The first wave of IRA funding is available to Michigan farmers and forest owners through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), and the Agriculture Conservation Easement Program (ACEP).

The Secretary’s announcement on Feb. 13, included a link to each state’s application cut-off dates for IRA funding. Now is a particularly good time for producers who are already implementing practices like cover crops and conservation tillage to apply for CSP. In addition to IRA funding, the application cut-off date for traditional CSP funding in Michigan was announced for March 31.

In early February, the USDA announced new grant recipients of Compost and Food Waste Reduction cooperative agreements. Two grants were awarded in Michigan, the recipients are the cities of Ishpeming and Traverse City. Both cities will utilize the funds to divert food waste from landfills to composting facilities. It will be exciting to watch these projects come into fruition.

From its location to its mission, Bear Creek Organic Farm is all about climate smart. Climate change is what inspired Brian and Anne Bates to get into farming and how they selected the location for their farm just outside of Petoskey.

“We picked Petoskey for climate change, no natural disasters and plenty of fresh water,” said Brian who hails from Virginia and whose wife is from Indiana.

The couple, who met while Brian was attending a conference hosted by Anne’s college in Milwaukee, wanted to be part of the solution to climate change. Organic farming is more hands-on and rewarding day to day than law and policy making they decided. The couple started Bear Creek Organic Farm in 2013, the first USDA certified organic farm in the area. The farm sells a variety of herbs, vegetables, and flowers, all grown organically and nearly all grown from seed, even their strawberries. Their production facilities include greenhouses where they grow microgreens among other things and seasonal high tunnels where they grow vegetables, herbs, and flowers. Three of their high tunnels they installed with financial assistance through the USDA Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).

The farm has utilized EQIP or other programs, like Hoophouses for Health administered by the Michigan Farmers Market Association, for all of their high tunnels. They have also utilized USDA loans through the Farm Service Agency.

They sell their produce at their on-site farm market, a few restaurants, and at local grocery stores within a 12-mile radius of the farm. Their farm market store started operating full-time for two years and is open March through December. They generate about 80 percent of their sales on the farm site. Every year the farm holds a plant sale with 500 varieties of transplants including vegetables, flowers, and herbs. It’s the largest organic plant sale in the state, said Brian.

The farm operation covers four acres of both indoor and outdoor production. They currently have seven full-time employees. Anne works full-time as a professor at an area community college and works on the farm part-time. In the summer they hire an additional seven seasonal employees. The farm offers a minimum wage of $15/hour and they have never needed to advertise to find help, Brian said. The farm closes for the month of January with their year-round employees receiving a month of paid time off.

Bear Creek Organic farm has grown rapidly with sales doubling from 2019 to 2022 to nearly $1 million. In addition, the farm went from selling most of their products wholesale, to now selling only 20 percent wholesale with most sales from their farm market store. The farm will continue to grow only as the market tells them, said Brian. “We are completely demand driven.”

No matter the demand, Anne and Brian are committed to sustainability in all of their operation, including the land, their employees, and their community. They prioritize buying locally, purchasing as many of their supplies as possible from local companies. These include their growing flats and containers, and some of their packaging materials, which are all 100 percent recyclable according to their website. The farm has a 30-panel solar array and they plan to start offering health insurance to their year-round employees, said Brian.

“Just trying to save the world, simple stuff.”

The eastern Upper Peninsula already has two premier bird watching sites, now conservation partners are expanding opportunities for birders with the creation of the Shore to Shore Birding Trail.

The Seney National Wildlife Refuge and the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory are well known to birders who were looking for additional bird watching sites, said Mike McCarthy, executive director of the Chippewa-Luce-Mackinac Conservation District. The Shore to Shore Birding Trail includes 39 locations on Lakes Superior, Michigan, and Huron, as well as the St. Mary’s River and numerous inland locations, all publicly accessible.

The district’s primary role in the project was acting as a fiduciary by accepting grant funds used to print a flyer for the self-guided birding trail as well as signs and a website, said McCarthy who once worked at the Seney Refuge. The project, started in 2019, had some Covid-related delays. A kick-off event for the trail was held on Aug. 19 and 20 of last year in conjunction with the Paradise Wild Blueberry Festival. Over 300 people attended the event that included bus tours to the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory.

All of the sites on the Shore to Shore trail have markers and the brochures and website describe each location and which sites offers trails, restrooms and other amenities. Whitefish Point is known as a prime location for observing migrating raptors while the Seney Refuge is known for waterfowl. A huge variety of bird species, both resident and migratory, can be seen throughout the eastern Upper Peninsula. The birding trail is a great resource to observe these birds, and other wildlife, at clearly posted publicly accessible locations.

The Michigan Municipal Wetland Alliance in partnership with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources have wetland mitigation credits available in three watersheds; the Muskegon River Watershed, the St. Joe River Watershed, and just coming online will be the Maple River Watershed. Each of these sites will have forested, scrub/shrub, and emergent credits available at michiganwetlands.com .

If you are a producer who has a swampbuster violation and is in either of these watersheds please contact us at the website above. We will work with you to resolve your violation and get you back into compliance. For more information contact Stephen Shine 517/930-8155 or shines@michigan.gov.

Justin Brown - Soil Conservationist, Reed City

Last Position: MAEAP Technician, Scottville
Hometown: Bear Lake
Education: B.A. Biology, Fisheries and Wildlife Management - Northern Michigan University
Family/Pets: Longtime girlfriend Tiffanie/Labrador retriever Coosa
Hobbies & Interests: Duck hunting, bass fishing, and spending time with friends and family

Peter Hoch – Soil Conservationist, Tawas City

Last Position: Soil Conservationist, Linden, Texas
Hometown: Berkley
Education: B.S. Forestry – Michigan Tech, M.S. Soil and Land Resources – University of Idaho
Family: Single
Hobbies & Interests: Camping, hiking, photography, biking, repairs, video games

Candra Thomas - CSP Coordinator, State Office

Last Position: Resource Conservationist, Pine Bluff, Ark.
Hometown: Pine Bluff, Ark.
Education: B.S. in Agronomy - University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
Hobbies & Interests: Traveling, spending time with family, taking care of my plants

Zach Whitacre - Soil Conservationist, Hastings

Last Position: Invasive Species Coordinator, Hastings
Hometown: Warren
Education: B.S. in Biology, Concentration: Microbiology - Northern Michigan University; Master of Science in Biological Sciences - Western Michigan University
Family/Pets: Fiancée Nicolette; pets: Arya, Vesper, and Turt-boi
Hobbies & Interests: Spending time outdoors hiking, biking, and camping. Also, enjoy reading and cooking

March

6 - Michiana Irrigated Corn & Soybean Conference, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Blue Gate Theatre - Shipshewana, Ind., for more information and to register go to canr.msu.edu/events

8 - Agriculture for Tomorrow Conference, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Bay de Noc Community College - Escanaba, for more information and to register go to canr.msu.edu/events

9 - Great Lakes Forage & Grazing Conference, 10 a.m. to 1:11 p.m., AgroLiquid Conference Center - St. Johns, for more information and to register go to canr.msu.edu

10 - Sustainable Intensification of the Rural Landscape: Protecting Soil Health, Water Quality, and Farm Profitability, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., AgroLiquid Conference Center - St. Johns, for more information go to www.miglswcs.org

11&12 - MSU Tollgate Farm Maplefest, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 28115 Meadowbrook Road - Novi, for more information and to register go to canr.msu.edu/events

15 - Pruning Workshop, 8:30 a.m. to noon, Saginaw Valley Research and Extension Center - Frankenmuth, for more information and to register contact the Tuscola Conservation district at 989/6736-8174 ext. 3 or email mike.boike@mi.nacdnet.net

16 - Tree Pruning Workshop, 5:30 p.m., Country Mill - Charlotte, for more information and to register go to www.eatoncd.org/events.html

22 - Holistic Management Foundations, 9 a.m. to noon, Olive Township Hall - Holland, for more information and to register go to ottawacd.org/events/

23 - Pollinator Workshop with Pheasants Forever, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.,  551 Courthouse Drive -  Charlotte, for more information and to register go to www.eatoncd.org/events.html

30 - Wildflower Identification Workshop, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Caro Area District Library - Caro, for more information and to reserve a place contact the Tuscola Conservation District at 989/673-8174 ext. 3

April

29 - Woodland Stewardship 101, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Richfield County Park - Davison, for more information and to register go to https://michiganforestassociation-bloom.kindful.com/e/woodland-stewardship-101