Local Produce Suppliers
Badger Creek Farm
Michael Hainstock
425 Co. Rd. 492 Marquette, MI 49855
906-361-8482 / badgercreekfarm@gmail.com
www.badgercreekfarm.com
For the past couple of years I have felt an increasing urge to become a farmer. I feel a need to explore and improve upon available methods for a sustainable local food production. My goal is to grow mushrooms sustainably indoors using natural methods. Oyster, Shiitake, and other varieties will be available. I hope to provide year round food for the community, educational opportunities, and jobs. I see my business as becoming part of a larger movement towards sustainable food production and the self-empowerment of the community.
Cloverland Farm
Jim Murphy & Annie Goosmann
103 Old Little Lake Rd. Marquette, MI 49855
906-942-7776 / hideandsheep@yahoo.com
We are a local farm selling high-quality, naturally grown products to our community. We offer seasonal veggies, meats, and wool products.
Curtice Kids Asparagus Patch
Caitlin, Cooper & Emily Curtice
Rumely, MI 49826
906-439-5379 / pcurtice@tds.net
Our asparagus is grown naturally and without any type of chemicals. It is picked fresh daily by our children as a means for them create income while living in a rural community where job opportunities are scarce for kids their age.
Dukes Farm
Gabriel Caplett
254 Dukes Rd. Skandia, MI 49885
906-942-7325 / gcaplett@gmail.com
I have always enjoyed gardening, working outdoors and working for myself. I was also motivated by a desire to remain in the Upper Peninsula, where I was born and raised. I grow Certified Natural Grown vegetables, fruits and herbs as well as annual seedlings. Many varieties grown are heirloom varieties, most of which have been grown in northern climates for generations.
Hannah’s Garden
Hannah Brisson
2503 Werner St. Marquette, MI, 49855
906-226-2213
I offer cultivated flowers and wild fruits, such as blueberries. I do not collect fruit that grows near roads, power lines, or anywhere that could be polluted. I want to provide really nourishing food. I am in the process of expanding my own growing area to be able to provide other fruit varieties in the future.
High Post Farms
Matt Miotke
2546N North Gulliver Rd. Gulliver, MI 49840
906-283-3262
Although not certified, High Post Farms raises all its vegetables organically. Our cows and chickens are mostly organic but we do buy commercial grain and locally grown hay. The farmer we buy hay from reassures us he doesn’t spray and that fertilizer was only used when the fields were first planted (years ago). Our chickens receive very little grain throughout the late spring, summer and early fall. They have acres and acres of free range. The cows and rabbits provide synergies for the chickens also. We strive for a sustainable, bio-diverse homestead. We won’t even use Rotenone or other supposedly organically permitted sprays or dusts. We subscribe to Sir Albert Howard’s philosophy that all we need is already on our place.
Our gardens are alive with nutrients and ready for our sweet corn (which played to great reviews at the Marquette Co-op), heirloom corn and open-pollinated corn. We also seem to grow wonderful, very large onions in three popular varieties: Walla Walla (big and sweet), Yellow Storage, and Purple Burger Meister (big and sweet and purple). Our tomatoes have been praised to be as sweet as our corn. We grow heirlooms, standard and paste tomatoes. We usually plant at least 5 or 6 varieties.
People who eat our veggies always seem to say they are the sweetest – be it corn, onions, tomatoes or any number of other veggies. We wonder if this is due to limestone, which is very close to the surface here. We are not sure, but we are pleased with our great soil and our sustainable systems. We are trying to become more sustainable with more open pollinated varieties allowing us to raise and save our own seed. We have a greenhouse already which allows us to start all our own plants (keeping another degree of organics) and when available we buy organic seed.
Hyer Farms
Jim Hyer
306 Kunde Rd. Skandia, MI 49885
906-942-7546 / happyhyeracres@live.com
We do not use synthetic chemicals in the growing of our produce. We enjoy the fresh taste of our own naturally grown produce. We are also pleased to provide this to the local community.
We offer naturally grown produce that includes corn, squash, beans, rhubarb, carrots, cukes, cabbage, beets, tomatoes, basil, parsley, cilantro…
Grown without the use of chemical fertilizers, chemical pesticides or chemical herbicides. The use of these chemicals allow farmers to grow more and better looking produce that can be sold at attractive prices. However, some people believe that produce grown without the use of these chemicals is nutritionally and environmentally superior. The produce I offer is grown without the use of these chemicals.
Karen Fisher & Shea Boyer
Big Bay, MI 49808
906-345-0070 / 345-9507
We have a small orchard, vineyard, rhubarb, asparagus, berries, horseradish, and a garden. We wanted good wholesome foods for the family and have extra to share/sell. We are locally grown with no chemical pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides used. All natural, though not certified organic. Fresh and great tasting produce!
Miriam Smyth & Charles DeVooght
682 M 94 W Skandia, MI 49855
906-362-5016 / Devooght@tds.net
We started out in 2010 with a small market garden and formed many connections with people in the surrounding communities. We were inspired to create a business involving horticulture, because it was an interest we share, and we enjoy interacting with people and bringing a quality product to the marketplace. Our products are unique because we provide many varieties of product to satisfy any customer taste. We enjoy providing both traditional favorites and new varieties. We want to provide safe, healthy, and fresh vegetables that anyone can afford.
Northern Sky Orchards
Jerry Bishop
26304 M-28 McMillan, MI 49853
313-640-8243
I started my orchard (on M-28, 8 miles East of Seney) in 1990, and have more than 2 dozen apple varieties, a number of pear and plum varieties, and am starting some cherry trees.
When starting my plantings, I had wood chips hauled in as mulch, and have continued to add spoiled hay and composted manures throughout the years. I was a registered organic grower with the now defunct OGM – a registered grower was someone who provided information and documentation to describe the care and growing techniques used to harvest their crop. I’ve made every effort to produce the highest quality produce without using synthetic spray or fertilizer materials. I think that the quality of my produce is ever improving as I observe the results of my pruning, fertilizing, crop thinning, etc experimentation. I strive always to have the highest nutritional content and flavor in all the foods that I produce. I feel that anybody who samples my tree fruits will taste the quality that results from the great efforts I put into my production.
Rock River Farm
Rowan Bunce
N6302 Rock River Rd. Chatham, MI 49861
906-439-5233 / rrfarms@tds.net
We are a diverse local farm practicing sustainability, permaculture, crop rotation, and grazing rotation. We offer certified naturally grown vegetables from 11/2 acres of intensively managed garden and 6 greenhouses. We also raise pastured poultry, pig, and lamb. All of our animals are raised on rotational pasture. They are fed mostly on grass with natural grains and organic supplements. No hormones or antibiotics are used.
Rock River Perennial Gardens
Elise Bunce
PO Box 316 Chatham, MI 49816
906-439-5746
My products are fresh, organically grown, chemical-free, and were grown from seeds that I have collected. I also have many heirlooms.
I have 50 plus varieties of herbs including over 20 varieties of basil. All culinary and/or tea herbs. My garden consists of multiple raised beds for herbs harvested for sale. The rest of the garden is planted in vegetables, mostly for us with overflow going wherever. If I have to water the garden I use a drip system to decrease electrical and water usage (we have a well). I use only organic fertilizer and Integrated Pest Management. This means monitoring the plants every day for disease and insects. I use beneficial insects instead of pesticides. Diseased plants are destroyed. Fresh herbs are picked the morning of sale or late the evening before. Each leaf is inspected and placed in a biodegradable container called a clamshell and labeled. Since no chemicals are used on the plants there is no need to wash them off before packing. In fact I do not pick the leaves when they are wet. They are kept cool in a refrigerator until they are delivered to the Marquette Food Coop in the morning. All season, I pick only the best leaves of the herb plants for drying. They are air-dried or dried in a dehydrator then stored in large glass jars. Growing and offering new varieties each year is a must.
Seeds and Spores Family Farm
Jeff Hatfield & Jeff Chiodi
724 Greenfield Rd. Marquette, MI 49855
906-458-8616 / 249-2158 / seedsandspores@miuplink.com
www.seedsandspores.com
Seeds and Spores Family Farm is a small diversified farm located South of Marquette on the banks of the Chocolay River. Our farm consists of fields, pastures, woods, swamps, ponds and meadows. Our main focus is growing 7 acres of vegetables. We also grow shiitake mushrooms and woods-grown ginseng. The farm includes a flock of laying hens, Scottish Highland cattle and Shetland sheep. We seasonally raise pigs and turkeys. We grow food for our subscription members, the Marquette Food Co-op, and local restaurants. We also sell produce at the Marquette Farmers Market on Saturday mornings.
Our interest in organic farming grew out of the search for pure food. The quest for fresh and chemical-free food soon led us to the desire to produce our own. We have been farming more than 10 years in the area and are inspired by the community’s positive response to and support of our endeavors.
Seeds & Spores strives to create an integrated farm organism. All of our produce and livestock are raised using only natural and authentic farming techniques. We are creating a living, mineralized soil to grow healthy plants to nourish healthy people. Pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers, antibiotics, or growth hormones are never used on our farm. Seeds and Spores is committed to providing quality local food to help sustain our community and environment.
Shelter Bay Tomato Company, LLC
John A. Hust
Shelter Bay, MI 49806
906-892-8653 / tomatoes@tds.net
The Shelter Bay Tomato Company is a small greenhouse in Shelter Bay that produces tomatoes and lettuce. We are working towards starting a larger greenhouse production that would employ 25 people and produce 1,250,000 lbs of tomatoes. We hope to provide healthy, naturally grown food to the area even in the winter.
The Smiling Dog Cut Flower Farm
April & Dan Meister
Marquette, MI 49855
906-362-3759 / meister906@gmail.com
www.smilingdogflowerfarm.com
Dan has been growing flowers since he can remember and has a degree from Michigan State in horticulture. April has grown up with gardens and has been designing, growing, and experimenting with flowers for over 35 years. Together, we are pursing a second life career as cut flower growers. We provide locally/responsibly grown fresh cut flowers as an alternative to flowers sold commercially using chemicals and preservatives. We have five fields along with four large gardens with more to come!
Virgin Earth Farm
Gregory Wixtrom
2480 Yukon Trl. Republic, MI 49879
906-376-2011 / glwixtrom@uplogon.com
My boyhood dream was to be a farmer. I began gardening and selling vegetables in 1975 at the age of 15. I have been developing my land since 1979. I built pyramid greenhouses one of which is heated with hot water from an outdoor wood boiler. I was inspired to grow tomatoes that taste good and have them available throughout the year. I provide large yellow and red tomatoes for slicing as well as Roma and yellow plum tomatoes. I also have carrots, kohlrabi, parsnips, pea pods and ginger. People have sampled my naturally grown produce for the last two years at farmers markets and keep coming back!
Wixtrom Natural Foods
Michael & Lyn Wixtrom, with children Matt & Rachel
4697 Fence River Rd. Republic, MI 49879
906-376-2136 / mlwix@yahoo.com
We are long-time residents of Marquette County and have been growing food for twenty years, selling as a business for two years. We offer naturally grown, high quality potatoes. We have always been health conscious and feel that naturally produced food is important for the health of everyone in our community.
