Beginning Farmer Field Day held July 22 in west Michigan

Jul 09, 2025

By Emily Lavely

The Beginning Farmer Field Day will be held Tuesday, July 22, 2025, at the West Central Michigan Research and Extension Center, 5185 N. Oceana Dr, Hart, MI 49420. This event is hosted by the Oceana Conservation District, Oceana County Farm Bureau and Michigan State University Extension. We will be bringing a jam-packed day full of information for new or beginning farmers, small farmers, homesteaders or those wanting to add new crops to their farm.

Experts from across west Michigan will present on important topics like irrigation, pest and disease scouting, food safety, community food systems and farm business. There will also be short, in-depth sessions on producing vegetables, fruit, Christmas trees and chestnuts. These sessions are divided into stations, and attendees can pick two sessions to attend.

Source : msu.edu

Video: A chain harrow is a game changer

Utilizing a rotational grazing method on our farmstead with our sheep helps to let the pasture/paddocks rest. We also just invested in a chain harrow to allow us to drag the paddocks our sheep just left to break up and spread their manure around, dethatch thicker grass areas, and to rough up bare dirt areas to all for a better seed to soil contact if we overseed that paddock. This was our first time really using the chain harrow besides initially testing it out. We are very impressed with the work it did and how and area that was majority dirt, could be roughed up before reseeding.

Did you know we also operate a small business on the homestead. We make homemade, handcrafted soaps, shampoo bars, hair and beard products in addition to offering our pasture raised pork, lamb, and 100% raw honey. You can find out more about our products and ingredients by visiting our website at www.mimiandpoppysplace.com. There you can shop our products and sign up for our monthly newsletter that highlights a soap or ingredient, gives monthly updates about the homestead, and also lists the markets, festivals, and events we’ll be attending that month.