MEET YOUR FARMERS
Hello, we are Pete and Elizabeth from Osage Grove Farms. We have a 33 acre farm in central Michigan, just minutes from the state capital and Michigan State University.
Our connection to farming dates back to Pete’s grandparents and their farm, which they owned and operated in upstate New York.
Some of his fondest childhood memories are visiting and working alongside his grandparents.
However, we both spent most of our early lives in the Michigan cities and suburbs of Grand Rapids and Detroit.
As a young couple, we were busy starting a family and getting established in our careers. However, in 2020, we were confronted by the realities of the pandemic and children that would soon be grown and gone.
We began to entertain the possibility of pursuing a long-held passion for producing good food and a lifestyle defined by an attachment to the land, its people, and the potential it has to sustain those who work and care for it.
We found and purchased our farm in the fall of 2020. At the time, it was partially wooded with a majority of arable land dedicated to growing commodity crops such as corn and soybeans.
We were quickly motivated to improve our land through sustainable farming practices.
As inexperienced farmers, having never raised livestock of any kind, but with the assistance and instruction of innovators like the Salatins and Pete Larson, pastured poultry presented itself as a good starting point with the lowest barrier to entry.
So, we built a Polyface-style chicken tractor and a mobile henhouse on a used hay wagon chassis. After familiarizing ourselves with some hatchery catalogs, we began ordering our first batches of baby chicks!
We purchased 50 layer chicks and another 50 meat chicks.
We also began laying the groundwork to bring larger animals to our farm.
Working with a local beef producer, our largest field was converted from commodity cropland to a hay field and pasture. Fencing and access to water are now being added in anticipation of the addition of grass-fed cattle and pastured pigs. We are inspired by the opportunity to provide humanely grown food for our family and members of our community.
Pete & Liz Miller
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