New Farmer to Farmer Website Up and Running A new program provides matchmaking for farmers. “Farmer to Farmer” will connect buyers and sellers as well as lessors and lessees of […]
Category Archives: Farmland Protection Stories
Leelanau Conservancy Farmland Preservation Efforts Earn Kudos
Saving Land Magazine, a publication of the Land Trust Alliance, talks about the state of farmland conservation, the Farm Bill, and the role the Leelanau Conservancy has played. From its […]
Promise Keepers: McManus Farm Preserved
Promise Keepers Thirty six years ago, Mike and Janet McManus made a promise. They were about to purchase Karl Kiessel’s farm along Eagle Highway—an ideal fruit-growing site overlooking Lake Michigan. […]
210-Acre Lawton Farm Protected in Honor of Beloved Parents
When you retire at 55 from the Chrysler Corporation as its assistant treasurer, and then become a cherry farmer for the next three decades, what does that look like? Tom […]
Kiessel Brothers: Center Highway
From Our Fall 2014 Newsletter In the heart of the agricultural corridor along Center Highway sits the old Green farm. The Leelanau Trail stretches back off to the east, and […]
Kelenske Family Farm Preserved
When Jerry Kelenske was a little boy, he didn’t have many toys to play with. His parents were farmers who had their only child late in life. So he entertained […]
Hohnke Farm Preserved: Ben Hohnke’s Very Fine Life
The kitchen table at Ben Hohnke’s farmhouse is round and covered with a vinyl cloth. Sunlight streams in from two corner windows. It is a good vantage point to learn […]
Hohnke Farm Preserved: Ben Hohnke’s Very Fine Life
The kitchen table at Ben Hohnke’s farmhouse is round and covered with a vinyl cloth. Sunlight streams in from two corner windows. It is a good vantage point to learn […]
The Esch Farm Preserved: An Essay on Faith, Hope & Charity
by Tom Nelson, Director of Farm Programs This is the story of a journey—one bound by the timeless virtues of faith, hope, and charity. Driving out into the verdant hills […]
Farm Conservation News: We are on a Roll!
Q: How do you top conserving over 500 acres of prime Leelanau farmland in a single year? A: By securing matching funds from the USDA to conserve nearly 700 more! […]