Local Women in Agriculture

Written by Dakota Harding

According to the USDA, 31% of Michigan farmers are women. In addition, from veterinarians to teachers, there are countless women who play a valuable role in agriculture. You may find them in the field, barn, classroom, behind the parts counter, or even at the farmers market. Most often it is work you do not see or think about in today’s society.

We were able to contact a few local women in agriculture and find out what they do and why. We hope you learn something new from their stories and that it shines a light on something you may have never thought about.

STACEY HUGHES

Where are you and/or your farm/business located?

My family farm & my seed dealership is located in southern Jackson, Michigan.

What do you farm or what is your role in agricultural?

I grew up on a dairy & cash crop operation, and while my husband, children & I reside on the farm, neither of us are employed at the farm. We sold the dairy cows in August of 2021. Since then, my involvement with the family farm is to help run our farm’s social media page, give farm tours, and engage in community outreach.

My main role in agriculture is running our seed dealership, Hughes Seed Solutions. We service local growers by supplying all of their seed needs through three different brands of seed.

How long have you been involved in Agriculture?

I’ve been involved in agriculture my whole life. From being born & raised on the farm and through my involvement in 4-H, I had a natural passion for the industry. This led me to pursue a degree at Michigan State University in Animal Science with a specialization in Agribusiness Management. Straight out of college, I worked for a local retailer and handled their seed agency for six and a half years before going out on my own in the seed industry.

Why do you chose to be involved in agriculture?

I’ve chosen to be involved in agriculture because it drives me. I know that no matter what occupation you choose in the industry, you’re making an impact. I love working with it’s people. They’re honest, humble, and hard working. They’re smart & every day they’re people that I learn from - not only professionally but personally too. It’s a lifestyle industry & I value that immensely.

What is your favorite part about what you do?

I have two favorites. One - I love the relationships that I build through my job as a seed dealer. I remember growing up I had my favorite salesman, insurance agent, etc. that would visit the farm. They got to know more than just the decision maker. They knew the whole family, our interests, our nicknames. I make it a point to do the same. Getting a sale is fun (and important) but nothing compares to the true connections you build. Having the opportunity to be welcomed onto our customer’s farms & into their life is something I treasure. They treat me, and my family, like one of their own and I’m eternally grateful.

Second - I love and am deeply passionate about agricultural education. Whether it by directly on the farm, in a classroom, or perhaps in line at the grocery store. I don’t waste an opportunity to educate consumers on modern day food production. And when they are genuinely interested in learning more - my bucket is filled!

CHRISTINA BIGGS

Where are you and/or your farm/business located?

Our farm is located in the Hanover area.

What do you farm or what is your role in agricultural?

We are a crop farm, soybeans, and corn. My role in agriculture is tilling of the soil, planting, most days I’m the one my dad or husband calls because they need parts, seed or fuel. But I can do anything that’s needed.

How long have you been involved in Agriculture?

I have been involved in agriculture my whole life. As a child we had cattle and pigs, about 25 years ago we got out of livestock and went completely crop farm.

Why do you choose to be involved in agriculture?

I choose to be involved in agriculture because it’s the only way I know. I love working this land. Each year is a new learning experience.

What is your favorite part about what you do?

My favorite part about agriculture is everything about it. From planting season, watching nature take care of the crop and to harvest time. It all brings joy and happiness to my life. Even on bad days, it’s always a good day.

LESLIE GOVES

I’m 76 years old and have been involved in some form of agriculture for over 40 years. I am a lifelong supporter of living in harmony with our earth. I believe in raising my own food and treating the environment with care.

17 years ago I formed a non-profit organization (Equestrian Outreach Center) to serve at risk youth in our community using our farm as the venue. We teach sustainable agriculture, science education to school groups, homeschool groups and provide anyone an opportunity to experience farm life.

We are located in Hillsdale County. 9551 Sutfin Rd. Jerome We raise chickens for eggs, broilers for meat, heritage pigs for pork, steer for beef and dairy goats for milk.

We have operated a small CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program with the chicken, eggs, pork and goat milk for about 8 years.

My favorite part is sharing homesteading skills with others. We host 3 summer homesteading workshops, one per month on Saturdays. We also have a private group Facebook page with daily posts about life on the farm. It’s visible to anyone if you are interested in checking it out.

Equestrian Outreach Center group Facebook page. Probably the most unique point of interest is our subterranean greenhouse we built in 2022. It’s purpose is to lengthen the growing season with our Michigan winters. It has been a huge success. We were able to harvest out of it all winter and it is currently regrowing well.

REBECCA MAHLMEISTER

The farm that I work on is located in Adrian and my personal farm is in Onsted. I am a dairy herdsmen and I milk my own cows at home. I got into agriculture during the summer between my sophomore and junior year of high school. I didn’t start working with cows till I started college, and since then I’ve been hooked. I love agriculture and the life style that comes with it. It’s extremely fulfilling and there’s always something to do. Everyday there’s something new and you are always learning and improving. I think my favorite part of what I do has to obviously be the cows. I’ve always been an animal lover and being able to spend my day with the things I love just makes it very enjoyable.

TINA ESHAM

Where are you and/or your farm/business located?

My Farm is located at 166 N Concord Rd. Albion MI 49224

What do you farm or what is your role in agricultural?

My role in Agriculture is multi facetted we produce fruits and vegetables for nine families through our Community Supported Agriculture program. The remainder of our fruits and vegetables are for sale at our Market in Parma Mi; Groveland Market LLC. After thirteen years in 4-H with my children we opened a Baby Goat Yoga program on our farm to share our love of baby goats and yoga. We are also still involved in animal production as our farm produces commercial meat goats.

How long have you been involved in Agriculture?

I have been involved in agriculture since 1997 when I began college at Michigan State University studying animal science program

Why do you chose to be involved in agriculture?

I choose to be involved in agriculture so that I know where my food comes from and how it was raised. Also to be able to share my knowledge s and raise and grow with other people in my community.

What is your favorite part about what you do? Sharing the knowledge that comes with agriculture production.

DR DENISE HEATH

Where are you and/or your farm/business located? I live in Jonesville and work out of Countryside Veterinary Service in Somerset.

What do you farm or what is your role in agricultural? My family lives on a small farm where we raise a small herd of Boer goats, Hampshire cross sheep, and Maine Anjou/ Maintainer cattle. In addition, we pasture broiler chickens and raise turkeys in the summer.

I work for Countryside Veterinary Service in Somerset, Michigan as a food animal and companion animal practitioner.

How long have you been involved in Agriculture?

I grew up on a farm in Carson City, Michigan where we had a 25-30 head cow-calf herd. From there I attended MSU, studying animal science in preparation for application to veterinary school. I was accepted into MSUCVM before completing my bachelors degree, graduating veterinary school in 2004 with an emphasis in food animal medicine.

My first job out of veterinary school was in a large animal practice in Carson City, where I worked primarily on cattle, but worked on horses as well. From late 2005 to present I have been at Countryside Veterinary Service, where I have been a food animal, equine, and small animal practitioner.

Why do you choose to be involved in agriculture? The relationships formed with those I work with in addition to an appreciation for honest, hard work.

What is your favorite part about what you do? Being a part of animal production.

ALISON BASSAGE

Where are you and/or your farm/business located?

I am a teacher of the Environmental and Agricultural Sciences Program at the Branch Area Careers Center in Coldwater, MI. I teach 11th and 12th grade students the basics of Ag, Food and Natural Resources (AFNR) as well as co-lead as an advisor of the FFA.

What do you farm or what is your role in agriculture?

With the help of our Farm Manager and Co-teacher, we manage about 40 students on a 180-acre land lab. On our teaching lab, we farm about 150 acres of corn and soybeans and we raise hogs, chickens, goats, sheep and starter calves. The students also plant and manage a greenhouse of 500+ baskets and bedding plants for our annual fundraiser. My biggest role in agriculture is to not only teach, inform and share information about AFNR, but to also make them employable for their future careers. I concentrate heavily on skills that will make them successful in the plethora of fields in agriculture. So whether they would like to be a vet, work on the family farm, be a loan officer for the farmer, etc., my goal is to provide a foundation of knowledge for them to continue to into the work force as leaders and great workers for our industry.

How long have you been involved in Agriculture?

I have been involved in agriculture for most of my life now. Living in a rural area, I was always surrounded by agriculture and had friends on farms, but my family did not operate directly on the farm. Until I was able to join FFA as a middle schooler and get introduced to showing animals, I have been hooked ever since. My family committed the rest of my high school and into my college career to showing pigs locally, state and nationally. I was also able to dabble into goats and starter calves at the county fair. In helping with my local FFA chapter in college, I figured out I wanted to combine my love for animals and my love for helping others. It is then I found Agriculture Education as my calling. I was blessed with the opportunity to teach at my home chapter, the Branch Area Careers Center at the middle of 2015. Ever since then I have been living my dream of teaching at an amazing facility and more importantly, being a part of some pretty awesome kids’ lives.

Why do you chose to be involved in agriculture?

I choose to be involved because I love how much of a variety of careers and opportunities kids can be a part of in this industry. So many people need to be a part of a product in order for it to be grown on the farm and get to our table. Everything from soil, water, the agronomy, production, sales, business, the livestock, and so much more are involved in the every day products we take for granted. I love the tradition, the community, and “families” that are created in this world of agriculture. And knowing that it will never, and CAN NEVER go away, is pretty cool to be a part of.

What is your favorite part about what you do?

My favorite part of my job is witnessing the “light bulb” that goes off when a student learns something. When they start to put together the puzzle pieces in curriculum or solve the reallife problem, it is the best feeling that they found that moment of success. It is then in that moment that drives them to do and learn more. So my every day mission is to set up my class so that someone, if not everyone, can experience the “ah-ha” moments :)

MELISSA KAFER

I grew up in North Adams, MI on a dairy farm, currently live in Pittsford MI, and work at Greenmark Equipment Jonesville, MI in the parts department. I am selling parts to Dairy/Crop farmers in and all around Hillsdale county. I have been involved in agriculture my whole life, with growing up on a farm and the starting working in the parts world in 2008. This job just kind of landed in my lap, I actually have two associates degrees in Business management and Accounting, but I enjoy this job once I got the hang of looking up all the different parts and helping out all the different customers and all the different equipment they have. I have a few favorites of my job which is doing the farm visits, which lets me see where everyone lives and their different operations, also helping out with their individual needs, getting to know everyone that I have met along the way and their families, its been 15 years in this business and I have enjoyed it, I think in the beginning I was a big surprise for the older (men) farmers having to adjust to a women behind the counter, took them a while but I have been accepted here and have had many compliments on how much I have learned and grown over the years.

JACKIE SANFORD

Where are you and/or your farm/business located?

Sanford Family Beef is our farm name. Chris and I raise cattle in the Springport/Parma area and sell them all the the public through our farm store located on our farm as well as beef shares. Customers can shop our farm store Fridays 2-6pm and Saturdays 10am-3pm year round for all their beef needs. They can grab a package of steaks and a pound of ground beef and so many more beef cuts. We also raise pigs in the summer which are available in the fall. Our website for all of the details on our farm is sanfordfamilybeef.com

What do you farm or what is your role in agricultural?

We raise beef and pork here on our farm. Our boys are 7th generation of Sanfords on this farm. We started our farm May of 2016, raising cattle at a friends operation, until we purchased Chris’ family’s farm December 2019. In 2020, we built our cattle barn and farm store which opened October of 2020 to the public.

Chris is responsible for securing our feed sources, the daily feeding, picking up meat and dropping off animals to the butcher. I do the behind the scenes work. Accounting, marketing, and most of the paperwork is my responsibility. This allows me to work my full time job during the week and help the farm on nights and weekends. Communication with our customers is a key piece of my role on the farm. We love sharing our story, our why, and helping tell the truth of agriculture. Our farm store provides us that opportunity to do so and I love it. I communicate with our customers via a weekly email providing new recipe ideas, I give them first dibs on all of our new products and bundles, and give them farm store updates. I also manage our social media presence.

How long have you been involved in Agriculture?

I grew up on a cash crop farm in Springport and met Chris my Sophomore year of high school. Growing up my mom always told my sister and I to never marry a farmer. Well once I met Chris that advice went out the window. I got involved in FFA my senior year and through that experience learned that agriculture is much more than just farming. So I pursued my bachelors in accounting knowing I could work for any agricultural company, anywhere in the world with that degree. I currently work for GreenStone Farm

Credit Services as a Senior Chattel Appraiser. I appraise everything that moves on a farm, mainly equipment and livestock traveling the state of Michigan going greenhouses, vegetable, fruit, and winery’s.

Why do you chose to be involved in agriculture?

Legacy. The few memories I have of farming growing up are very near and dear to me. We wanted to raise our family on a farm. Infinite life lessons to be learned on a farm. It’s been a humbling experience thus far. Our boys have a unique upbringing here on the farm compared to many of their classmates and we love that decision for our family.

What is your favorite part about what you do?

I love our customers, I love answering their questions on all things agriculture as well as their meal prep struggles. I learn a lot from them and their questions. I used to be afraid to talk to people about farming but honestly they are just curious about what we do. With many being 3-4 generations removed from a farm, they just want to know and understand farming. I love teaching them about farming and given my experience at GreenStone I can speak to most types of farms here in Michigan and how they raise their crops or livestock. My grandma’s taught me to love the kitchen from baking to cooking, which is not the case for many of our customers. I enjoy helping them solve their mealtime struggles from an easy dish to make on game nights or how to make a prime rib for the first time.