Apr. 25—Editor's note: This article was published in the Record-Eagle's Momentum '22 special publication. For more stories from northern Michigan's economic engine, click here to read Momentum in its entirety online.
TRAVERSE CITY — Long before there was a term to describe it, farm stands sold harvested goods to those passing by.
Farm markets, pumpkin patches and orchards expanded on the word agritourism. Wineries and craft breweries then caught the craze, putting their own twist on the farm-to-table concept.
Now other area businesses like Jacob's Farm, Farm Club and Nine Bean Rows are expanding the idea even further, bringing the farm to the table — all without leaving the farm.
Agritourism is defined as "a form of commercial enterprise that links agricultural production and/or processing with tourism in order to attract visitors onto a farm, ranch, or other agricultural business for the purposes of entertaining and/or educating the visitors and generating income for the farm, ranch, or business owner," according to the National Agricultural Law Center in an article published on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Library website.
For these types of operations, it's a way to put agriculture at the center of business. For people like Don Coe, who as a founding member of Black Star Farms in 1998 and is regarded as one of the driving forces behind agritourism in the region, it's a new name for an old practice.
"Agritourism has long been a factor at some level in our area," Coe said from his winter home in Florida. "It puts the general population back in touch with the farm itself. That's the real value."
Coe credited the 2000 Michigan Good Foods Charter as the Bible of agritourism. But Coe said even that document is more of a restoration of how things used to be for early American farmers, who went from feeding their families and communities to "feeding the world."
"We're restoring the pathways that historically existed," said Coe, who was a managing partner at Black Star Farms before he retired in 2016 and sold to Kermit Campbell. "We lost those pathways to the local communities. What we've been doing the last 25 years is restoring those pathways."
Taking up the torch in recent years have been places like Jacob's Farm, 9 Bean Rows and Farm Club. Coe said these three entities are "three wonderful examples" of agritourism with the appropriate emphasis on the ag.
An Evolution
The biggest and oldest of the agritourism operations is Jacob's Farm, at least in chronological terms. It's been a part of the Witkop family since 1892 when Jacob Witkop acquired it after moving to Traverse City.
"Not long after, the farm was passed down to Jacob's son John and his wife Mary in 1918, where they raised five children," the Jacob's Farm website reads. "Years later the farm was given to John and Mary's second son, Hiram, where he raised four of his own children with his wife, Jane.
"In 1995 Michael Witkop returned to his family farm with his wife, Laverna, and purchased the farm from his father, Hiram. In an effort to continue the Jacob's Farm legacy, Mike and Laverna launched Jacob's Farm Enterprises, LLC in early 2008 and created their first corn maze that fall."
The maze is still a big part of the operation, but they dropped "Corn Maze" from the title to become Jacob's Farm. The operation is under the direction of Michael Witkop; Troy Daily of Kayak, Bike & Brew; and Nate Crane of Rarebird Brewpub.
Food and bar service were added in September 2020, and an upper barn area followed in 2021 on the 40-acre property at 7100 East Traverse Highway (M-72 West). The upper barn area can accommodate up to 125 people and is available for events, corporate meetings, weddings and other parties.
There's also a kids area, wagon rides through the orchard and expanded U-pick opportunities for fruit like strawberries, raspberries, apples and peaches.
"I think what we are envisioning is this will be an evolution, that we'll constantly be updating," Daily said. "There's so much going on at the farm and so much opportunity for agritourism. We'll be constantly evolving with what people want to see and use the farm for all to enjoy."
Another Venue
The big addition to Jacob's Farm in 2022 is another venue, called Orchard View, on the upper hill by the pond. The Orchard View indoor/outdoor event center can host as many as 400 people, but weddings will be around 200 people, Daily said.
Jacob's Farm, which is open from May to October, hosted eight weddings in 2021 and already has 19 scheduled for 2022, a 137.5 percent increase.
"We're really improving that," Daily said. "That's a very big jump."
Expanded U-pick offerings are on tap this year, including blueberries, vegetables and heirloom varieties. Daily said it all ties in to the centennial farm property.
"The tractor rides are a really good education piece as we're tooling around the farm," Daily said. "We also want to add some self-guided tours. There's a lot of history out there."
Daily said that is also true with its alcoholic beverages. Daily said corn from the maze is used by Mammoth Distilling, and Silver Spruce Brewing uses farm fruit in some of its concoctions.
"We have a Class C liquor license, so we're only allowed to serve other people's products," he said. "We're very intentional with that. We only use Michigan products and relationships with people who can use our products off the farm."
From the Source
Less than five miles to the north, Farm Club is using its produce to create food, putting a different twist on agritourism.
Gary and Allison Jonas, from Little Fleet, and Nic and Sara Theisen, from Loma Farm, launched Farm Club in July 2020. Gary Jonas said Farm Club is really one farm on two different properties, 2 1/2 acres of Farm Club and 7 acres of Loma Farm.
Last year, 90 percent of the vegetables Farm Club served came from that acreage.
"That's an outstanding number," Gary Jonas said. "So much effort goes into that. During the whole growing season we're looking for ways to put away food and store it for the winter. That's Farm Club right there for you."
Open year-round at 10051 Lake Leelanau Drive, emphasizing local produce doesn't begin to describe Farm Club, even though the focus is important to small farms.
"We're seed-to-farm," said Gary Jonas, adding that everything the business puts on a plate comes after conscious thought about how it went into the ground. "We're a restaurant on a farm."
The food and brunch menu features a variety of sandwiches made with bread at its bakery topped with meat and vegetables from the farm. The market at Farm Club also has grab-and-go sandwiches, salads, soups and dips.
"Anything we can take from the farm and put into the kitchen," Gary Jonas said.
On-site Brewery
Farm Club also has a brewery on site. Jonas said the specialty of the facility are lagers, but IPAs and farmhouse ales also are created.
"The brewery is a substantial part of our business," he said.
Farm Club also collaborates with local wineries and cideries with the focus squarely on local. Gary Jonas said the Farm Club market also offers up "a whole bunch of local made goods" that is always changing.
"We're doing a lot out there it really shows in the product," he said. "Everybody that comes in is surprised and happy with the product."
In addition to serving up local food and drink, Farm Club hosts a variety of classes from cooking and baking to home gardening. Gary Jonas said educational components are constantly being added, all of which emphasize being able to source the food when it gets to the consumer with as few steps in between as possible.
Local Philosophy
"People are more intentional about where their food comes from," Gary Jonas said. "There's a big difference in lettuce that comes in a plastic bag versus lettuce grown right next door to you. They're different foods."
Jen Welty, who co-owns Nine Bean Rows with her husband, Nic, share a similar philosophy with Farm Club. Nine Bean Rows began in 2009 and found a home when it bought the former Covered Wagon Market and Bakery from Linda and Greg Mikowski in March 2014.
9 Bean Rows grows crops on a little more than 14 acres at 9000 E. Duck Lake Road, just west of Suttons Bay.
Also open year-round seven days a week, 9 Bean Rows is in the process of adding 2,000 square feet to its main building.
The expansion will provide more retail and storage space and new bathrooms, but the biggest thing that has Jen Welty fired up is the addition of a wood-burning oven, coming from Barcelona, Spain, for baking.
"It's the best piece of machinery any bread baker could have," Jen Welty said. "As far as ovens go, it's the crème de la crème of baking ovens."
The oven will be a nice complement to the wood-burning pizza oven already on site. It's just part of the way 9 Bean Rows emphasizes it's locally-grown.
"We want people to come eat the food that we grow whether it's on a pizza, a sandwich or something like that," she said.
Two Goats, Two Pigs
The additional oven is part of Nine Bean Rows efforts to expand further into agritourism.
Jen Welty said 9 Bean Rows is adding two goats and two pigs to the farm this year. Animal husbandry as well as agricultural symbiosis will be some of the topics discussed with visitors to the property.
One thing the expansion won't change is the philosophy at 9 Bean Rows.
"9 Bean Rows cultivates food not commodities," the practices section of its website reads. "With that in mind, the nutritional content and flavor of our vegetables is at the top of our priority list.
"We do not use chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Instead, we rely on the hands of our workers to keep our beds free of pests and weeds. We are a no-till farm, so the nutrients in the topsoil are left for our vegetables, instead of washed away to pollute our water system."
Jen Welty said 9 Bean Rows has several acres of grapes, apples and cherries planted and plans to create "a very small winery" this year. The Weltys have a liquor license at the former restaurant it operated in downtown Suttons Bay. When the purchase agreement with Wren Chef and Owner Adam McMarlin is finalized, the Weltys can proceed with their project.
"We're working on fruit production this year and hopefully have our license to make wine or have a custom winemaker come in to make our wine for us," Jen Welty said. "We want to continue putting Leelanau County fruit on the map as food choices."
Pushing Forward
A winery would bring her full circle. Welty did an intern in crop science at Black Star Farms in 2004, where she worked alongside Coe, telling the agritourism story nearly two decades ago.
"The two of us had kind of the same vision of what Black Star Farms and other regional farms could do," Welty said.
Welty said it's come a long way from when Coe met initially with resistance from the townships. She said Coe's role on the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development board helped push that along.
Coe said it all starts with local zoning and when the state township organization got involved, it helped develop a model agritourism ordinance under the administration of former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm. The agritourism initiative was backed by other organization's like the Michigan Land Use Institute (now the Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities) and people like Walt Brys of Brys Estate Vineyard and Winery on Old Mission Peninsula.
"In northern Michigan, (agritourism) continues to be a real success," Coe said. "It allowed new and beginning farmers to continue in the agricultural sector and start small businesses."
Coe said Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs), farm markets and direct sales to schools, institutions and restaurants are also vital because "small farms in our commoditized agricultural economy don't survive unless they can sell directly to consumers."
Farm markets, wineries, breweries and any businesses involved in agritourism need to get their products in front of consumers.
Coe, who said he still carries a copy of the Michigan Good Foods Charter in his notebook so he can "take it out and wave it around whenever I talk to any elected official or on any food topic," said it's about saving the agricultural landscape.
"What the consumer doesn't know, he doesn't know," Coe said. "You still have to be able to introduce the product to the public. And then the consumer becomes your brand champion."
