As a first-generation farmer, Nate Wilson is familiar with taking risks to pursue your dreams. After falling in love with farming working in cherry orchards throughout middle school and high school, he knew a career in agriculture was for him. Following college, Nate began working in agricultural retail, doing crop production and chemical sales, before becoming a farm manager for a large farming operation in Leelanau County. 

“Working ag retail taught me a lot, and it also inspired me to want to go out on my own one day,” Nate said. In 2016, after getting married, Nate and his wife took a risk and relocated back to her hometown in Kingsley, Mich. That’s when he met his match- another Nate! 

Nate Zenner, who owns his own farm market and fruit stand in Kingsley was introduced to Nate Wilson through the large farm he worked for. Nate began buying fruit from Nate, and the rest was history! 

“From there, we just built an awesome friendship with each other, and shortly after had an opportunity to go into business together,” Nate explained.  

No Strangers to Risk 

In 2022, when a local strawberry farm came up for sale, and Nates knew they had the opportunity of a lifetime. So, they took another risk. Through financing support with GreenStone, they were able to purchase Berry Flats Fruit Farm, LLC. The Nates immediately jumped into their first growing season with the farm, whose primary reputation at the time was strawberries. While neither of them had experience growing strawberries, they focused on learning as they went.  

Strawberries are a highly perishable crop that require quick harvesting and marketing. “During our first season, we were packing flats of berries just to see what would sell and operating the farm stand ourselves just to see what would work,” Nate explained.  

Today, the strawberry operation has grown to fifteen acres and produces around 50,000 pounds of strawberries annually, with 2025 being a record-breaking growing year for them. The berries are sold directly to consumers at their farm stand, with additional sales through other local farmers markets. 

Growing a Business One Harvest at a Time 

Both Nates knew however, even before they purchased the strawberry farm in 2022, they wanted to expand into apples as well. In 2021, they had planted an orchard in Empire, Mich. in order to diversify their produce offerings and sell apples from two locations. 

“We started with seven different varieties, and started dabbling with others as we went along,” Nate said. “About 60% of what we have are Honeycrisps. We have around 10 different varieties now, including some processing apples like Idared as well.” 

The farm now includes over 100 acres of apples located in Empire, Mich., about 45 minutes from the original farmstand. “We think we’re going to harvest around 3 million pounds of apples this year,” he added.  

 

When it comes to growing a business, there are always risks involved. But there’s even more risk involved when your product is exposed to weather, the elements, pests, and outside 24/7 in a non-controllable environment.  

When the Nates began heavily investing in their apple crop, they knew mitigating risk to their produce was nonnegotiable. Through specialty crop insurance coverage they structured with their GreenStone specialty crop insurance expert, they were able to protect their profits and have much more peace of mind when it came to the unexpected.  

And it paid off. Just last year, Nate recalled a late summer hailstorm that came through and destroyed their crop of half a million pounds of Honeycrisps. “I remember I came out to the orchard that morning and saw the hail piled up on the ground. Everything was destroyed. The apples couldn’t even be sold for processing,” he explained. “Without the coverage that we had, we would have been totally out for that entire crop.”  

Building the Right Relationships 

The Nates have worked with GreenStone Crop Insurance Specialist Trevor Gernaat for years now. “Being in this business, it’s all about relationships I’ve learned. Trevor is one of those people who just genuinely wants to help and wants us to do what’s best for our farm.”  

For Trevor, watching the success the Nates have had with their business has been very rewarding. “Being able to watch them grow and make sure their farm and business is protected against the uncontrollable is what makes my job so rewarding,” Trevor said.  

“Trevor made sure we had the right protections in place and helped us get the maximum amount of coverage through federal funding that supports young farmers while they’re just starting out. If it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t have known that,” said Nate. “He also does all of the coordinating with the adjustors for us and stays in contact regularly whether he’s just checking in or stopping by to visit the farm.”  

Due to the higher level of input costs required to grow Honeycrisps, which make up a majority of their crop, and the tighter requirements that come with selling product directly to consumers, having a specialized policy that fits the needs of a specific crop is also important.  

An Investment Worth Making 

As a young farmer business managing multiple locations, Nate sees crop insurance and strong financial partnerships as essential tools for continued expansion – and not something to take a risk on. 

“Between the freezes, extreme weather, hailstorms, and other unexpected events, we can’t risk not having coverage for our crops,” Nate explained. “I know it looks expensive on the front side of things, but to me not having it isn’t setting your farm up for success. When the time comes for a plan to be used, you’ll be glad you did it.”  

In the future, both Nates hope to continue to expand their farm into additional varieties of produce to continue serving the Michigan communities close to them. “Our goal is steady growth – and crop insurance will help get us there.”

 

To view the rest of the 2026 Fall Partners articles please click here.