For as long as he can remember, Drew Richard has loved the hustle and bustle of working on a farm. His grandpa and uncle have been farmers his entire life, and even from a young age, he would climb up on their laps and ride the fields in a combine.
“When I was little, at just six years old, I wanted to run the equipment,” said Drew. “Ever since then, I was really fascinated with large equipment.”
In high school, he worked on his friend’s dairy farm during the summer where he was able to gain experience driving tractors and running machinery every day.
Even now, that passion hasn’t waned.
“That job just got me hooked even more,” said Drew. “It just got into my blood and I’ve never lost interest in it.”
For the past decade, Drew has worked at Cremer Farms in Williamston doing everything from planting, harvesting, and working in the office.
Building a Future
In 2020, Drew decided it was time to get a stake in the game and decided to buy 55 acres of Cremer Farms, including a home and some farm buildings.
“This is a good starting point of owning some land and getting involved in the operation more than just as an employee,” said Drew.
He worked with GreenStone Financial Services Officer Stevan Stoutenburg to make this big step a reality.
“It’s a good relationship and Stevan treated me really well and helped me with any issues,” said Drew.
But this wasn’t their first time meeting. Stevan met Drew when he was selling fertilizer at a previous job, and he was excited to work with him to secure his land loan at GreenStone.
“It’s really fun working with a young guy that wants to grow and that’s extremely passionate about agriculture,” said Stevan.
Drew was able to take advantage of GreenStone’s CultivateGrowth program, which is set up to help simplify the financing process through relaxed requirements for young, beginning and small farmers who may not have the capital normally needed to start farming.
Stevan was happy to walk Drew through these benefits – things like the CultivateGrowth mentorship and grant program and other educational resources.
“We are happy to help them get their foot in the door. If we don’t do it, who is going to help them? It’s not only the right thing to do, it’s part of our mission to help younger generations get started,” said Stevan. “The future is young farmers!”
For the past two harvests, Drew has had his own corn, soybean, and winter wheat crops.
“He’s one of those guys that can run the farm and can operate the equipment. He’s hands-on, cleaning the combine, he’s calling the seed representatives,” said Stevan. “He’s not just calling the shots in a managerial position. He’s very smart.”
Leaning on a Community
In order to navigate the world of agriculture as a young farmer, you need support. Aside from his family and coworkers, Drew has found a community of other young farmers in Michigan.
“He’s friends with a lot of the younger and older farmers in the area,” said Stevan.
He uses social media to connect with other young farmers who may be experiencing similar things.
“Every young guy has there own set of ideas that they may want to change or do different,” said Drew. “I’m in a Snapchat group with the next generation of upcoming farmers in the area. I’m also on Twitter a lot where I’m able to network with farmers my age about the same battles.”
Drew said he is able to have conversations with farmers in these groups about what has and has not worked on their farms.
Looking Ahead
Drew is future-focused and plans on purchasing more land from the farm as the generational transition evolves. He also hopes to upgrade some technology on the farm and keep improving efficiency.
“My big picture plan is to keep the farm whole as it is,” said Drew. “I’d like to think that over the ten years I’ve been here, I’ve helped build the farm as it is. My hope is to keep the farm thriving.”
GreenStone is ready to continue helping Drew make his farming dreams come true.
“It’s really fun to work with a guy who wants to grow,” said Stevan.
This article was originally published in GreenStone's 2022 annual report. You can view the annual report in its entirety here.
