The experienced team at GreenStone understands two very important things: agriculture is the backbone of a sustainable society, and that the hardworking people living on the side streets and backroads of America make an important contribution to society. That’s why it’s important that we provide financial solutions and support to rural residents and farmers alike.
It’s people like Rod Bednaryczk, who works tirelessly on his multi-generational row crop farm in Marlette, Michigan, who keep America fed. And it’s families like Michael and Lynda Bredeweg who built their country home adjacent to the family Christmas tree farm in Stevensville, Michigan who keep local economies thriving and communities tight knit. We are proud to call them, along with all 28,000 members, part of the GreenStone cooperative.
Pride and Heritage
Rod Bednaryczk works from sunrise to sunset behind the wheel of his combine. The 3,000 acres of soybeans, sugar beets and corn are fields that he knows very well. Growing up on the family farm, agriculture is in his blood.
“I thought since I was little, I was going to farm,” Rod said. “As early as I was able to walk, I was involved with the farm. I was pitching hay, feeding livestock and cleaning manure.”
Feeding cattle and cleaning manure turned into planting crops and managing harvest when Rod decided to turn the family dairy farm into a full-time row crop operation 25 years ago.
Since that transition, Rod, his father, brother, and son have worked hard to expand the operation.
That’s right – his son! Rod is elated that his 22-year-old son Isaac is learning to take over the ropes of the farm – keeping it in the family.
“It’s very cool. I wanted to pass the farm along to him to be able to make decisions quicker than I was able to. We give him a lot of control at this point.”
One of those decisions: making sure their farm is protected with a crop insurance plan to fit their unique needs. For that, the farm turns to GreenStone. The cooperative has been a first choice resource for the farm for years – working with GreenStone’s lending team to secure land and operating loans, and most recently, the crop insurance team to protect the year's production.
“For as long as I have been a part of the farm’s management team, we have been working with GreenStone,” said Rod. “It was natural that we started using crop insurance through GreenStone because we were already banking with them.”
In 2023, after a large storm that just missed his farm and looking at the projected forecast for the remainder of the season, Rod gave Crop Insurance Specialist Nicole Lindke a call.
“Up until this past year, we always utilized a bare minimum insurance plan,” Rod explained. “We sat down with Nicole and she walked me through the best choice for our money. I decided to put hail insurance onto my plan,” Rod explained.
And thank goodness he did. Later that season, many of their crops took a hit from a large hailstorm – and Rod was covered.
“It feels good to help farmers secure that protection,” said Nicole. “A lot of people think crop insurance is another added expense, but it’s that one guarantee you can rely on. When you have a disastrous year, it’s a tool for your operation.”
A tool that Rod plans to keep in his back pocket moving forward.
“I was extremely happy to have something that covers the damage of the hail storm,” Rod reflected.
Rod plans to continue working with his family to expand the farm when he can, and when that time comes, GreenStone will continue to be a trusted partner.
“Farmers just have a special way about them where they’re so easy to talk to,” said Nicole. “I wanted to be able to help them in this aspect of their farming operation.”
“Farming takes determination and drive. You have to really want it,” Rod explained.
Determination and Drive
Determination and drive are common themes among GreenStone members. It was those two virtues that put people like Mike and Lynda Bredeweg on the path to building their cozy modern farmhouse in Stevensville, Michigan.
It was a do-it-yourself home build that all started with a simple idea.
“One day I had an idea,” said Lynda. “I told Mike we should buy the piece of property next to his parents’ Christmas tree farm and build a house there.”
And that they did. The two spent nearly a year clearing the land of trees and debris for a home build in 2018, and in the meantime, searched for financing. After other lending institutions turned them away, the two connected with GreenStone Financial Services Officer Kyle Griffiths, who greenlit their do-it-yourself dream. Kyle was no stranger to the Bredeweg family – a testament to GreenStone’s localized servicing to hometowns across Michigan and northeast Wisconsin.
“I had been going to their family’s Christmas tree farm for years,” explained Kyle. “He knew a lot of the same people I did so it was a natural relationship from the get-go.”
Once all of the papers were signed, and GreenStone became the first choice lender for Mike and Lynda, the two broke ground on what would become their cozy country home one year later.
The building process was just that: a process. Never building a home before, there were plenty of things to learn, and decisions to make along the way. Leaning on experts like contractors and builders, Mike and Lynda were able to acquire the knowledge and expertise to tackle the project head-on.
“This was our first time building anything,” said Lynda. “We really did do it by ourselves. We had a lot of mentoring. We had to ask for a lot of advice. We had to connect with the people around us who were able to help us make decisions.”
"Lynda really acted as the designer and she would make decisions around what she wanted it to look like,” Mike explained. “I tried to live that out and build what she wanted it to look like.”
The long hours and hard work of building and designing paid off when the couple moved into their eclectic modern farmhouse in 2020. The home, equipped with four bedrooms, two and a half baths and an open floor concept is the perfect place to relax with friends and family – after so many of those family and friends helped make the dream a reality.
“We had so many people who helped cut down trees and put up trim,” said Mike. “It ended up being a family and friends project. It was a whole community of people we couldn’t have done it without.”
Some of those trees even make up the home – in the form of flooring and trim, which are just a few examples of the unique and personal features throughout the 2,300 square foot home.
When asked if they would build again, Lynda had a simple answer.
“We don’t need to. I would never want to move out of this house because we built our dream house.”
For the team at GreenStone, it’s helping create those dreams that make it all worth it – whether it’s a brand new home, financial solutions for farmers feeding America, risk management strategies – and everything in between. For GreenStone staff like Kyle and Nicole, this partnership comes naturally.
“I enjoy helping our members,” said Kyle. “It’s satisfying to help them through the home buying or building process. A lot of this is a learning experience from them.”
“Agriculture is my background. My husband is a farmer. My grandparents had a dairy operation, and I was always on their farm, so I just gravitate toward the farming life,” said Nicole. “I look forward to continuing to grow my relationships with my customers and helping them with their crop insurance needs.”
Above all, it’s the passion our members bring to the table that fuels our success.
“As I look over the experience, we couldn’t have done this without GreenStone. Their belief that people can accomplish a home build on their own made all the difference for us,” said Mike.
“I don’t think there’s any better legacy to leave behind than farming,” said Rod. “It’s a way of life. It gives you a lot of pride.”
This article was originally published in GreenStone's 2023 annual report. You can view the annual report in its entirety here.
