Dan’s farm is small, but mighty. You won’t just find your usual apples, potatoes and onions on the property, but a number of unique crops, too.
Ask anyone in the small village of Lawton, Michigan about Dan Owens and chances are, they either know him, or have at least eaten his large variety of fruits and vegetables.
But Dan wasn’t always a small-town farmer. Before moving back to Michigan in 2017, Dan worked in corporate human resources in San Diego, California.
After making friends with people at a nonprofit farm and spending two years learning the ropes from them, he decided he needed a change. He began to save up money to turn in the west coast white collar life for a blue collar career in Michigan as a small, beginning farmer.
“Friends that I had growing up, when I told them I was quitting my corporate job to become a vegetable farmer, thought I was nuts, but they knew I would always do something like this,” said Dan.
He saved enough money to maintain the farm for three years without needing to turn a profit.
“I had this three-year plan and I had saved so I knew I could do three years without any income so it didn’t feel that risky, but I also had no idea what I didn’t know about owning a farm,” Dan recalled.
The GreenStone Difference
After securing a land loan with GreenStone, he officially opened the farm in March 2017 on a 13-acre piece of land.
When you drive by, you’ll see two hoop houses, plenty of crops and even a fruit and vegetable stand for the community to get their fill. But it wasn’t always this vivacious, and someone who knows that well is Dan’s financial services officer Emelee Razjer.
“My trip daily to and from work in Schoolcraft went past his property that he purchased,” said Emelee. “I literally watched from the minute the property was listed for sale all the way up to the first greenhouse.”
Emelee wasn’t always in charge of Dan’s account, but as the farm grew, her expertise made it appropriate for her to step in – something she was ecstatic to do.
“I feel like driving past it, not knowing who he was, but yet it was impressionable enough that I kept an eye on it says something,” said Emelee. “I’ve been watching this farm grow from the ground up and watching his dream and vision become a reality and GreenStone was a part of that, and now I get to be a part of that.”
With Emelee’s background in fruit and vegetable crops, she was able to help the farm expand.
“He really enjoys it because he has someone with that knowledge base and background in fruits and vegetables,” said Emelee.
“When I got connected with Emelee, that was awesome,” said Dan. “She has farming in her family and she can speak the language. It’s such a different experience than I’ve ever had before. I’ve never worked with someone on any financial endeavor that has actually stopped by the farm, so I’ve been extremely happy with her.”
Not Your Run-of-the-Mill Farm
Dan’s farm is small, but mighty. You won’t just find your usual apples, potatoes and onions on the property, but a number of unique crops, too.
“Customers tell me they’re glad I like to grow a lot of the normal stuff like onions and potatoes and carrots, but also have some unusual things,” said Dan. “If customers tell me about something, I try to incorporate some fun things each year.”
Dan also grows herbs and makes his own spices, and produces honey and syrup. If you take a trip to the farm, you will probably also notice the chickens and his fresh eggs for sale.
Dan says when choosing his crops and products, he thinks about what people want to use in the kitchen.
“I absolutely love it, it’s so exciting for me. I love to cook and one time thought about working in the restaurant industry, so I think that helps me work in the farm industry as well because I can tell people how to cook something with my products,” said Dan. “It’s cool to see people buy your vegetables at a market and come back the next week and have them show you a picture of something on their phone of something they made with it.”
In The Community
Dan is a people person, and that’s why attending the Kalamazoo Farmers’ Market each weekend is one of his favorite parts of being a farmer. He has enough crops each week to fill a 20 foot table. But he’s not just there for his bottom line; he loves making connections in the community, something Emelee can attest to.
“It was just impressive how many people we knew in common, and I think that’s also a testimony of being very well-connected in the agriculture community,” said Emelee.
“It’s a small world,” said Dan. “You’re only a couple people away from knowing any farmer in the area, and you’re even closer to the customers.”
Getting Better, not Bigger
Dan plans to remain a small farm and continue to serve people in the community. He doesn’t plan to expand his land any time soon, but he wants to keep an eye on new inventions and equipment to make his farm better.
Most importantly, he wants to keep people happy.
“It’s about providing food to the community, but it’s also a lifestyle,” said Dan. “I don’t want to go any bigger. I want to get better. Some crops come and go every single year, and I hope I’m growing things people want.”
And GreenStone is happy to be on his side as he continues making his small, beginning farmer vision come alive.
“I’m just really happy to be part of Dan’s team and making his dream become a reality,” said Emelee.
To view the article in the online 2022 Fall Partners Magazine, click here.
