“I like taking care of animals, and I like the balance of when we raise healthy animals, they produce manure that makes our land healthy,” said Elaine Palm. “The healthier our land is, the healthier the forage grown on the land is, and the healthier the animals will be.”
Elaine owns Great Lakes Lamb LLC with her parents, Jim and Sherrie Bristol. On their farm in West Branch, Michigan, they raise sheep and forages to feed them, plus sell hay to customers. They primarily raise sheep for the meat market and for breeding stock, and they also sell their wool.
“We also have a passion for high quality wool products,” Elaine said. “I’m currently in the process of getting our farm established in American Wool Assurance, which is a brand new program nationwide.”
Elaine is taking classes related to wool quality and animal care standards to receive certification through the program that their farm is adhering to best practices.
“We’re seeing that along with wanting to know where their food comes from, customers want to know where all their products come from,” Elaine said. “Customers are really interested in making sure that they’re sourcing their products from farmers who care.”
Showing care
Elaine and her sister Brigette began farming by default, as they grew up doing chores with the barn in their backyard. They both became heavily involved in 4-H and FFA. As they got older, they had the opportunity to work with Michigan State University on projects that benefited their farm.
“With MSU, I looked at fecal samples to evaluate internal parasites, and Brigette looked at forage samples,” Elaine said. “These projects gave us even more insight into our business through our involvement in these projects.”
Elaine went on to study agriculture and natural resources communications at MSU, and began a career in non-profit organizational management.
“A few years into my career, I was driving home every three weeks in the summer from Washington, D.C. to help with hay harvest, and I knew this was not a sustainable plan,” she said. “If I was going to get involved in the farm business in a bigger way, I would need to make a change.”
She did that in 2014, when she moved back to Michigan and began having conversations with her parents about the potential of becoming partners.
She continued working in her agricultural career, and didn’t immediately move on the farm, but she kept an eye out for farms for sale.
“It just so happened that six months after I moved to Michigan, the farm across the pasture from my family went up for sale,” she said. “There were other options for sale in the county, but to purchase this farm showed a financial commitment to this being my vision for our farm’s future.”
Making plans
Off the farm, Elaine is a community nutrition instructor for MSU Extension, where she works with people eligible for food assistance on strategies to stretch their food dollars to meet their household’s nutritional needs.
Her husband Rick, a technical advisor for Stellantis, also works both on and off the farm.
“He helps us however he can,” she said, “Animal chores, harvesting hay, fixing equipment, changing out parts – he’s good at everything.”
Elaine is looking forward to the future of her family and farm, as she and Rick are expecting a child this year.
“In 2019, I bought another farm property and a farm truck on Valentine’s Day,” she said. “Two weeks later, I started a new job. That month my fiancé Rick sold his house and moved two hours from his job. Then in March we got married. Quite a year.”
Working with GreenStone
Elaine worked with GreenStone as a lender for her investments, including a field the farm had previously rented, and a farm vehicle.
“We had also discussed transitioning two equipment loans and a line of credit from the bank we were using to GreenStone,” she said. “We were seeing less and less understanding of agricultural accounts and business practices from our previous bank, so we moved them to GreenStone at that time.”
The timing, though difficult, worked out for them.
“We made the farm vehicle purchase in May 2020, and the dealership wasn’t allowed to make sales at that time,” she said. “We were one of the first to make a purchase when they were permitted again. We made the deal in the parking lot, with masks on, with our own pens in our hand.”
GreenStone Financial Services Officer Josh Quaderer enjoyed working with Elaine from the beginning.
“It’s so great seeing someone get started and watching them grow,” he said. “For me, it’s one of the most rewarding parts of the job.”
While working together initially, Josh knew Elaine wasn’t pleased with her current lender. As an agriculture-specific lender and cash crop farmer himself, Josh was happy to share his experience with her.
“You understand the financial side of things so much better when you’re dealing with it yourself,” he said. “We can see it from the farm side and from the banking side.”
GreenStone had options for young, beginning, and small farmers like her, and as an added bonus, once a customer, it was extremely easy to process new requests.
“I made these purchases to expand the potential of the farm’s future,” Elaine said. “Farming is a cyclical process I like to see and facilitate, as we get a balance between nature and the animals we raise for food.”
To view the article in the online 2022 Summer Partners Magazine, click here.
