As a fourth-generation farmer, Nick Oomen of West Michigan Produce is no stranger to both the challenges and rewards that come with his job. For Nick, farming is not just his profession - it’s a lifestyle and a legacy.
“For me, there’s a sense of pride in growing something from scratch. You have to really love what you do, because there are going to be harder days you just have to work through,” he said. “I think farming is one of the only jobs where people will do it until they physically can’t anymore. That says a lot about how much we care about our farms and the quality of what we’re producing.”
Nick grew up farming beside his parents Ken and Sandy Oomen in Hart, Mich. He started getting involved in the business aspects of the farm when he was 14, a true testament to his interest and passion for agriculture. The family farm now spans four generations and began with Nick’s great-grandfather who started the farm as a dairy operation. Once Ken and his brother took over the farm in the 1980s, they began growing asparagus and slowly transitioned into vegetable farming.
Located in Oceana County, the sandy, well-draining soil and milder lake-effect weather offers the perfect growing conditions for asparagus as well as a multitude of other vegetables. Michigan itself is the second largest producer of asparagus in the country, with 80% of the state’s crop coming from Oceana County. The county is considered the “Asparagus Capital of the World” and is even home to the National Asparagus Festival!
West Michigan Produce's packing facility allows them to sell their produce to multiple national retailers.
Ideal Conditions for Growth
These ideal growing conditions are one of the reasons the farm has experienced so much success, adding more than twenty varieties of crops to the list of produce they grow, package, and ship to several national retailers. The farm produces everything from asparagus, broccoli, peas, carrots, pumpkins, squash, snap beans, cherries, and beets to cash crops such as corn, wheat, and soybeans.
During peak asparagus harvesting season in the spring, the farm employs between 100-120 people at a time, then drops back down to around 45 after June. West Michigan Produce also picks all of its asparagus by hand using a five-person asparagus cart that combs the fields sometimes from sunrise to sundown. Hand harvesting asparagus protects the quality of the crop and prevents any damage that would otherwise occur with mechanical harvesting methods. It also allows for the spears to be kept longer for the fresh market or cut shorter later during processing for those that will be frozen.
The farm also raises several organic products which require different growing methods and regulations. “As the demand for organic produce continues to increase, I want to diversify our products as much as possible to spread out risk across multiple crops,” explained Nick.
“There are many challenges of vegetable farming not a lot of people know about. When it comes to raising organic, there are different regulations such as disease control practices, and organic inspections and certifications you may have to go through,” says Nick.
“Besides the labor required for hand picking asparagus, another thing vegetable farmers have to consider is how we harvest our produce, such as squash, so it doesn’t get rejected by retailers if it has any blemishes or bruises on it. This adds another layer of complexity to how we harvest our vegetables and pack our products. In this industry you have to be flexible and be able to adapt to the changing demands.”
A Vision for Expansion
Nick graduated from Michigan State University in 2012 after studying agricultural industries. He returned home to the family farm with new ideas on how to expand the operation, including adding a processing and packing facility to the farm. To keep up with the rapidly changing landscape of the industry, being able to process and package its own produce would allow the farm to be more self-sufficient and work directly with the retailers buying its products.
The Oomen family began packing vegetables in 2014 and has since continued to expand its processing and packing operations for both fresh and frozen products. After attending a young farmer’s event through Michigan Farm Bureau, Nick learned more about GreenStone and the CultivateGrowth resources available to young, beginning, and small farmers. He was able to secure a loan through the CultivateGrowth program that would support the expansion of the farm’s packing facility, and in 2021 completed construction of its new facility complete with a refrigerated storage area. The facility is used to pack asparagus, zucchini, bell peppers, broccoli, and more.
“The addition of our new facility allowed us to continue to grow our packing operations and work with larger retailers that ship our products all over the country,” says Nick. “It’s also opened up opportunities for us to pack asparagus for other farmers in the area as well because we have the equipment and the storage capable of doing it.”
Kimberly (Kim) Sadler, Senior Financial Services Officer, has been with GreenStone for over 17 years and has worked with Nick since 2018 when he began to take on more and more operational responsibilities on the farm. She helped him secure financing for the addition of their new packing facility and all its machinery and equipment.
Nick stands with his Financial Services Officer Kim in one of the farm's many asparagus fields that are harvested by hand.
Advocating for Family Farms
“Nick is very hands on when it comes to running the business,” Kim explained. “He has been great to work with, and it’s exciting to see a young farmer be successful and continue to grow their family farm.”
Nick is also engaged in advocating for labor policy reform and has spoken with lawmakers surrounding the challenges farmers are facing when it comes to rising labor costs. “He is a great example of a young farmer that is raising awareness of the importance of his generation and the next generation of farmers after him to be able to continue producing the food that feeds our country,” added Kim.
“We know Kim is looking out for us and our best interest,” Nick commented. “She makes regular visits to the farm for check-ins, and for us that’s really important because working with a lender who truly understands who you are and what your business does is always easier to work with. What I appreciate about Kim is the personal interaction we get with her, whether that’s her stopping by the farm or just picking up the phone to call her whenever. You don’t always get that with other traditional lenders you work with.”
For Nick, maintaining the involvement of his family in the farm’s operations is important as West Michigan Produce continues to grow and expand. “He’s always looking to add something else new and figuring out what else we can grow. I always say, ‘don’t you think we have enough going on already’,” laughs Nick’s dad, Ken.
“Just because we’re running a larger size operation now doesn’t mean we aren’t still family owned and operated,” says Nick. “For us that will never change. People think just because you’ve grown it’s turned into corporate farming, but our family has been able to grow this ourselves. If it wasn’t for the involvement of my family, I don’t think I would be doing this. This is our family legacy, and we’re proud to continue growing it.”
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