‘Cherry Grower Alliance’ could provide growers clout

Growing things is fun. A lot of people got into farming with that in mind, only to realize a mortgage or two down the road that there’s more to it.

Joe Grant, who spent most of his life growing things, learned from his dad that making a profit is essential in farming. His family farm in Bingham Township, like most spread across America in the 1950s and 60s, grew a little bit of everything to make ends meet. Chickens, a milk cow or two, corn of course, and in the case of the Grants, 40 or so acres of strawberries.

Leelanau’s heavy loam soil is rich in organic matter. Strawberries love it. They still do, although strawberry patches in Leelanau County are now few and far between.