Bulldog Berries, a U-pick blueberry farm at 7187 E. Harrys Rd. in Elmwood Township, recently opened for the season and will be open most days through the end of August. Bulldog Berries started in 2012 when the owner, Nick Billings, decided to start his own farm in northern Michigan “on a hope and a prayer.”
Billings sat down on a rocking chair outside his storefront and told the newspaper about his journey from his native Texas to Leelanau County. Bulldog Berries started as a five-acre field in 2012 when Billings was just 26 years old. Today, there are 25 acres of farmland growing 12 varieties of blueberries, and Billings sells to local stores like Hansen Foods, Family Fare supermarkets, and Tom’s Food Market.
Sometime before that, Billings saw himself on the fast track to a stuffy office job. So instead, he decided to take a different path. He began researching farming out of curiosity — wondering if people were even still planting new farms — and over the years, built up a pool of knowledge about how to get a farm started and acquire funding.
