Northwest Michigan TOPP Field Day: Farming for People, Purpose, and Profit
August 18, 2026 8:30AM - 3:30PM
Registration Deadline: August 11, 2026 - 11:45PM
Bear Creek Organic Farm, 4012 Atkins Rd, Petoskey, MI 49770 (1st site of the day)
Contact: For information, contact Sam Wallace at swallace@gtcd.org or Mariel Borgman at mborgm@msu.edu.
August 18, 2026
8:30am - 3:30 p.m. ET
Tours of 2 farms and a farmer panel discussion, beginning at:
Bear Creek Organic Farm, 4012 Atkins Rd, Petoskey, MI 49770
Cost: FREE
Northwest Michigan TOPP Field Day: Farming for People, Purpose, and Profit field day
August 18, 2026
8:30am - 3:30pm
Where: Bear Creek Organic Farm (4012 Atkins Rd, Petoskey, MI 49770; 1st stop)
Lakeside Farm (06255 Zenith Heights Rd, Boyne City, MI 49712; 2nd stop)
Cost: FREE!
Join the Michigan Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP) team for a field day in Emmet and Charlevoix Counties, as we highlight both a certified organic farm and a regenerative farm with an integrated incubator farm. You’ll learn about how each farm started and modeled their business plan to both highlight and incorporate members of their local communities. You’ll learn about the different and similar practices found on an organic vs. regenerative farm, as well as how different generations are approaching farming. We will provide opportunities to learn about on-farm markets, incubator farms, grazing, hoop houses, B-Corp labor standards, soil health, composting, and more! We will finish the day with a panel discussion, and incorporate farm tours throughout the event.
This event is being organized by Michigan TOPP in partnership with the Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference (presented by Crosshatch Center for Art and Ecology).
Schedule for the Day
8:30am - 11:30am
Bear Creek Organic Farm, 4012 Atkins Rd, Petoskey, MI 49770
Topics: Organic practices and certification, labor standards, hoophouses, scaling up, marketing, and on-farm markets
A light breakfast of coffee and pastries will be offered. Water and snacks will be provided throughout the day too.
11:30am - 12:45pm
Lunch at Bear Creek Organic Farm
We will offer this time for farmers to unwind, network, and explore the on-farm market. We will provide some resources on network partners, MI Farm Link, and other relevant programs too. While lunch will be provided for free, attendees are welcome to purchase food on-site too
1:15pm - 2:45pm
Lakeside Farm. 06255 Zenith Heights Rd, Boyne City, MI 49712
Topics: Regenerative farming practices, resources for beginning farmers, accessing land, market gardening, multi-species cover crops, compost, soil health, and grazing.
Watermelon and ice cream will be offered in the afternoon. Water and snacks will be provided throughout the day too.
2:45pm - 3:30pm: Farm Panel, Q+A
Lakeside Farm. 06255 Zenith Heights Rd, Boyne City, MI 49712
Topic: Farmer panel facilitated by Crosshatch Center for Art and Ecology, composed of both organic and regenerative farmers. We will also be discussing farmland transition and business succession concepts.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Register at https://pears.io/events/msuext/5633/ Registrants will be notified as soon as possible if there is a cancellation. Sam Wallace at swallace@gtcd.org or Mariel Borgman at mborgm@msu.edu if you have any questions.
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