Field days, workshops and webinars for farmers transitioning to organic
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If you’re curious about transitioning to organic production practices and/or certifying organic, this will be a great year to find out what is involved! The Michigan Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP) is organizing five field days, seven webinars and sessions at several conferences. The field days include a series of regional farm tours throughout Michigan, including three farms each in Washtenaw County, Berrien County, Detroit and Muskegon. In addition, TOPP Network Partners Keep Growing Detroit, Michigan Food and Farming Systems, Michigan Organic Food and Farm Alliance and Crosshatch Center for Art & Ecology, West Michigan Growers’ Group, Real Organic Project, Mid-Michigan Farmer Meetup and others are planning for events to connect farmers in their networks to learn more about transitioning to organic.
Mentorship Celebration
Just for TOPP Mentors and Mentees! This event will bring together enrolled TOPP mentors and mentees from all over the state to build community and support each other as organic farmers. Details will be shared directly with mentors and mentees.
Field Days
Washtenaw County Agricultural Plastics Recycling Collection Event
When: Monday, April 13, 2026, between 9 a.m. and noon. A half-hour time slot must be reserved unless the participant is bringing less than 30 pots and trays.
Where: Washtenaw Food Hub 4175 Whitmore Lake Rd. Ann Arbor, MI 48105
What: As part of the TOPP initiative, the Washtenaw County Conservation District is offering its first Agricultural Plastics Recycling Collection Event to remove plastic junk from farms, divert it from the landfill, and return to productive manufacturing streams. We will be collecting bale cover, silage tarp, pallet stretch wrap and certain pots and trays. Materials must arrive relatively clean and be on our accepted materials list on our material guide found in the registration. Registration is required for the event and we encourage participants to read the instructions in the registration carefully to meet all drop-off requirements.
Washtenaw TOPP Farm Tours: Explore three farms growing seeds, flowers, and more!
When: Tuesday, July 21 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: Meet at Raindance Farm at 9 a.m.
What: Dig in to Washtenaw County’s organic and sustainable agriculture with guided tours at three farms — each offering a distinctive look at seed stewardship, diversified production, ecological farming practices, and farmer‑led community engagement. Kick off the day at Raindance Farm, known for its cut flowers, ecological management and on‑farm education. Then, enjoy a farm‑fresh lunch at Nature and Nurture Farm, followed by a guided tour of this certified organic farm known regionally for seed production and heirloom variety preservation. End the day at Pott Farms to see a Regenerative Organic Certified hemp crop using soil‑building practices. Registrants are responsible for their own transportation between farms.
Speakers: Kristen Meuhlhauser of Raindance Farm, Mike Levine of Nature and Nurture Farm, and Robbin Pott of Pott Farms
Agenda
9 a.m. - 11 a.m. Tour of Raindance Farm
11:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. lunch provided at Nature and Nurture Farm
12:15 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. Tour of Nature and Nurture Farm
3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Tour of Pott Farms
A Taste of Berrien County's Organic Agriculture: Tour three value-added and agritourism farms
When: Friday, July 31, from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Where: Begin at Tower Hill Farm, 4448 Naomi Rd, Sodus, MI 49126, then travel to Flatwater Farms and Granor Farm
What: This farm tour offers farmers and educators a place-based learning experience focused on organic production, value-added enterprises, and agritourism models across Berrien County. We’ll begin at Tower Hill Farm, a family-owned, certified organic orchard and vegetable farm that demonstrates stewardship-driven production through diverse crops, hoop houses, and strong local food system connections. Then, we’ll drive to Flatwater Farms for lunch and a tour of their regenerative practices, innovative energy use, and value-added integration through hops production, and on‑farm food experiences. We’ll end the day at Granor Farm, home of diversified production, farm-to-table excellence, and agritourism through its farm store, education programs, and renowned greenhouse dinners.
Speakers: Tower Hill Farm: Co-owner and Farmer Julie Studier; Flatwater Farms: Farm Manager Danny Moeller; Granor Farm: Farm Manager Joseph Garrett and Grain Manager Jake Lohraff will co-lead the farm tour.
West Michigan Organic Farm Tours: Explore Farm to Institution Markets from schools to hospitals (TOPP Event)
When: Tuesday, August 11
Where: Start at McLaughlin Grows Urban Farm at Trinity Health Muskegon, 175 E Larch Ave, Muskegon, MI 49442
What: Tours of three farms focused on sales to hospitals, schools and other institutions, including McLaughlin Grows Urban Farm at Trinity Health Muskegon, Tortoise & Hare Farm and The Woven Trifecta. We will also visit FARM Accelerator (Food, Agriculture, Research and Manufacturing Accelerator), a food hub focused on farm-to-school marketing.
Speakers: Savannah Cunningham of McLaughlin Grows Urban Farm, Clarence Rudat of the FARM Accelerator, Brett Ziegler of Tortoise & Hare Farm and Sam Otto of The Woven Trifecta will each lead tours of their farms and facilities. Each tour host will discuss best practices for farm-to-institution sales and how they participate in these markets.
Agenda:
10:30-11:45 a.m. McLaughlin Grows Urban Farm at Trinity Health Muskegon
12:05 - 1 p.m. FARM Accelerator (lunch with a short tour after)
1:30 - 2:45 p.m. Tortoise & Hare
3 - 4:15 p.m. Woven Trifecta
Aug 18 – NW Michigan Farm Tours: Farming for Purpose, People and Profit
When: August 18, 2026, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Where:.Bear Creek Organic Farm in Petoskey and Lakeside Farm in Boyne City
Speakers: TBD
Event posting: TBD
Register: TBD
2026 Annual Tour of Detroit Farms and Gardens
When: TBD, August or September, 2026
Where:.Start at Keep Growing Detroit Farm, 3100 Orleans St, Detroit, MI 48207
What: Tour of farmers transitioning to organic in Detroit. There will be several different tours all happening the same day in Detroit!
Speakers: TBD
Event posting: TBD
Register: TBD
Compost Crawl Tour at Great Lakes Incubator Farm
When: TBD September, 2026
Where: 1091 N Keystone Rd, Traverse City, MI 49686
Register: TBD
Farm Tours at the Northern Michigan Small Farms Conference
When: October 4 – 6
Where: Bellaire, MI
What: Farm tours are a chance to head to farms throughout the area for hands-on learning from innovative farmers. There will also be opportunities for everyone to learn from the best in a more classic conference format, with presentations, discussions, and more. You can also join the interest group roundtable discussions, where you can connect with others who share your passions and experiences in farming.
Speakers: TBD
Event posting: https://www.smallfarmconference.com/
Register: TBD
Farmer Webinars
Farmers are the focus of this webinar series, but educators and others are welcome. Learn how to choose the right certification for your farm. The second and third webinars in this series will focus on how to translate organic certification into higher prices and profits for your farm.
Register for all three webinars
Business planning for Organic Farmers
When: Thursday, March 19, Noon to 1 p.m. EST
Where: Online Webinar
What: This webinar will guide farmers through the essential components of a strong, resilient organic farm business plan. Learn how to structure your financials, evaluate enterprise options, and prepare for growth or transition. The session may include farm business planning templates you can use to get started on your plan.
Speakers: Florencia Collella and Rhonda Adams
Succession planning for organic farmers
When: Thursday, March 26, Noon to 1 p.m. EST
Where: Online Webinar
What: Join us for a webinar to learn about land succession! We will feature several organic farmers on how they accessed land or passed it on to the next land stewards. You’ll also hear from Jill Dohner of MIFarmLink about resources for land succession and you’ll have a bit of time to consider next steps for succession on your farm.
Speakers: Jill Dohner of MIFarmLink; Video of Bruce Michael Wilson and Katie Brandt discussing land succession.
Organic System Plans: the stepping stone to organic certification
When: Thursday, April 2, Noon to 1 p.m. EST
Where: Online Webinar
What: Sarah Longstreth of Good Stead Farm will share her Organic System Plan and the recordkeeping she uses to keep her organic certification. Join this webinar to take the mystery out of OSPs and get your questions answered.
Speakers: Sarah Longstreth of Good Stead Farm
Soil Health: Reduced Tillage Strategies for Organic Farmers
When: Thursday, April 9, Noon to 1 p.m, EST
Where: Online Webinar
What: Discover how soil health gains and tarping can work together as organic specialist James DeDecker shares reduced‑tillage research and surprising lessons on tarping—especially how timing tarp placement and removal makes all the difference in your soil organic matter.
Speakers: James DeDecker of the MSU Upper Peninsula Research and Education Center
Educator Webinars
These webinars are open to all, but the speakers will emphasize information important for farm educators with Conservation Districts, MSU Extension, NRCS, MDARD and non-profit farm organizations. This series will help farm professionals engage farmers with farmer-led, scale-relevant and financially savvy info that farmers are actually looking for. Join the series to dig in to these 3 topics:
Organic Certification for Urban Farms
Research and Education that Centers Farmer Knowledge
How producers weigh the cost-benefit of organic certification
Organic Certification for Urban Farms
When: Thursday , July 16 from Noon to 1 p.m. EST
Where: Online Webinar
What: This webinar equips farm educators and ag professionals with a clear, real‑world look at how organic certification works on urban farms like Earthworks—covering practices, records, inspections, and unique challenges. We will also critically examine when organic certification does or doesn’t make sense for urban farms and will highlight lessons from urban farmer mentees navigating the process.
Speakers: Patrick Crouch will share his experience with organic certification at Earthworks Farm in Detroit. Jon Kent or Miles Wood will discuss the transition process at Sanctuary Farms and the intern they are hosting to certify their farm and compost operation, as well as assisting other farmers in Detroit who want to transition to organic.
Research and Education that Centers Farmer Knowledge
When: Thursday, July 23, from Noon to 1 p.m. EST
Where: Online webinar
What: Join fellow farm educators and ag professionals for this TOPP webinar exploring how research, education, and outreach can better center farmer knowledge. We’ll begin with practical examples through short lightning talks from five educators on how they center farmer wisdom in webinars, field days, working groups, research, and mentorship. The second half of the session will focus on interactive discussion and breakout conversations to help participants identify concrete ways to deepen their connections with farmers and increase the impact of their work.
Speakers: We have a great lineup of speakers each sharing about how they center farmer knowledge in their work in 5 minutes or less.
Sarah Janes Ugoretz of the University of Wisconsin will discuss ways to include farmers in webinars & listservs through her work on farm labor with BTEC (Becoming the Employer of Choice) and TEAMS (Training & Education for Aspiring Managers)
Mariel Borgman of MSU Extension will discuss farmer-led and farmer-friendly Field Days
Florencia Collella of MSU Extension will share how to create Farmer Working Groups that are led by the needs of farmers
Dan Brainard of MSU will discuss best practices for fully engaging farmers in research projects
Alex Cacciari, of Washtenaw County Conservation District and Seeley Farm, will share how to unlock the peer-to-peer learning possibilities of farm mentorship
You! The second half of this webinar will be more of a roundtable to hear from participants how they center farmers in their work.
How producers weigh the cost-benefit of organic certification
When: Thursday , July 30, from Noon to 1 p.m. EST
Where: Online Webinar
What: This interactive TOPP webinar will dig into how farmers evaluate the return on investment of organic certification compared to building trust “organically”. The session will combine research, grower perspectives, and a real-world discussion to unpack financial, community, and market‑specific impacts.
Speakers: TBD
Conferences and In-person Events
Learn from Michigan’s organic farmers and TOPP mentors at the following conferences:
January 10: MOFFA Organic Intensives – TOPP funding 2 of the 3 conference tracks and the bus from Detroit; Alex Cacciari spoke about cut flowers
February 5: SW Michigan Horticulture Days – Katie Brandt spoke to grape growers about options for organic and regenerative certification
February 14: National Farm Stop Conference Alex Cacciari presented “Building Trust through Organic and Beyond Food Labelling.”
March 23 - 24: CWF Organic Expo – TOPP Mentor Sarah Longstreth will discuss TOPP and tips for transitioning to organic
April 15: FREE Organic Rising film screening with a panel of farmers and the filmmaker!
October 4 – 6: Northern Michigan Small Farms Conference (see details in Field Days section above)
Monthly Drop-in Organic Farming Q & A
Stop by online to ask your questions about organic farming. Michigan's TOPP Technicians Alex, Kim and Sam will bring their knowledge to these monthly drop-in office hours to chat all things organic farming.
Mentorship
Michigan’s Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP) has paired over 40 transitioning farmers with experienced organic farm mentors. Apply now to be a Mentor or Transitioning Farmer Mentee. Mentors will be paid $3,000 for completing the 40 hours of mentorship. Mentees receive a $500 stipend for attending an educational event. Mentors and mentees meet for 40 hours each year, including visiting each other's farms at least once per year, monthly meetings, attending an educational event together and answering questions as needed. Mentors and mentees also commit to onboarding, trainings, evaluation, quarterly check-ins with the coordinator and tracking meeting hours. Mentees commit to pursuing organic certification and creating an Organic System Plan. The program welcomes farmers from all backgrounds, and encourages farmers of color, veterans, women, Spanish speakers, lower-income farmers and young and beginning farmers to apply. All crops, livestock species and farm types qualify for this program.
Partners
MSU Extension, the MSU Organic Farmer Training Program, Grand Traverse Conservation District and Washtenaw County Conservation District are working together to co-lead this project, which ends on September 30, 2026. In addition, Keep Growing Detroit, Michigan Food and Farming Systems, Michigan Organic Food and Farm Alliance, Crosshatch Center for Art & Ecology, the Real Organic Project and the Organic Seed Alliance are TOPP Network Partners who will each host two community-building events to connect with farmers and answer questions about organic farming and certification.
More information
Apply as a transitioning farmer mentee
Contact: Katie Brandt brandtk7@msu.edu or Mariel Borgman mborgm@msu.edu
Sign up for TOPP Jobs & Opportunities emails: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/011Uo1a
