Graduate Testimonials "The skills I've gained created a strong base while starting my own farm business. The experience really solidified my desire to take on farming as my life's work." ~Carolyn Leadley '08, Owner & Manager of Rising Pheasant Farm in Detroit, MI.
"The time I spent at the OFCP as a student and assistant instructor has been integral to my confidence and success as a farmer. My training at the SOF has also been cited by a number of employers as a major reason I was hired to work on their farms, manage their programs, or develop new ways to integrate farms and schools. The network of farmers, friends and mentors I gained through participation in the program and involvement in the greater Michigan farming community is an additional resource I often call upon and dedicate a lot of my success to, and my two years at the SOF were some of the most fun, supported, community based and magical years of my life. Seeing the work of fellow graduates is an inspiration and gives me hope for the future of food." ~Nora Lindsey, Manager, The Learning Garden at Portland Community College
"The OFTP was the perfect stepping stone for me on my agricultural path. It linked together hands on learning with interesting and informative lecture that made the class worth coming to every week. The amount of information you are given, both through lectures and books/ handouts is worth the price of the program. Once you add in the hands on experience, and the network you make, it becomes an incredible deal." ~2017 OFTP participant
"OFTP has given me an array of new skills and knowledge to help me be successful in whatever farm venture I may take on or work for. The assignments were concrete skills and tools that will allow me to make my dream into a reality, and I feel much more confident about my ability to make a living farming." ~2017 OFTP participant
Alumni Farm Businesses and Employment --Rachel Beyer, Farm Manager, Purdue University Student Farm --Shiloh Maples/Rosebud Schneider, managers, Farm & Nutrition Education at American Indian Health & Family Services, Detroit, MI --Steve Whittington, Operator, Groundswell Community Farm, Zeeland, MI --Max Spurlin, Field Manager, Groundswell Community Farm, Zeeland, MI --Leah McCullough, Owner/Operator, Lawn Gone Food Farm, Detroit, MI --Mariel Borgman, MSUE Community Food Systems Educator, Kalamazoo, MI --Joannee Debruhl, Owner/Operator, Stone Coop Farm, Brighton, MI --Evan Melick, Farmworker, Stone Coop Farm, Brighton, MI --Gina Aguilar de la Cruz, Transplant Production Manager, Stone Coop Farm, Brighton, MI --Olivia Jayakar, Co-owner, Squash Blossom Farms, Battle Creek, MI --Joan Johnson, Owner/Operator, Grainy Girls, LLC and Halmich Farms, Bath, MI --Karen Troshynski-Thomas, Owner/Operator, Taproot Farm, Oakland, MI --Katey Wietor, owner/operator, Good Omen Farm, Bealeton, VA --Jake Freeman owner/operator White Oak Farms. Linden, MI --Doug Burke & Adrienne Wolff, Owner/operators, Buckwheat's Market Garden, Central Lake, MI --Daniel Seggebruch, Projects Manager, MSU Student Organic Farm, East Lansing, MI --Matthew Romans, Farm Manager, Giving Tree Farm, Lansing, MI --Danielle Brugnone, Owner/Operator, The Feral Field, Lansing, MI --Paul Hickner, Home farm & sharecropping, Williamston, MI --Emily Griswold, Owner/Operator, Family Circle Centennial Farms, Stockbridge, MI --Leah Rutherford, Farm Manager, Queens County Farm Museum, Floral Park, NY --Kate Whitacre, Owner/Operator, Beets and Beat Farm, Sycamore, IL --Hannah Weber, Owner/Operator, The Land Loom at Tilian Farm Development Center, Ann Arbor, MI --Susan Rising, Owner/Operator, Rising Vitality Farm, Howell, MI --Wendy Pangle, Owner/Operator, Wendy's Farm Fresh Vegetables, Three Rivers, MI --Denae Friedheim, Farm Manager, MSU SOF, East Lansing, MI --Kate Heflick, Greenhouse Manager, MSU SOF, East Lansing, MI Val Jorgensen, Owner/Operator, Jorgensen Farms, Westerville, MI Jacob Farley, Owner/Operator, Circle F Ranch, Fowler, MI Kelly Wilson, Owner/Operator, Simple Gifts Farm, Oxford, MI Russell Honderd, Farm Manager, King of Crops, Winston, GA Katie Brownell, Home Farm Manager, Wyck Garden, Philadelphia, PA Alan Kissinger, Incubator Farmer, MSU North Farm, Chatham, MI Casey Van Nest, Owner/Operator, Restless Roots Farm, PA Megan DeLeeuw, Owner/Operator, Hand Sown Farm, Manchester, MI Jason Skonieczny, Farmer, Two Hounds Farm, Highland, MI Chelsea Juengling, Farmer, Two Hounds Farm, Highland, MI Noel Deehr- Farm Supervisor, Seminary Hill Farm, Delaware, OH Tadd Peterson, Manager of Farm and Food, Seminary Hill Farm, Delaware, OH Erica Aube, Owner/Operator, Songbird Farm at Tilian Farm Development Center, Ann Arbor, MI Jessica Ratzow, Owner/Operator, Root Revival Acres, West Bloomfield Twp, MI Katherine Wilbur, Owner/Operator, Alpena, MI & District Manager, Presque Isle Conservation District
