Neighbors
(Crystal Highlands is a residential housing development next to Love Farm, established in the 1970s by Jim and Eileen Kelly and Jack and Marge French. After title to the farm's properties were transferred to Love Farm Wilds LLC in 2020, the following update was sent to members of the Crystal Highlands Owners Association (CHOA). Minor edits have been made for clarity.)
January 18, 2020
Introduction
I am Dan Kelly, the youngest son of Jim and Eileen. If you don't know me yet, I'm an artist, actor and film maker. I've lived in Benzie County off and on since 1988. I returned for good in 2010.
I've taken responsibility for the farm to the north of Highland Drive and west of Orchard Lane (with the big barn where the cows used to be) and the pole buildings on Cooper next to the Cline family farm. I may also acquire my brother Jim's property north of the Crystal Highland's tennis court that extends down to Rush Lake.
As spring of 2020 approaches, changes to the farm are beginning to be visible. I'd like to share my vision for the various properties, and invite your ideas and feedback.
My dad called the farm White O Morn Farms, and I'm adding another name, Love Farm. There's a website, https://love.farm.
Getting Started
In the summer of 2019 the fields had a bumper crop of milkweed and Monarch butterflies! Sandhill cranes were frequently spotted on the property and might have been nesting in the fields. Coyote, deer, and rabbits were abundant. There were plenty of standing dead Ash trees and some attrition in the ridge top conifer forest. After being open to swallows and bats for years, the big barn was sealed and partially cleaned. The barn roof had been leaking in several spots. The electric fence around the property continued to fall into a state of disrepair. In fall, the apple orchard was in desperate need of pruning but still produced a moderate crop.
By the end of 2019, Kelly family negotiations were wrapping up. In 2020, with the help of expert friends, I have started the gradual process of aligning the farm operations with the wilds.
The Wilds
The 90+ acres of orchards, fields and forest will remain intact, there are no plans to subdivide the land. Not only is there a glut of of stalled housing developments in the neighborhood, but I am convinced that wild land and wilds aligned farms are crucial to the long term health and resilience of our community.
Lake Michigan and it's shoreline, inland lakes, rivers and forests are our natural treasures, and the primary source of the region's economic well being. Houses, resorts and hotels are valued by how close they are to pristine wild spaces. So learning how to live in a way that supports the wilds feels like economic common sense to me.
Lakes like Crystal or Platte are surrounded by houses, so we might not immediately recognize them as wilderness, but Crystal Lake is 7 miles long by 3 miles wide and 200 feet deep in spots, a vast valley that only a handful of humans have (or can) venture into.
A simple definition of wilderness is any place where life thrives without human intervention. Crystal Lake does fine without our having to open any valves, switch on electricity or add any chemicals. The greatest challenge for Crystal Lake and all wild spaces isn't human neglect, but human impact. More on this later.
I mention Crystal Lake because springs from Love Farm flow into Crystal Lake to the south and Long Lake to the north. The farm is intimately tied into the Crystal Lake and Long Lake watersheds, two vast wilds.
Enlivening and profitable
Why are the wilds so valuable economically, why do we seek them out? I'm pretty sure that wild land (and wilds aligned farms) enable people to feel more alive and connected to each other.
From early 1990 to 2015, my father raised Belted Galloway cows that he never milked and rarely ate. His operation wasn't wildly profitable but that didn't matter. He just wanted to be a farmer, that was his idea of fun. Perhaps he was returning to his roots. The black and white striped cows were quite the local sensation. 5 years have passed since he sold the herd to another Belted Galloway breeder and people still talk about them.
My father's cows were mostly about joy, beauty and even inspiration, not so much about making money. If the wilds are our region's economic engine, then aligning the farm to the wilds should enable joy, beauty, inspiration... and be profitable.
Local friends with diverse expertise are helping to make this a reality. We'll discover techniques and perspectives and share as we go. The farm can also host self educators exploring art, science and health. The overall outcome will be happier and healthier human beings.
Initiatives
Rather than cows, love farm is raising wild pollinators including bees and butterflies, but that's just for starters!
The farm's commercial operations could include producing biochar from standing dead timber and orchard prunings. Biochar provides habitat for beneficial soil organisms and is a potent soil amendment.
We're developing a Northern Michigan version of the super fertile Amazonian Terra Preta (black earth) by combining biochar, compost and mycorrhizae (symbiotic fungus).
We're also planning to test buried greenhouses that can grow food in the winter with little or no energy added. The idea is to gradually increase food security in the county, so we can all be less reliant on produce shipped in from far away. Maybe even avocados? I've been experimenting with growing avocados for years, with a little luck I might see fruit in the next few.
The antique apple orchard has been pruned and is being gently coaxed back into production. New fruit and nut trees will be planted through the spring and summer of 2020.
The entire property is an opportunity for education on the environment, health and community resilience, and perhaps in the future, a spectacular venue for private events, like workshops and weddings.
Challenges / Opportunities
Marijuana
Lake Township recently passed an ordinance banning marijuana businesses, which as the owner of a farm I objected to. My argument is this - if we want to keep our farms, we shouldn't take away options from farmers for profitability. The availability of locally grown and produced CBD oil would be a huge boon to the health of our residents and could capture revenue from beyond the county. There are already flourishing marijuana businesses in Benzie County selling products grown and processed elsewhere. Love Farm may apply for a variance on Lake Township's Ordinance down the road, but for now we have higher priorities.
(I revisited my thesis about the value of farms when Lake Township released it's Draft Master Plan.)
Repairs
The top floor of the big barn is envisioned as a place for private workshops, classes and meetings, eventually. The space will be rather rustic to start, with improvements being implemented as time and budget allows. Unfortunately the roof of the barn needs to be replaced, temporary patches are keeping the rain out and should hold until at least the fall. The barn is a very large structure, a new metal roof will be a significant investment.
Remediation
Apple and cherry trees were grown commercially from the 1920s through the 1970s and the agro chemicals applied left lead and arsenic in the soil. Most of Michigan's old orchards have heavy metal contamination. Before Love.Farm can grow vegetables and leafy greens in that soil, the heavy metals must be removed or encapsulated. Bio-remediation holds a lot of promise for doing just that... sunflowers!
Surprisingly, the food we buy at the supermarket or farmer's market, whether organic or conventionally grown is not required to be tested for heavy metals. Ingesting heavy metals is definitely not healthy, especially not for kids. If Love Farm can demonstrate the viability of bio-remediation, then other old orchards and contaminated farm land in Michigan will able to clean up and produce safer food.
Events
In August of 2020, Highlander Lauren Kline and her fiance Kyle Plummer will be married on the farm, our first wedding!
Lauren made this request a couple of years back, while my family and I were still in negotiations about the future of the farm. The prospect of having Lauren and Kyle's wedding was super exciting and sparked a series of decisive actions. For the time being, the farm will be available for private events only.
Crystal Highlands and nearby neighborhoods already have many wonderful amenities. Could adding a spacious rent-able indoor venue be worthwhile? Maybe some day, classes for art, fitness, wilderness and well being could be within walking / biking distance for the Highlanders, residents on the north shore of Crystal Lake and the south shore of Platte Lake.
Love Farm is a unique undertaking integrating farming, wilds, and research. A place to grow our community's collective perception, knowledge and health.
(Because of Covid restrictions, Lauren and Kyle's wedding was delayed and eventually moved to another venue. Love Farm eventually did have a wedding that year, a very small outdoor ceremony for friends of Jonathan Powell and Lara Gibson.)