Mark Kastner and his wife have spent 15 years growing fresh produce at Hillcrest Farms in Eaton Rapids, focusing on producing fresh food like tomatoes, peppers, and leafy greens rather than commodity crops like soybeans.
- Hillcrest Farms in Eaton Rapids focuses on fresh, local produce like tomatoes and peppers rather than commodity crops.
- China has not placed its usual soybean orders from the U.S., putting pressure on farmers amid ongoing trade tensions.
- The Michigan Farm Bureau believes China’s purchasing strategy is meant to send a message in the tariff war.
WATCH: EATON RAPIDS FARM AVOIDS SOYBEAN TRADE WAR IMPACT BY FOCUSING ON FRESH PRODUCE
Eaton Rapids farm avoids soybean trade war impact by focusing on fresh produce
Kastner and his wife boxed up tomatoes and other vegetables Friday to sell Saturday at the final Grand Ledge Farmer’s Market of the season. The couple regularly rotates crops with the changing seasons.
“We’re out with the old and in with the new,” Kastner said. “That one’s going to be all kale. The tomatoes are coming out next week, and that’s going to be all spinach.”
Unlike many Michigan farmers who grow commodity crops once per year, Hillcrest Farms maintains year-round production…