Hello friends! Stillwind Farm is a 1/2 acre, Certified Naturally Grown vegetable farm in Belding, MI. Owned & operated by Mikayla Rowden (she/they), a young farmer:

 

I began farming in West Michigan 5 years ago. While farming my first season I became enamored with the seasonality, resilience, relationship, & thoughtfulness that coincides with growing vegetables organically. Since 2017, I have worked at several other area farms, gaining experience and meeting amazing people who have & continue to teach me so much.

 

Stillwind started at a 1/8 acre vacant city lot in Muskegon Heights. I was given the land by a fellow small farmer who had once used the lot as their operation's initial growing space. Fall 2020 they reached out to offer it to me, knowing of the barriers that young farmers are up against and seeing a great opportunity to steward a space into the hands of a grower.

 

After a whirlwind season at this lot in Muskegon Heights, with many delightful visits from neighbors, sold-out market days at Fulton st, and the lingering stress of spatial confinement, my partner & I invested in 5 acre space, with a ½ acre tillable field near Belding. In 2021, we built a trailer-cooler, cleared land, erected a greenhouse (frame), and bought a deer fence for the new field. This field hasn’t been farmed on before so there is a huge need for appropriate bed preparation tools, compost, & mineral inputs. We are also hoping to drop a well for safe & accessible irrigation to the field. & finally, we need seeds, an investment that will allow for us to begin the season’s first steps around March.

 

In Stillwind’s short existence, we’ve donated over $1,000 of produce, gifted the previous farm plot to a neighbor & helped raise $2000 in funds for them to start an herbal food forest for their family, supported the efforts of the West Michigan Young Farmers Chapter and the West Michigan Growers Group, and are now reaching out for help with our own operations.

Small-scale organic farming is challenging - not just the physical labor of it, which is definitely significant - but also getting to a point where production is feasible. Land access, infrastructure, tools, and resources are all necessary pieces to make vegetables appear at a market table and in your meals. Many times these are immense barriers for farmers today. But there is, of course, hope in all this flux. My values, grounded in the power of the natural world & the beauty of community are right at home in this space. I can’t think of a more meaningful way to spend my time.

 

The funds raised will be crucial to the sustainment of Stillwind for seasons to come. Currently, in order to begin growing on the new field, we are in need of:

- Appropriate soil amendments / compost 
- A new well for proper & safe irrigation
- Seeds for the upcoming season

Thanks all <3