GROW
CultivateGrowth Feature
A HEALTHY BALANCE “I like taking care of animals, and I like the balance of when we raise healthy animals, they produce manure that makes our land healthy,” said Elaine Palm. “The healthier our land is, the healthier the forage grown on the land is, and the healthier the animals will be.” Elaine owns Great Lakes Lamb LLC with her parents, Jim and Sherrie Bristol. On their farm in West Branch, Michigan, they raise sheep and forages to feed them, plus sell hay to customers. They primarily raise sheep for the meat market and for breeding stock, and they also sell their wool. “We also have a passion for high quality wool products,” Elaine said. “I’m currently in the process of getting our farm established in American Wool Assurance, which is a brand new program nationwide.” Elaine is taking classes related to wool quality and animal care standards to receive certification through the program that their farm is adhering to best practices. “We’re seeing that along with wanting to know where their food comes from, customers want to know where all their products come from,” Elaine said. “Customers are really interested in making sure that they’re sourcing their products from farmers who care.” View a highlight reel video at: www.greenstonefcs.com/YBSFSummer22 5
Summer 2022 — Partners
Showing care
Elaine and her sister Brigette began farming by default, as they grew up doing chores with the barn in their backyard. They both became heavily involved in 4-H and FFA. As they got older, they had the opportunity to work with Michigan State University on projects that benefited their farm. “With MSU, I looked at fecal samples to evaluate internal parasites, and Brigette looked at forage samples,” Elaine said. “These projects gave us even more insight into our business through our involvement in these projects.” Elaine went on to study agriculture and natural resources communications at MSU, and began a career in nonprofit organizational management. “A few years into my career, I was driving home every three weeks in the summer from Washington, D.C. to help with hay harvest, and I knew this was not a sustainable plan,” she said. “If I was going to get involved in the farm business in a bigger way, I would need to make a change.” She did that in 2014, when she moved back to Michigan and began having conversations with her parents about the potential of becoming partners. She continued working in her agricultural career, and didn’t