Northern Express - October 4, 2021

Page 16

UNCONVENTIONAL FARMING The story of a century-old family farm gone decidedly modern

By Craig Manning It started more than 100 years ago, as a quaint family farm. Today, it’s one of the hottest family-friendly hangout spots in northern Michigan. Such is the epic story of Jacob’s Farm, a 40-acre slice of gorgeous agricultural property off M-72, just minutes from Traverse City. For years, the farm has been a popular autumn destination, known especially for its meticulously designed corn maze. The fact that it’s right across M-72 from another wildly popular fall agritourism spot — Gallagher’s Farm Market, itself famous for some of northern Michigan’s very finest pumpkin donuts — hasn’t hurt. In the past year, though, Jacob’s Farm has raised the bar. In 2020 – in the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic, when indoor dining, drinking, and hanging out felt most risky — Jacob’s offered a solution: a sprawling outdoor space, complete with picnic tables

for the adults and playground structures for the kids, where families and friends could congregate safely. An indoor-outdoor bar, designed to mesh perfectly into a barn setting, offered local beer, wine, and spirits. You could even order food — including some world-class pizza options — and enjoy it all without ever having to set foot indoors. Live music, the corn maze, and even a dog-friendly menu helped tie the whole experience together. Now in its second season, the new Jacob’s Farm is regularly one of the most hopping places in town. How did we get here, and what’s next for this growing epicenter of northern Michigan agritourism? We chatted with proprietor Mike Witkop to get the answers. The History “The farm was actually acquired by my family in 1892, so we are recognized as a Michigan Centennial Farm,” Witkop says of

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the deep, deep roots of Jacob’s Farm. “Jacob was my great grandfather and the one that acquired the farm, and that’s why we call our place Jacobs farm. So, it’s been in the family for generations. My great grandfather had it, my grandfather, my dad, and now my wife and I.” Back in the early days, the eponymous Jacob probably would never have dreamed of his farm property becoming the gathering spot it is now. In fact, in Jacob’s time, the farm was far enough off the beaten track that even the family had to be sparing with the trips it took back and forth to Traverse City. “The majority of the activity at the farm was done for the family to have food,” Witkop says. “So Jacob had milk cows, he had beef cows and cattle, and he raised potatoes and corn and different things. They’d can [what they grew], put it up for the season, and then live off of it. I’m sure there was excess they would sell in the markets in Traverse City. But back in those days, traveling to

Traverse City was a big deal. It was probably just a two-track road going in. I remember hearing stories that they would make their last trip into town sometime in October, and then they wouldn’t be back in until spring. Because how do you move the snow?” Over the years, Jacob’s Farm evolved from being a farm primarily meant to sustain a family to being a farm run more for commercial purposes. As other farms in the region specialized into cherries or apples, Jacob’s skewed more toward livestock. By the time Witkop was growing up on the farm in the ‘60s and ‘70s, he says it was primarily a cattle farm. Those operations continued until the 1980s, at which point the farm mostly ceased operations for several years. Witkop’s parents tried leasing it to other farmers, but the property largely stood dormant. In the winters, it was even used for boat storage. But when Witkop purchased the farm from his mother 27 years ago, he says he had a vision


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