Most would argue that raising a ten-month-old baby is no walk in the park. Operating a cattle operation, on-site creamery and farm store is no easy feat, either.
Heidi Hendrickson, a young farmer in Coopersville, Michigan is doing all of those things -- simultaneously. And she's doing them well.
Heidi says the secret to juggling it all is having the drive and vision for what you do.
“I believe that whatever you’re passionate about, you can do,” Heidi explained. “If there’s something you want to do, it is possible to do it. The only thing that is holding you back is yourself.”
Nothing is certainly holding Heidi back. She bought Green Vale Farm just last year after leasing the farm from her father for five years prior. The farm is rooted in rich history – founded more than 100 years ago in the 1920’s as a hobby farm for a banker. Now, the barns are filled with 550 cows along with pigs and chickens.
Heidi's barns are filled with 550 cows.
Heidi has a rich history in agriculture, too. Since she can remember, she was helping out on her father’s dairy farm milking cows.
“I grew up on the farm riding shotgun in my dad’s pickup truck. From as young as I can remember, I was working on the farm,” said Heidi.
That experience on the farm, along with some other opportunities in her youth, prepared her to take on such a large operation at a young age.
Heidi utilized GreenStone’s CultivateGrowth program, which is uniquely designed for young, beginning and small farmers, to take advantage of more flexible loan terms to help her get started. Her financial services officer, Joel Arends, noticed her devotion to success almost instantly when they met.
“She’s extremely hardworking,” said Joel. “If I have a question for her, she’s always willing to take time out of her busy schedule to talk about whatever is at hand. She has been very personable and easy to get acquainted with.”
“My dad raised all of us seven kids with a very strong work ethic. We learned you do the job right and you do it until it’s done. There was a bar, and we were expected to live up to those standards,” Heidi explained. “Between my five part time jobs in high school, I was in some different work scenarios. I always knew that I wanted to work with something that was agriculture-based, yet something I could organize, make things, build things, and market things.”
Now, she’s doing all those things, but even with agriculture in her blood, leasing, and later owning, the farm came with some learning curves.
“I knew how to raise cows and do that side of things, but I had no experience running a business and very little experience with customer service,” said Heidi. “Learning new things is one of my favorite parts.”
Since taking over the farm, she has had the barns updated, expanded the storefront’s product line and hours, and makes cheese on-site.
“The cheese plant existed from the previous owners, but it wasn’t up to code. My cousin decided he wanted to update the equipment and make cheese. That eventually fell through, but then my mother and I decided to get licensed and begin making cheese on our own and sell it at the storefront.”
After seeking advice from some other cheesemakers in the industry, that journey began. Now, the storefront offers an array of products - from blocks of cheese from her plant, to cheese curds, eggs, steak, beef sticks and sausage – all from the dairy and beef cattle on her farm.
Heidi sells an array of products at her storefront.
The store also sells fresh ice cream from another local dairy farm, and during the autumn season, she raises turkeys to sell for Thanksgiving dinner.
The storefront and farm have been received positively throughout the community – which is important to Heidi, who takes her operation's brand and image very seriously.
“Once I opened the store, I learned I loved customer service and marketing and presenting my products well,” said Heidi. “This is my image and my businesses’ image. I never want someone to see something and think poorly of me or my family.”
Heidi works extremely hard day in and day out, but she understands she cannot do it all without some help. Her three part-time employees, husband Tyler, parents, and even her retired neighbor all pitch in to help make Green Vale Farm a huge success.
“My neighbor became my adopted grandpa. He was across the street and knew I was working early in the morning and wanted to make sure I was safe being out there alone milking cows. He’s a retired cop and gave me his number and we hit it off from day one. He’s one of the best people in my life,” Heidi shared.
Another big part of her network are other young farmers. Heidi is part of a Farm Credit peer-to-peer group made up of young, beginning and small farmers in the Midwest financed through Farm Credit institutions. It’s those connections that help answer questions, share ideas and push through challenges.
“When you have something in common with somebody, and you are passionate about the exact same things, it makes everything one hundred times more enjoyable,” said Heidi. “I love meeting people and hearing about their businesses and learning new ideas.”
We can’t forget another extremely important part of her farm team – her and Tyler's ten-month-old daughter, Sage, who tags along during the day-to-day operations of the farm and is a welcoming face in the storefront.
Heidi poses with her daughter, Sage.
“My farm and my business were my first baby, but my actual child is now my number one priority,” said Heidi. “If I can’t farm with my kid, I’m not going to farm, but I can’t ever stop farming, so I take my kid.”
GreenStone is proud to be a part of this important team, too.
“It really just comes down to relationships and getting to know the individuals,” said Joel. “It’s not just part of what my job is, it’s part of who I am. I like to get to know people and their successes and hardships to be a partner of their business and help them achieve their goals and ambitions.”
We know Heidi has many more goals and ambitions to achieve in the years to come, and GreenStone will be there every step of the way.
“I think she is the type of person that will always continue to be moving forward and growing over the course of her business life,” said Joel. “She does a really good job and is very personable when working with other people.”
“If I look back to where I started, I have a lot to be thankful for,” Heidi reflected.
To view the article in the online 2023 Fall Partners Magazine, click here.
