Rebecca Bloomfield
I was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. I graduated from Queen's University in Ontario,
Canada, with a degree in International Development, where I started to become interested in sustainable agriculture
and food justice. My initial farming experience was as a WWOOFer on a farm in Sicily post-college, and that lead me
to pursue other farming programs. I landed myself in northwestern Connecticut, participating in a Jewish organic farming
fellowship called 'Adamah.' I have spent the past two years teaching gardening at The Edible Schoolyard in
Berkeley, California. I love to excite young people about knowing where their food comes from, and about growing
their own food. I would love to create an educational farm that employs local youth and serves others as a source of
food, community and connection to land. I love to grow, cook & eat food with intention and with friends....
Denae Friedheim
I grew up in Dallas, Texas (no, I don’t have a southern accent) but have lived in the Midwest for the last
seven years (that’s probably why). I recently moved to Lansing from Chicago where I worked in the field public health.
My interests in health behavior and preventive medicine are closely tied to my farming interests: community food and urban
agriculture. In Chicago I attended a couple of urban forums hosted by City Farm and various community food researchers and
was amazed to see sustainable farming in action in downtown Chicago. This fueled my interest in sustainable food systems and
food policy issues. Soon after moving to Michigan I was lucky to stumble upon the Student Organic Farm. I am fortunate to be
afforded the opportunity to develop my interests into passions. I believe that there is incredible potential in the Lansing
area for urban agriculture and hope to work with local schools and community centers on transforming vacant land into community
gardens. I also eventually hope to have my own farm, most likely here in Michigan. On the side I enjoy biking, cooking,
building things, tasty beer, music (listening and composing), and reading.
I also like using parentheses (if you can’t tell). It's going to be a great year...
Emily Hannewald
Greetings! I spent the first 18 years of my life on a large and very conventional farm in Grass Lake, Michigan
patiently (or not so) awaiting my departure date! I Graduated from High School and got in my car for the first of a dozen or
more cross-country road trips. I spent 2 years in Boulder, Colorado, 3 back in Michigan, 2 in Seattle, Washington, 1 in
Mexico/Guatemala, 2 months in Gardiner, New York, and finally the last 3 years in San Juan Capistrano, California. I LOVE
traveling and exploring culture, food, and creativity anywhere. I sew, cook, run, bike, read, and write. I love music and
kids (especially together!) and have spent the last 8 years supporting the birthing community as a doula/childbirth educator.
Have I said that I love bicycles? I love expression and communication, community, and any excuse to celebrate Gaia's gifts!
I have been given the opportunity to take my own family land and create with it and to transform the years of destruction
with love, patience, and organic food production. My long term intention is to generate a peaceful environment for my friends
and family to come and share in the harvest, for children to come and learn where their food is coming from and how to sustain
themselves, and for community members to be part of a CSA. Having worked on an Organic farm in Southern California I am most
excited about the hoop houses! Growing food year round has been a given in the temperate climate I have just come from,
so to actually make it happen in the REALNESS of winter here is a bonus for me.
Jasmine Angelini-Knoll
I completed my degrees in Anthropology and Political Science at MSU in December 2008, along with a
specialization in Peace and Justice Studies. I have become increasing interested in and concerned with food and farming
through reading the likes of Barbara Kingsolver, Wendell Berry, and Michael Pollan, as well as witnessing the exciting urban
agriculture and community gardening movements that are growing rapidly in my hometown of Detroit. Every time I come out to
volunteer at the Student Organic Farm I am newly inspired by all there is to learn about and from the land and the plants
that sustain us, and the myriad possibilities for community and healing that the farm offers. I am particularly interested in
issues of food security and food justice, especially concerning nutrition and environmental quality in urban contexts, as well as
global issues of biodiversity preservation and the problems of poverty and hunger.
I am eager to learn practical horticultural, agricultural, and ecological management skills and how to apply them in the places
where I see both great need and great potential—with children and youth, and in urban spaces. This year, I want to learn about
how to diversify agricultural landscapes and production as much as possible, through integration of animals and many kinds of
plants that can work together in various ways. I want to connect this to the creation of more just, equitable, and sustainable
food systems as a whole. I am excited to participate in this diverse community of people imagining and enacting different models of feeding ourselves and growing together in healthy relationship with the land.
Joanna Lehrman
Hi everybody!
My name is Joanna and I will be moving to Michigan from New York City. I did some traveling around Michigan this summer,
going up to visit the farm and spending some time in Ann Arbor and I am really looking forward to spending the next year
at MSU and to meeting everyone!
I recently graduated with a degree in Urban Planning and Anthropology, taking courses and working on projects that led me
to a passion for sustainable agriculture, urban farming and environmental justice. Over the past year I have worked for a
non-profit dedicated to promoting and connecting farmers involved in sustainable practices with conscientious consumers and
also at the 3 acre urban farm Added Value in Brooklyn, New York.
I eventually want to manage my own educational urban farm and I believe that studying at MSU and being part of the
certification program will provide a lot of the skills necessary to run a farm. Upon graduation, I would like to work
on a farm and save up to then earn a Master's Degree. I haven't decided what degree yet, but something having to do with
food and nutrition policy, agribusiness, nonprofit management...there is so much! I also want to visit each of the major
urban farms in the country; in Massachusetts, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Detroit. I have no plans to settle down and
would enjoy living anywhere as long as I have access to farmland and good food. I've also been very into beekeeping,
permaculture and urban livestock and would love to learn more.
Jordan Ceresnie
Hello everyone, my name is Jordan Ceresnie. I was born and raised in Michigan. Food and music are my two
biggest passions. For the last four years of my life I have been working in fine dining restaurants. During my senior year
of high school I landed a job as a prep cook at the restaurant Morels. I quickly worked up the ranks to line cook and head
pantry cook. In 2006 at the age of 19 I decided to pick up and move to California. In California I went to culinary school
and worked for some of the best chefs in both the Napa Valley and Los Angeles. In February of 2008 I moved back to Michigan
to work as the Sous Chef at Shiraz.
I discovered this program while surfing the internet to research organic food. After having a few small vegetable
gardens of my own, I became very interested in horticulture. When I ate the first strawberry from my garden it was the most
delicious thing I had ever tasted! At that moment I knew the significance of local agriculture and I knew it would impact
the rest of my life. During culinary school, I helped to run our small organic garden where we grew a variety of herbs and
vegetables. The manual labor involved made me feel at one with the land. Also, there was an indescribable connection with the
food I cooked and ate using the produce from our garden. As a trained culinary professional, I feel it is my personal
responsibility to teach others the importance of local organic sustainable agriculture. One day I want to open a sustainable
restaurant and farm. Also I would like to help create and maintain community and urban gardens.
Karin Turmelle
I am from Grand Rapids, Michigan. I’m married with three grown children; two who live in Lake Tahoe, California and one who
lives in Waterville, Maine. I have been gardening to some degree or other since I was first married in 1980. I have been a
MSU Master Gardener since 2000. Over the last two years, I have done a fair amount of reading (Second Nature by Michael Pollan,
The Long Emergency by Kunstler, Gaia’s Garden by Toby Hemenway, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver,
This Organic Life by Joan Dye Gussow). It seems that each book I pick up, there is another title or author referred to and
so my list grows along with my interest (The Good Life by the Nearings, anything by Wendell Berry….).
In July of 2007,
my husband and I took a course that was offered at the MSU Student Organic Farm titled “Edible Forest Gardening”.
This was my first exposure to the Organic Farm and the certification program. While my ultimate interest lies in the
blending of ornamental and edible landscaping, the foundation that the certification program will provide me will be
invaluable – I am hoping to have an opportunity to work on the permaculture site at the farm as well. I hope to apply to
the Conway School of Sustainable Landscape Design after I finish at MSU. Beyond that, I’m not entirely sure. But I am
fortunate that my own interest in the organic and local food movements has coincided with a mainstream focus in that direction;
there are lots of wonderful examples of things going on across the country. A recent issue of Cooking Light had an article on
a program in Boston that creates urban orchards in vacant and blighted sites in the city’s poorer neighborhoods while employing
inner city kids to help plant and maintain them – how cool is that?!
Lauren Bonney
I grew up in the suburbs of Holt, MI and graduated from MSU with a degree in History in 2006. I am a mythology geek,
I paint and cook and sew, and I have an affinity for all things plaid and old-time music. I'm learning how to play the
harp and interested in learning how to spin and dye wool. After many adventures, ranging from research in Edinburgh to
non-profit work in San Francisco, I realized that I wanted a quieter lifestyle that sustained itself to a large extent.
I came to the OFCP to gain some independence from factories and industry, a life that I hope to cultivate for myself and
then go on to educate others in. I would love to have a small sustainable farm that would host a day-camp in the summer
for kids to learn homesteading skills and appreciation for agrarian ideals. I am currently working on a proposal to bring
dairy goats to the farm in the 2009 year to give the students a chance to work with organic livestock and dairy production.
Marlene Eply
Mary Kirsch
Born in Detroit, I am a true motor head. I went to Automotive Tech School and was hired as one of the
first female mechanics at General Motors Proving Ground. I enjoyed 29 years of testing vehicles at the following labs:
Emission, Safety Durability, and Competitive Fleet. My whole group was cut on “Black Tuesday” and as the shock wore off,
I started thinking about my passions. A long time organic gardener, I decided to move to Maine on my partner’s old family
farm. I became certified organic by Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners (MOFGA) and enjoyed one of the best summers of my
life. I attended a workshop hosted by International Organic Inspectors Association (IOIA) and became a certified crop inspector.
I’m hoping by obtaining an Organic Farming Certificate, it will enable me to enjoy a career in organic agriculture.
Rachel Beyer
Howdy! My name is Rachel Beyer and I hail from the beautiful, rolling woods of southern Indiana.
Since the fall of 2004 I’ve been busy pursuing a BA in Sociology, International Studies, and Contemporary Dance.
When my head hasn’t been stuck in a book these four and half years, I’ve also enjoyed, at different times, working
for the local food co-op, running the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program in Monroe and Owen counties, performing
with Windfall Dancers and the IU African American Dance Co., as well as traveling throughout Ghana, West Africa as in
intern for a school feeding program there. It’s taken me a while to figure out what I want to do with my life (and I’m sure
the figuring isn’t over yet), but now, finally!, on the verge of graduation, I know that I want to work in food systems; to
use food as a tool of positive social and environmental change. My vision is ambitious, idealistic, and still vague but even
if I don’t get all the way there, I’m sure the MSU Organic Certification Program will be an important step in the right direction!
January 2007: The Inaugural Class
Joining
MSU’s Organic Farming Certificate Program marks a mid-life
career shift for Linda Anderson. She and her
husband Andy have lived in the Lansing area for 28 years. They
have three grown kids who live all around the country. Most recently
she has volunteered with organizations that promote local fresh
food, including the community garden program of the Greater Lansing
Food Bank, Lansing’s Allen Street Farmers' Market, and the
East Lansing Food Co-op. She wants to learn how to increase the
amount of fresh, local, sustainably-grown food available to everyone,
regardless of income level. Linda is especially eager to learn
more about four-season production and how to plan and organize
urban community gardens. She enjoys gardening, reading all kinds
of books, yoga, and cooking.
Dan
Bair spent his childhood roaming the inland lake shorelines
and forests of southern Michigan and on a special northern Michigan
island, developing his deep appreciation of natural processes
and features. He grew up just outside Brooklyn, Michigan, near
Jackson, where his parents still live, surrounded by family farms
and plentiful fresh water. Dan’s university studies focused
on urban and environmental issues, resulting in his Bachelor of
General Studies degree from the University of Michigan. Both the
academics and his experience living in a student cooperative sparked
his interest in locally produced organic food and the practical
world of agriculture. After spending post-graduate time in Ann
Arbor, Portland, Oregon and Chicago, the Organic Farming Certificate
Program drew Dan back to Michigan.
Hearing
about MSU’s Organic Farming Certificate Program led James
Garthe to transfer from Northern Michigan University,
where he was pursuing a Master’s degree in environmental
education to add to the BS in environmental conservation that
he earned earlier at NMU. When he completes the certificate program,
he plans to continue his education with a Master’s degree
relating to sustainable food systems and education. He enjoys
working with children, and has directed the Leland 4-H Kids Club,
an MSU Extension after-school program. James enjoys gardening,
cooking, skiing in powder, playing music and being in nature.
He hopes to start a farm/education center that will grow foods
more sustainably, grow minds, and help to create a more sustainable
planet.
Arranging
for her sweet, funny, smart, amazing kids – Xavier and Aurora
– plus two crazy sled dogs to stay with family members near
Grand Haven while she is in school was a critical part of
Teri Vanhall’s arrangements to participate in the
Organic Farming Certificate Program at MSU.
A born and bred West Michigander, she smiles when thinking about
old trucks, good dogs, fishing, all things music, an honest day’s
work, and a good cup of coffee. Teri considers her work as a paid
educational adventure and she has engaged in these adventures
in various health field positions; with DNR Parks & Wildlife;
teaching rock-climbing, survival, and ecology; as a sled-dog tour
guide; in construction; and most recently pouring concrete. When
she completes the program, Teri looks forward to creating a CSA
farm in the center of a web of sustainable research, education
and practices.
Anna Kaschner grew up in Potterville, Michigan on a 17-acre farm
with Angora goats and Black Angus cattle. Currently living in
downtown Lansing, she cares for a dozen feral cats in her neighborhood.
Anna even constructed a “cat condo” in her back yard,
complete with ‘apartments’ and a community feeding
area to keep these kitties safe from the harsh winter weather.
Anna is working to replace all the commercial cleaning and cosmetic
products in her house with products she has made herself. She
also enjoys bicycling, rock climbing, and Yoga. Anna is more excited
about starting the Organic Farming Certificate Program than she
has ever been for anything in school before. She especially looks
forward to learning about the bees.
Joining
the initial cohort of MSU’s Organic Farming Certificate
Program will take Kathy Koch another step closer
to her desire to teach hungry people how to feed both their bellies
and their souls. She has already earned vocational certificates
in horticulture, integrated pest management; obtained her pesticide
license with the State of Michigan; and studied greenhouse management,
plant science, and soil fertility and management. Kathy has contributed
to community gardening and food projects in Southeast Michigan.
Reading a 2003 article by Eliot Coleman sparked her interest and
study of sustainable and organic gardening and farming. After
completing the OFCP, Kathy hopes to obtain a degree in Plant Pathology
at MSU. She wants to use her education and experience to help
establish community gardens in low-income neighborhoods.
Rosemary
Sheets calls herself a neophyte in terms of her farming
knowledge, even though she has lived for many years in rural areas
and on farms and has gardened for most of her life. She lives
in Williamston, Michigan on a farm and is married with three children
– Margaret, away at college; Alison, a high school senior;
and Ian, a freshman. Rosemary’s entry in the Organic Farming
Certificate Program will mark the beginning of her third career.
She was educated as a lawyer in England and in the U.S. and was
admitted to the Michigan Bar in 1982. She has spent a number of
years as a homemaker. Her involvement in the program will help
her investigate the optimum way to use the land that her family
owns. Rosemary suggests that the cohort be called the ‘GANICS
– a cross between mechanics with skill and hands-on knowledge
and manic which indicates a particular devotion to the subject!.
Growing
up on a farm near Pewamo, Michigan, Thomas Stump learned about raising a variety of animals, especially swine.
While working at a variety of jobs including one in a saw mill,
he earned an Associate’s Degree in the Arts at Lansing Community
College. Still working, this time at General Motors, he earned
a second Associate’s Degree in Philosophy at LCC and took
some classes at MSU. Thomas eventually returned to full-time farming
with his brother. He knows conventional farming methods, and is
excited to come to MSU’s Organic Farming Certificate Program
to explore organic approaches, learn new methods and expand on
his strengths.
Maggie
Wright earned a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish from
the University of Michigan. She has trained and worked as an English
as a Second Language teacher and is interested in immigration
issues and learning about other countries, languages and cultures.
Originally from Brighton, Michigan, she now lives in Lansing.
Maggie loves theater and music. She sings, plays various instruments,
and mimes in a local circus group. She entered MSU’s Organic
Farming Certificate Program to learn more about growing food and
about how local food can improve the health, vitality, fellowship
and autonomy of all communities -- especially lower income, urban
neighborhoods.
I was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. I graduated from Queen's University in Ontario,
Canada, with a degree in International Development, where I started to become interested in sustainable agriculture
and food justice. My initial farming experience was as a WWOOFer on a farm in Sicily post-college, and that lead me
to pursue other farming programs. I landed myself in northwestern Connecticut, participating in a Jewish organic farming
fellowship called 'Adamah.' I have spent the past two years teaching gardening at The Edible Schoolyard in
Berkeley, California. I love to excite young people about knowing where their food comes from, and about growing
their own food. I would love to create an educational farm that employs local youth and serves others as a source of
food, community and connection to land. I love to grow, cook & eat food with intention and with friends.... 
I grew up in Dallas, Texas (no, I don’t have a southern accent) but have lived in the Midwest for the last
seven years (that’s probably why). I recently moved to Lansing from Chicago where I worked in the field public health.
My interests in health behavior and preventive medicine are closely tied to my farming interests: community food and urban
agriculture. In Chicago I attended a couple of urban forums hosted by City Farm and various community food researchers and
was amazed to see sustainable farming in action in downtown Chicago. This fueled my interest in sustainable food systems and
food policy issues. Soon after moving to Michigan I was lucky to stumble upon the Student Organic Farm. I am fortunate to be
afforded the opportunity to develop my interests into passions. I believe that there is incredible potential in the Lansing
area for urban agriculture and hope to work with local schools and community centers on transforming vacant land into community
gardens. I also eventually hope to have my own farm, most likely here in Michigan. On the side I enjoy biking, cooking,
building things, tasty beer, music (listening and composing), and reading.
I also like using parentheses (if you can’t tell). It's going to be a great year...
Greetings! I spent the first 18 years of my life on a large and very conventional farm in Grass Lake, Michigan
patiently (or not so) awaiting my departure date! I Graduated from High School and got in my car for the first of a dozen or
more cross-country road trips. I spent 2 years in Boulder, Colorado, 3 back in Michigan, 2 in Seattle, Washington, 1 in
Mexico/Guatemala, 2 months in Gardiner, New York, and finally the last 3 years in San Juan Capistrano, California. I LOVE
traveling and exploring culture, food, and creativity anywhere. I sew, cook, run, bike, read, and write. I love music and
kids (especially together!) and have spent the last 8 years supporting the birthing community as a doula/childbirth educator.
Have I said that I love bicycles? I love expression and communication, community, and any excuse to celebrate Gaia's gifts!
I completed my degrees in Anthropology and Political Science at MSU in December 2008, along with a
specialization in Peace and Justice Studies. I have become increasing interested in and concerned with food and farming
through reading the likes of Barbara Kingsolver, Wendell Berry, and Michael Pollan, as well as witnessing the exciting urban
agriculture and community gardening movements that are growing rapidly in my hometown of Detroit. Every time I come out to
volunteer at the Student Organic Farm I am newly inspired by all there is to learn about and from the land and the plants
that sustain us, and the myriad possibilities for community and healing that the farm offers. I am particularly interested in
issues of food security and food justice, especially concerning nutrition and environmental quality in urban contexts, as well as
global issues of biodiversity preservation and the problems of poverty and hunger.
Hi everybody!
My name is Joanna and I will be moving to Michigan from New York City. I did some traveling around Michigan this summer,
going up to visit the farm and spending some time in Ann Arbor and I am really looking forward to spending the next year
at MSU and to meeting everyone!
Hello everyone, my name is Jordan Ceresnie. I was born and raised in Michigan. Food and music are my two
biggest passions. For the last four years of my life I have been working in fine dining restaurants. During my senior year
of high school I landed a job as a prep cook at the restaurant Morels. I quickly worked up the ranks to line cook and head
pantry cook. In 2006 at the age of 19 I decided to pick up and move to California. In California I went to culinary school
and worked for some of the best chefs in both the Napa Valley and Los Angeles. In February of 2008 I moved back to Michigan
to work as the Sous Chef at Shiraz.
I am from Grand Rapids, Michigan. I’m married with three grown children; two who live in Lake Tahoe, California and one who
lives in Waterville, Maine. I have been gardening to some degree or other since I was first married in 1980. I have been a
MSU Master Gardener since 2000. Over the last two years, I have done a fair amount of reading (Second Nature by Michael Pollan,
The Long Emergency by Kunstler, Gaia’s Garden by Toby Hemenway, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver,
This Organic Life by Joan Dye Gussow). It seems that each book I pick up, there is another title or author referred to and
so my list grows along with my interest (The Good Life by the Nearings, anything by Wendell Berry….). 
I grew up in the suburbs of Holt, MI and graduated from MSU with a degree in History in 2006. I am a mythology geek,
I paint and cook and sew, and I have an affinity for all things plaid and old-time music. I'm learning how to play the
harp and interested in learning how to spin and dye wool. After many adventures, ranging from research in Edinburgh to
non-profit work in San Francisco, I realized that I wanted a quieter lifestyle that sustained itself to a large extent.
I came to the OFCP to gain some independence from factories and industry, a life that I hope to cultivate for myself and
then go on to educate others in. I would love to have a small sustainable farm that would host a day-camp in the summer
for kids to learn homesteading skills and appreciation for agrarian ideals. I am currently working on a proposal to bring
dairy goats to the farm in the 2009 year to give the students a chance to work with organic livestock and dairy production.
Born in Detroit, I am a true motor head. I went to Automotive Tech School and was hired as one of the
first female mechanics at General Motors Proving Ground. I enjoyed 29 years of testing vehicles at the following labs:
Emission, Safety Durability, and Competitive Fleet. My whole group was cut on “Black Tuesday” and as the shock wore off,
I started thinking about my passions. A long time organic gardener, I decided to move to Maine on my partner’s old family
farm. I became certified organic by Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners (MOFGA) and enjoyed one of the best summers of my
life. I attended a workshop hosted by International Organic Inspectors Association (IOIA) and became a certified crop inspector.
I’m hoping by obtaining an Organic Farming Certificate, it will enable me to enjoy a career in organic agriculture.
Howdy! My name is Rachel Beyer and I hail from the beautiful, rolling woods of southern Indiana.
Since the fall of 2004 I’ve been busy pursuing a BA in Sociology, International Studies, and Contemporary Dance.
When my head hasn’t been stuck in a book these four and half years, I’ve also enjoyed, at different times, working
for the local food co-op, running the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program in Monroe and Owen counties, performing
with Windfall Dancers and the IU African American Dance Co., as well as traveling throughout Ghana, West Africa as in
intern for a school feeding program there. It’s taken me a while to figure out what I want to do with my life (and I’m sure
the figuring isn’t over yet), but now, finally!, on the verge of graduation, I know that I want to work in food systems; to
use food as a tool of positive social and environmental change. My vision is ambitious, idealistic, and still vague but even
if I don’t get all the way there, I’m sure the MSU Organic Certification Program will be an important step in the right direction!
Joining
MSU’s Organic Farming Certificate Program marks a mid-life
career shift for Linda Anderson. She and her
husband Andy have lived in the Lansing area for 28 years. They
have three grown kids who live all around the country. Most recently
she has volunteered with organizations that promote local fresh
food, including the community garden program of the Greater Lansing
Food Bank, Lansing’s Allen Street Farmers' Market, and the
East Lansing Food Co-op. She wants to learn how to increase the
amount of fresh, local, sustainably-grown food available to everyone,
regardless of income level. Linda is especially eager to learn
more about four-season production and how to plan and organize
urban community gardens. She enjoys gardening, reading all kinds
of books, yoga, and cooking. 
Dan
Bair spent his childhood roaming the inland lake shorelines
and forests of southern Michigan and on a special northern Michigan
island, developing his deep appreciation of natural processes
and features. He grew up just outside Brooklyn, Michigan, near
Jackson, where his parents still live, surrounded by family farms
and plentiful fresh water. Dan’s university studies focused
on urban and environmental issues, resulting in his Bachelor of
General Studies degree from the University of Michigan. Both the
academics and his experience living in a student cooperative sparked
his interest in locally produced organic food and the practical
world of agriculture. After spending post-graduate time in Ann
Arbor, Portland, Oregon and Chicago, the Organic Farming Certificate
Program drew Dan back to Michigan. 
Hearing
about MSU’s Organic Farming Certificate Program led James
Garthe to transfer from Northern Michigan University,
where he was pursuing a Master’s degree in environmental
education to add to the BS in environmental conservation that
he earned earlier at NMU. When he completes the certificate program,
he plans to continue his education with a Master’s degree
relating to sustainable food systems and education. He enjoys
working with children, and has directed the Leland 4-H Kids Club,
an MSU Extension after-school program. James enjoys gardening,
cooking, skiing in powder, playing music and being in nature.
He hopes to start a farm/education center that will grow foods
more sustainably, grow minds, and help to create a more sustainable
planet.
Arranging
for her sweet, funny, smart, amazing kids – Xavier and Aurora
– plus two crazy sled dogs to stay with family members near
Grand Haven while she is in school was a critical part of 
Joining
the initial cohort of MSU’s Organic Farming Certificate
Program will take Kathy Koch another step closer
to her desire to teach hungry people how to feed both their bellies
and their souls. She has already earned vocational certificates
in horticulture, integrated pest management; obtained her pesticide
license with the State of Michigan; and studied greenhouse management,
plant science, and soil fertility and management. Kathy has contributed
to community gardening and food projects in Southeast Michigan.
Reading a 2003 article by Eliot Coleman sparked her interest and
study of sustainable and organic gardening and farming. After
completing the OFCP, Kathy hopes to obtain a degree in Plant Pathology
at MSU. She wants to use her education and experience to help
establish community gardens in low-income neighborhoods. 
Rosemary
Sheets calls herself a neophyte in terms of her farming
knowledge, even though she has lived for many years in rural areas
and on farms and has gardened for most of her life. She lives
in Williamston, Michigan on a farm and is married with three children
– Margaret, away at college; Alison, a high school senior;
and Ian, a freshman. Rosemary’s entry in the Organic Farming
Certificate Program will mark the beginning of her third career.
She was educated as a lawyer in England and in the U.S. and was
admitted to the Michigan Bar in 1982. She has spent a number of
years as a homemaker. Her involvement in the program will help
her investigate the optimum way to use the land that her family
owns. Rosemary suggests that the cohort be called the ‘GANICS
– a cross between mechanics with skill and hands-on knowledge
and manic which indicates a particular devotion to the subject!.
Growing
up on a farm near Pewamo, Michigan, Thomas Stump learned about raising a variety of animals, especially swine.
While working at a variety of jobs including one in a saw mill,
he earned an Associate’s Degree in the Arts at Lansing Community
College. Still working, this time at General Motors, he earned
a second Associate’s Degree in Philosophy at LCC and took
some classes at MSU. Thomas eventually returned to full-time farming
with his brother. He knows conventional farming methods, and is
excited to come to MSU’s Organic Farming Certificate Program
to explore organic approaches, learn new methods and expand on
his strengths.
Maggie
Wright earned a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish from
the University of Michigan. She has trained and worked as an English
as a Second Language teacher and is interested in immigration
issues and learning about other countries, languages and cultures.
Originally from Brighton, Michigan, she now lives in Lansing.
Maggie loves theater and music. She sings, plays various instruments,
and mimes in a local circus group. She entered MSU’s Organic
Farming Certificate Program to learn more about growing food and
about how local food can improve the health, vitality, fellowship
and autonomy of all communities -- especially lower income, urban
neighborhoods.