Announcing the Michigan First-Generation Farm Mentorship Program
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EmailLearn from experienced farm mentors through this new opportunity.
Farmers who didn’t grow up on a farm and have limited agricultural experience are invited to apply for the new Michigan First-Generation Farm Mentors Program. If selected, they will be paired with an experienced farmer mentor and receive 20 hours of paid mentorship time, thanks to a Partnership Grant from North Central SARE.
The Michigan First-Generation Farm Mentors Project will match ten first-generation farmers with experienced mentors to strengthen mentees' farm management and sustainability, while supporting adoption of new practices. The mentorship program will begin in October 2026 and run through February 2028.
Mentors represent a wide range of farming practices, specialties, and communities across the state of Michigan:
- Lori Hernandez of Three Acre Farm in Byron Center – cut flowers
- Gabriel Fransico of Thunderfoot Farms in Paw Paw – livestock and poultry
- Patti Travioli of Heartwood Forest farm in Cedar – herbs
- Malaika Whitney of Whitney Farmstead in Ann Arbor – livestock, poultry and maple syrup
- Shannon Brines of Brines Farm in Webster Township – mixed vegetables and tree fruits & nuts
- Whitney Belprez of Two Sparrows Farm & Dairy in Eaton Rapids – livestock and dairy
- Trent Thompson from Of the Land in Battle Creek – mixed vegetables and agritourism
- Susan Sharp of Open Sky Farm in Pellston – cut flowers
- Janie Case Beuthin of Twig End Farm in Flint – cut flowers, urban agriculture
- Rebecca Titus of Titus Farms in Leslie – mixed vegetables, small fruits, cut flowers
Learn more about each mentor by visiting the Meet the Mentors webpage.
While this mentorship program only has 10 spots, the Michigan Farm Mentors program can refer applicants who are not selected to other farmer-to-farmer mentorship programs and relevant educational opportunities based on the information submitted in their application. In addition to the mentorship program, Michigan First-Generation Farm Mentors will be offering educational programming, such as the Roots, Flowers and Fresh Ideas farm tour series.
Contact Mariel Borgman, Michigan State University Extension community food systems educator at mborgm@msu.edu with any questions about the Michigan First-Generation Farm Mentors program.
This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under agreement number 2025-38640-45386 through the North Central Region SARE program under project number ONC26-181. USDA is an equal opportunity employer and service provider. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.
