Brines Farm made a name for itself as the first year-round CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) in Washtenaw County with a few acres in Dexter a couple of years ago. Today the organic farming operation has much more room to grow after buying an adjacent farm in Webster Township.
The 80-acre farm was owned by the same family since they settle of the township. The family didn't have another generation willing to take it over so they sold the development rights to a greenbelt organization and then sold the farm to Shannon Brines, the owner and lead farmer of
Brines Farm.
"It worked out perfectly for us," Brines says. "There is so much room so I can do all the things I imagined."
Previously, Brines Farms and its team of five people worked a couple of acres on a 10-acre parcel producing mainly fruits and vegetables. They supplied to produce to subscribers of its CSA and continued farming four hoop houses. Now the expanded farm will allow the group to work on a full-time basis and fill out 20 acres for vegetable produce and another 10-20 acres for orchards. But Brines prefers to keep his operation on the small side.
"I would never want to get to the point where I mechanize everything," Brines says.
Source: Shannon Brines, the owner and lead farmer of Brines Farm
Writer: Jon Zemke
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