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Environmental verification can be easy

Michigan’s voluntary environmental assurance program fits farms of all types and sizes.

Mike Klooster raises 20 head of purebred, grass-fed Angus cattle and operates Great Lakes Greenhouses near Kalamazoo.

He tells Brownfield both operations are verified with the Michigan Agricultural Environmental Assurance Program. He says farmers may find the process not as difficult as they may fear.

“Once they were onsite and walked through things with us, it was really quiet practical advice that they gave us, it wasn’t too difficult to comply with.” He tells Brownfield, “I think that the end result is beneficial to all of us.”

While transitioning to a new facility, Klooster says they wanted verification to reassure their community that the farms were environmentally safe. He says a major change in the greenhouse after the risk-assessment was installing a containment liner in their fertilizer stock tank.

Klooster tells Brownfield, while this spring was relatively good for them, the rain this year did slow business down on the farm and in the greenhouse. He says if other farmers managing ok, then they’re doing well.

AUDIO: Interview with Mike Klooster (5:25 mp3):