farmers

Together, Natasha and David own and run Dancing Crane Farm. Each of us is
responsible for different aspects of our operation, but both of us help wherever
we are needed. David is in charge of plowing, soil management and
construction. Natasha takes care of the day to day operation of the farm including
marketing, watering, weeding, farm stands/markets, and the volunteer and intern
programs.   Thanks for stopping by our site!

David...
One thing that brought me to natural and sustainable farming was my deep-rooted love
of nature. Born and raised in Marquette, Michigan, I was never out of the woods for
long. I learned to trust the wilderness to deliver solitude, wisdom and recreation. It
was not until attending the University of Michigan in 1990 that I began to learn how rare
and precious true wilderness is becoming. As our population increases and our wild
and natural spaces decrease, it becomes more and more important to protect our
dwindling, precious resources. Since modern farming is one of our most wasteful and
environmentally devastating industries, it is time to start a transition to a new
food-raising system stressing sustainable, local agriculture that uses fewer
resources and frees our ecosystems and our bodies from poisonous chemicals.

But there is another side of farming that I love. My grandpa was a great gardener from
whom I learned to understand that plants springing forth from soil are a miracle, and
exciting. I love planting seeds, tending seedlings and watching the exciting miracle of
nature at work creating food out of rain and sun and soil. It is such an elegant and
poetic process. A good garden has all the beauty of a mountain chain, or a forest, or a
river.

When I am not gardening, I love to spend lots of time in the saddle of either my
mountain bike or my road bike and have been known to enter races from time to time.
I also love playing guitar and recording music, milling lumber, building, and carpentry.
In the winter, I seek wilderness behind a team of dogs. In the summer, I seek
wilderness in a canoe, afoot, or on bike. It is the outdoors that inspires me in all my
pursuits in all seasons. I hope I can use this inspiration to continue to build Dancing
Crane Farm into a place that really resonates with nature.

Natasha...
For me farming represents a return to my roots. A return, that to be honest, I never
thought I would make. I was raised on a small, 40-acre farm in the Western Lower
Peninsula of Michigan. My family raised goats, rabbits, and chickens, and it was my
relationship with these animals that made me decide to become a vegetarian at the
age of 14. We also had a good-sized garden and my mother always put away healthy
amounts of produce, apple butter, and homemade jams and jellies. Each year, my dad
grew several acres of various grasses and grains for wildlife as well as grafted fruit
trees. He always said that once you put your first crop of seeds in the ground and
watch it grow, you will be addicted. Like many teenagers, however, I wanted to
distance myself from my roots. Although I was always environmentally-minded, I
assumed, along with everyone else who knew me, that I would some day live in the city
and follow a career in communications or politics.

Life takes us in its own directions that are unforeseeable and wonderful. After
enrolling at Michigan State University and securing a dorm room with a friend, I made a
last-minute decision to attend Northern Michigan University instead because I liked
their brochure! Since I was born in Hancock, Michigan, this was a homecoming of
sorts, and it turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life. I started out in
Theater, changed to Education, and finally graduated with a degree in Social Work. It
was during this time that David and I met and were married. After college I worked for
several non-profit organizations doing grant writing, community organizing, volunteer
recruitment, program development and various other jobs. Though I thrived in the fast-
paced, multi-tasking, never-enough time non-profit world, my body grew weaker and
my spirit became restless. Ultimately, it was my body that told me what my mind
refused to see.   I was, am and always will be a workaholic. I needed a change.

It was a combination of personal health issues, animal welfare issues, and my ongoing
concern for the environment that drove me to become educated about food issues.
The more I learned, the more I wanted to learn, and I began to realize that our personal
health is inextricably linked to the health of our planet and that our food choices affect
not only ourselves but our communities and the world we live in. I began to see that
not only was I healthier when I spent time working in the garden, but I felt much better
when I ate plant-based foods grown without chemicals. So our gardens got bigger
each year, and finally, David and I bought our own 40-acre farm and spent a year
building our own home while living with my parents. Our home was an expression of
our ideals, utilizing local wood, environmentally friendly “green” paints and stains, and
recycled materials as much as possible. We tore down a late-1800’s schoolhouse
and used the old shiplap siding for our interior walls. The cabinets were made from
salvaged pallet wood.

Toward the end of that year, as our house was finally nearing completion, we learned
that a 4,000-head hog “farm” (we called it a hog-manure factory) was being built less
than a mile from our house, on the upwind side. Our dream of a healthy, chemical-free
farm was shattered. We would thenceforth be breathing a noxious mixture of volatile
organic compounds, methane gas, ammonia, antibiotic residues, hydrogen sulfide,
and various other toxic chemicals. We did everything we could; formed a nonprofit
corporation to fight it, had community meetings with hundreds of outraged people,
lobbied our representatives in Lansing, met with the MDA, and even had a march on
the Capitol building, but all with little result. The barn was built, and quickly filled with
thousands of unfortunate piglets. A steady stream of semi trucks brought in the
mixture of grains, animal parts, antibiotics, and hormones that makes up their diet.
The air turned foul. Six months after completing our dream home, we put it up for sale
with heavy hearts. We both quit good jobs with no other prospects and sold our house
with no known possibilities for a new one.

As I mentioned before, life takes us in its own directions, and this unfortunate turn of
events ended up being a blessing in disguise. It solidified our belief in the harmful
effects of modern agriculture, strengthened our resolve to eliminate animal products
from our lives, and gave us the impetus to move to our current home in Skandia,
Michigan where we started Dancing Crane Farm. This has been the best phase of our
lives in many ways! We have found that the warmth and kindness of our neighbors,
the cleanliness of the air, and the beauty of nature more than make up for the shorter
growing season. I now look toward the future with excitement and enthusiasm.

When I am not farming, I love attending auctions and rummage sales. After all, my
family and friends know me as the queen of “free and cheap.” I do so enjoy finding the
“deal of the century.” I also love to dance, decorate, landscape and watch movies.
With that said, I need to mention that the hard physical labor of construction work
suits my fancy. I am a hands-on type of person who enjoys getting her hands dirty, her
hair messy and her clothes filthy. I am truly a woman of many interests.