What was once three businesses is now one: Green Things Farm Collective. Ann Arbor Seed Company, Green Things Farm, and the Land Loom came together in 2020 to expand production, share the management of running a diverse farm business, and develop a model of sustainable, cooperative, and responsible farming.
Small-scale regenerative farming is a business unlike any other in its bias towards diversity of products, consideration of ecological systems, personal touch, and community capital over efficiency, scalability, and profit at any cost. As a whole, truly greater than the sum of its parts, Green Things Farm Collective and the community it serves stand to benefit greatly from the forty-plus years of diverse farming experience among the Collective’s working members and the innovation and inspired vision only possible when a group of passionate farmers come together to share in the joys and challenges of their calling.
Our Mission:
Care for people
Steward the land
Move towards a more sustainable future
Our values:
Collaboration
Community
Economic Security
Environmental and Land Stewardship
Farmer Wellbeing and Joy
Respect
2023 Crew
2022 Crew
Michelle Brosius, Owner
Michelle came to farming with a degree in zoology from MSU and a background in ecological restoration work. She was looking for a way to make a living that combined her love of the natural world, food, and physical activity, while allowing her to feel like she was truly making a positive impact on the world. At GTFC she has found not only that, but a vibrant, caring, and supportive community as well. She very much appreciates the opportunity to guide and bring about meaningful change to a profession that has historically been forced to move in directions that have negatively impacted the environment and our own wellbeing. When she's not at the farm she can often be found walking slowly through a prairie or the woods, quietly observing anything and everything she can!
Jill Lada, Owner
Jill graduated from U of M with a degree in restoration ecology in 2010. She and Nate started Green Things Farm in 2011 at a local farm incubator program. They then purchased 64 acres where the farm is now settled. Growing up, regular visits to her grandparent’s home on Lake Michigan, tromping through woods and water is where her passion for the natural world was fostered. Good food, land stewardship, and creating beauty are what draws her to farming. On the farm her responsibilities include accounting, marketing, systems development, and food safety. She serves on the Ann Arbor Township Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals, and has served on the Public Market Advisory Commission for the Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market.
Nate Lada, Owner
Nate started Green Things Farm with Jill. He has been farming this land for ten+ years now and is deeply invested in the health of the land and the community that has formed around it. Nate is passionate about developing farm systems, is a real do-it-yourselfer, and someday wants to have a breakfast cafe at the farm where he is the cook.
Hannah Weber, Owner
Hannah grew up in Northwest Michigan, surrounded by the farms and restaurants of Leelanau County. Her passion for food and creative physical work drew her to farming after college. She honed her skills through intensive training in organic farm management at Michigan State's Student Organic Farm and moved to Ann Arbor in 2013 to manage Sunseed Farm. After running her own small operation called The Land Loom for five years, she helped found Green Things Farm Collective and has continued as a managing owner, focused on produce sales and team development. She serves on the board of directors for the Washtenaw County Conservation District and the Agricultural Lands Preservation Advisory Committee for the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners.
Leah Fabian, Harvest Manager
Born and raised in southeast Michigan, Leah developed an appreciation for food at a young age in the garden and kitchen of her grandparents. Her passion for a more sustainable food system grew while studying Environmental Biology and Sustainable Agriculture at Michigan State University. After working in plant genetics labs, educational farms, and even a brief stint in French pastry, Leah decided to try her hand at small-scale farming. At GTFC, she found a welcoming community and endless opportunities to learn. Her favorite aspects of this work include being outside, getting to know her fellow farmers, and celebrating the seasonality of Michigan. When she isn’t farming, she enjoys developing recipes, spending time with loved ones and practicing yoga.
Sean Proctor, Production Manager
Sean started farming in 2019 and has been with Green Things since 2021. A photographer by trade and a storyteller at heart, he and his partner spent 2020 growing flowers and gifting them to friends and family to brighten their pandemic summers, as well as photographing them in their lemon and mint pastel-tiled bathroom. His interests in farming and food systems range from field work to looking at how policy has shaped the past and affects the present and future. In his free time, he can be found in the woods walking game trail, switching hobbies every two weeks, or cycling Michigan's back roads.
Liz Joseph, Sales Manager
A recent transplant to the Midwest, Liz is happily rooting in the land and community of Green Things Farm Collective. Prior to moving in 2023, Liz lived and farmed across multiple New England states. Her longest farming tenure was at Heifer International’s Overlook Farm in Rutland, Massachusetts where, for ten magical years, she tended a one-acre market garden, bee hives, and maple sugar bush in addition to garden education for the farm’s thousands of annual visitors. The beauty and abundance that stems from getting to work hard, outside, and as part of a team is why Liz loves farming. In addition to growing food, Liz enjoys writing, walking in nature, dogs, board games, crafting, meditation, connecting with her family back East, and making a good list.
Jon Weston, Production Manager
Jon started farming 9 seasons ago with a desire to find purpose driven work. He fell in love with it after discovering community and a passion for all things local. He’s farmed on numerous farms in west Michigan as well as North Carolina. He likes the physical work, problem solving aspects and being able to spend they days outside. In his free time loves listening to music, playing games with friends and watching reality tv. Favorite shows are currently Survivor and Real House Wives of New York City. ☺️
Breann Forkapa, Post Harvest Processing Manager
During her career in craft bartending and restaurant management Breann found her passion for sustainable agriculture while also working and volunteering at urban farms in Detroit. She joined GTFC in early 2024 to persue her aspirations of farming full time. In the wild you can spot her whispering sweet nothings to her plants, finding new recipes to try out, trying to show you pictures of her animals, and booking a campsite or a tee time.
Claire Ureste, Farmstand Manager
A lifelong Michigander, Claire grew up picking berries in u-pick fields and eating fresh tomatoes from her grandparents’ gardens. Her love for the natural world fueled her degree in Environmental and Sustainability Studies from GVSU. She spent time working at Ridgemere Farms and D-Town Farm before joining the Green Things crew in 2023. In her free time, Claire can be found skateboarding, cooking fresh foods, and creating nature-based art in her home studio.
Megan Lowlor, Membership Coordinator
Megan has been at Green Things Farm since 2019 and continues on. After completing her zoology degree from MSU and working as a field researcher, she has enjoyed finding connections with both the natural world and the community through small-scale organic farming. In addition to working at GTFC, she enjoys beekeeping, raising ducks, and making natural body care products with ingredients grown in her home garden.