Farm Stories Captivate at Northbrook Library

They could have listened for hours. But the rest of the building was emptying, and the library had to close for the night.

Friends of the Northbrook Farmers Market hosted “Stories from the Farm” at Northbrook Public Library Monday, April 9, with two farmers telling their compelling experiences tilling the land.

Dozens attended, mostly farmers market regulars, some just curious. Many had questions: What's the difference between aquaponics and hydroponics? What do you do with microgreens?

Both speakers are vendors at the Northbrook Farmers Market, which begins its 11th season June 19.

Fifth-generation farmer Kyle Froehlich grew up on his parents' farm, and in 2012 started his own Sunny Harvest Farms in southwest Michigan. Rich Olson left the corporate world to grow certified naturally grown microgreens and other vegetables in Woodstock.

Olson, who grew up in Northbrook, talked about transitioning to rural life. He showed slides of how over the last 4 years at Greenspot Farm he has supplemented hard clay soil with organic material to render it nutrient-rich. He also described learning to use wasps to reduce plant-eating bugs, thus avoiding pesticides, keeping his tomatoes healthy for human consumption.

Many attendees went away talking about one of Froehlich’s stories, which cut to some of the basic truths of what it’s like to be a farmer, in Michigan or anywhere else.

“When you are a farmer, you’re putting everything you have on the line,” he said. “You have to have heart. Things can go wrong, and they can go very wrong.

“The first time I opened our farm in 2012, after I graduated from Central Michigan University … that was the worst spring freeze in 100 years.”

After the thaw, “I only had a little bit of apples, and they were some of the only apples in the county. That meant the price was up, so they would be worth some pretty good money … enough to cover costs.

“That would be enough to get rolling again in the spring.”

But fortune took another turn.

“I’ll never forget it. We were working on a tractor, it was grandpa and I, and I started hearing ‘tic, tic, tic.’

“It had started hailing. And the only apples that set that year had all gotten hailed. We still had enough for the farmers market, but the rest were to go to a packer. We were going to get a pretty good premium for them, but they all went to juice.

“When you sell them for juice, it’s eight cents a pound. Eight cents a pound doesn’t sound like much … but at least it covers some of your costs.

“And I told myself, if I can get through this year … ”

Froehlich stopped mid-sentence and looked meaningfully at the audience, representatives of the community that had lined up for his apples seven years before.

“Dale (Duda, market manager) that year had brought me into the farmers market, and this is the first market we entered, and I love this market. We were just getting established here, learning peoples’ names. It’s still my favorite market to this day … and I thank you guys for all that you have done.”

And he went on with his story: “And I decided if we can get through this year, we can get through anything.

“There are struggles every day, and there are great days.”

He said his three children are free to follow any path they choose, but if they choose farming, they’ll probably be in it for good.

“It’s a different life,” he said.

“Once you live it and understand it, it’s in your blood, and you really can’t do anything else.”

To learn more about the market, visit northbrookfarmersmarket.org.