Hay Creek Heritage is a small family farm that has been raising livestock with care, growing vegetables using organic practices, and distributing high-quality farm products in Southeast Michigan for the last 12 years. We are dedicated to maintaining a high standard of animal welfare for our livestock and working dogs. We practice natural, sustainable farming methods focusing on pasture-based rotational grazing methods. We currently raise pasture-raised lamb and dairy goats. We also grow market produce using regenerative methods.
Preferred location: Eaton, Ingham, Jackson, Livingston, Washtenaw
Desired Transitional Agreement: Sale
Jul 14, 2024
Desired Acreage
- 26-100 Acres
Desired Infrastructure
Desired Land Usage
Goals, Values, Vision
We are a husband and wife team who have owned and operated Hay Creek Heritage Farms since 2012. We currently work out of two locations, our home farm, ~12 owned acres in Pinckney, and an additional ~12 leased acres in Chelsea. We operate the farm in addition to our full-time, off-farm jobs.
Our goal is to purchase a larger property that will allow us to eliminate our leased property and move all farming operations onto a single home farm with enough pasture and barn space to support current and future livestock, as well as land to grow hay.
Combining our two currently separate properties onto one would increase our efficiency, eliminating the transportation cost and time currently required to travel between properties.
Pasture is a key component to our farming practice to maintain animal health and welfare, so any new property must have enough pasture land to maintain an expanding herd of sheep as well as our goats, including necessary rotation.
We work with Shetland and Cheviot sheep, chosen for their ability to thrive in harsh climates and open pasture. We have demand for our pasture-raised lambs, currently sold through Argus Farm Stop and Dexter Mill, and are working to expand our herd.
We raise Oberhasli dairy goats, a breed originally from Switzerland. We have sold kids to other breeders and backyard goat keepers. Once we have a larger property, a future goal is to open a creamery and produce goat cheese. We explored this idea for our current property but determined it was not worth investing in required renovations with a potential move on the horizon.
We have two large hoop houses and three caterpillar tunnels used for market vegetable production. We follow organic growing methods, though we are not certified. We sell our produce at Dexter Mill, Rivers Edge Brewing, and other local retail establishments.
Another goal in moving to a larger property is producing our own hay. Sourcing and buying quality alfalfa hay for our livestock is one of our major expenses, but we do not currently have enough land to grow our own. Although there would be upfront cost in planting and equipment, in the long term, growing our own hay would greatly increase the efficiency of our operation.
Farming Status
Current Farming Status
Part Time
Farm Experience/Education
Farm owner, Farm management
Farming Plans and Practices
Farming Method
Organic Practices
We are not certified organic in vegetable production, but follow these practices in vegetable farming.
We are not certified organic with livestock.
