Joel and his wife, Lyndsay, proudly grow wheat on the farm that’s been in their family for three generations — it’s now a fourth-generation farm with the help of their kids!
Farming is something that’s in our blood. The farm has been passed down for three generations, with our kids, Erica and Grant, now being the fourth. We want to continue what our great-grandparents started and strive to make it better, and being able to work the same land they began with nearly 100 years ago is a very neat thing.
We’re very fortunate to get to work with each other every day; there are a lot of families that don’t get to see each other often or make decisions together like we do. Erica’s been going on the tractor since she could walk, and she first drove it by herself at twelve. This has been a way of life for our great-grandparents and grandparents, and now we hope to pass it down to the next generation to keep it moving forward.
There isn’t really a “typical” day on the farm. There are tasks that have to be done throughout the year, but no two days are alike. The weather usually dictates what has to be done. Harvest season is one of our favorite times on the farm. After raising the crops all year, harvest season brings the satisfaction of completing the job.
It’s very cool knowing that some of the Triscuit crackers in grocery stores have white winter wheat in them that was grown right here on our farm, in the Thumb of Michigan.
It’s our sole responsibility as farmers to put quality food on tables across America. It’s a special sense of pride and satisfaction. Crops that are grown right on our farm feed people across the country, and that’s something we’re very proud of as a family.
This unique family farm is actually a combination of two different farms — neighboring families that partnered together decades ago to pool resources and grow together.
JADE Farms was started as a partnership between two neighbors, Douglas Yackle and James Licht. The neighbors saw an opportunity to pool resources and become more efficient,so they merged their family farms in the 1990s, and over the years business has grown. Now Doug’s son and nephews have become partners, and they will continue the farming tradition into the future.
During the busy seasons, time management can be difficult and sometimes you need to make sacrifices, like spending less quality time with your family. However, it also means that your family can work closely with you, and you can get through the busy seasons together.
Every day is different. In the growing season, we’re constantly scouting fields to assess their health. We do equipment maintenance to make sure work can get done in a timely manner. We also look at daily market activity to take advantage of any pricing opportunities that arise.
We really value the direct farmer-to-customer relationship we have. It gives us a great sense of pride and accomplishment to know that our white winter wheat is going into a brand that is trusted and enjoyed by so many people.
Feeding the country is the reason we farm. I always feel a sense of pride knowing that my wheat is going into a consumer product. Since our business began with the farming our ancestors did, I feel a great responsibility to pass that heritage down to future generations.
