Building an Agricultural Economy

SmartPrize 2016 Growth Award Winner

Ishpeming’s Partridge Creek Farm raked in the Growth Award, garnering $7,500 cash and $10,000 in advertising credit from Eagle Radio. The pitch offered a solution to solving an arid agriculture economy by integrating education, building farms downtown, and gaining the cooperation of the community.

“Big agriculture has made food very cheap, but it’s not as good and it doesn’t see the value of having a local food economy and what that can do for our community,” says Dan Perkins, Partridge Creek Board Chairman.

The SmartPrize money assisted Partridge Creek farm with their managers’ payroll, intern stipends, and projects that are not covered by grants. Dan Perkins says that this year alone, they have built hands-on educational farm programs with Great Lakes Recovery Center, HeadStart, and Ishpeming Schools. They’ve also worked with the youth volunteer services of Michigamme Bible Camp and the KBIC youth group. And, they’ve collaborated with Transition Marquette County to offer an educational series on local growing and nutrition. They even ran a 2-day program with the Ishpeming library summer reading group, built a 1/3 acre farm, distributed thousands of pounds of farm-grown foods to volunteers and participants, and sold some through the farmers markets. Partridge Creek Farm not only met the objectives of their board, but continue to grow as well. They are hoping to hire a business manager and an outreach coordinator sometime this year.