ABOVE: Caitlin McSweeney-Steffes, farmer at Danu Hof Farm—a good farm bill is essential to sustaining her family and their farm. Photo courtesy Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
A Farm Dream
Just north of Mancelona, Michigan, along the US131 corridor sits the 160 acres of woods and farmland that make up Danu Hof Farm. Here, you’ll find a hard-working family and a farm rooted in a passion to strengthen local food systems. “We believe actions speak louder than words, so farming became our way to live the change we wanted to see,” says Caitlin McSweeney-Steffes.
Caitlin received her degree in business and hospitality management from northern Michigan University and shortly thereafter, left the Upper Peninsula to work in Traverse City. She got a job working with the Grand Traverse Resort, and that is where she met her husband Larry. Together they dreamed of owning their own farm. After working in the culinary industry and noticing how disconnected the food system has become from farmers, the land, and the people, Caitlin and Larry decided to turn their dream of becoming farmers into reality.
Day to Day Operations
In 2017, Caitlin and Larry purchased the land where their farm is now located. They have been farming now for eight years. On one half of their land, they are focused on forest conservation, with a long-term goal to turn the wooded area into a sugarbush for maple syrup. The other half is dedicated to living space and farm development. Their current operation includes farrow-to-finish pork, eggs, meat chickens, and market garden vegetables, all stewarded using techniques that have helped to improve soil health for their sandy plot.
Each year, they produce and sell roughly 2,000 dozen eggs, 13,000+ pounds of pork, 2,600+ pounds of chicken, and over 5,000 pounds of produce. They also sell goat milk soap, and more than 5,000 pounds of beef and 20,000 pounds of fruit from three other local partner farms. Together, these farms feed hundreds of families throughout northern Michigan. The revenue from the farm supports the McSweeney-Steffes’s family of six and each of the three other farming families. “My favorite part of farming—and wearing all the many hats it requires—is the rhythm of daily life, even on the hard days.” says Caitlin.
For Caitlyn and Larry, being Michigan growers means embracing the rhythm of the season while planning, adapting, and persevering through constant change. Spring and summer bring the gamble of weather and long hours in the field. Fall brings next season prep, farrowing pigs, raising chicks, and planning rotations. Winter is time for recordkeeping, repairs, and long-term planning for expansion and soil regeneration. Even on the days they set aside to rest, life is still interesting.
The Farm Bill
While farmers across the state attempt to make plans for the future, uncertainty looms as lawmakers negotiate a piece of legislation that will have major impacts on their livelihoods. As a reminder, roughly every five years, the United States Congress renews a major piece of legislation that we callThe Farm Bill. Each version of the bill has its own name, and the most recent one, “The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018,” officially expired on September 30, 2025. This bit of legislation determines the United States policy on agriculture, food assistance, conservation, and rural development. It also determines funding and rules for farmers, nutrition programs, and environmental stewardship across the country.
Although drafts of the bill were presented in 2023 and 2024, a new bill has not been voted into law, leaving many programs operating with uncertainty. A stop-gap measure was presented in November of 2025 to extend support for some programs in the bill for another year, but not every program received this extension and it is not a long-term solution. Our vulnerable farmers do not have time to waste when their lives, and the lives of those who exist in the communities they support, are hanging in the balance.
What are Small-scale Rural Farmers Asking For?
As both first generation and small-scale farmers, Caitlin and Larry understand just how crucial an equitable farm bill is to maintaining their farm, sustaining their family, and stabilizing the local rural economy. Like many farmers across the country, their priorities include strengthening the Farm Safety Net, securing food and nutrition assistance, protecting conservation programs through the Farm Service Agency (FSA), and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), supporting Fair Trade Agreements, developing a permanent disaster relief program for farmers, and ensuring consistent funding for historically underrepresented farmers.
For many rural communities, farming is what keeps the economy moving and food on the table. Having access to SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and food assistance programs helps farmers sell their products while families eat. Caitlin and Larry participated in the new WIC (SNAP for Women, Infants and Children) rollout, created a food subscription box for busy parents, and have partnered with Senior Project Fresh, Veterans initiatives, SNAP, and Double Up Food Bucks. These provide several outlets for them to get the products they are proud of into the community they sought to serve in the first place. “We believe our most vulnerable neighbors deserve to eat well and feel comfortable shopping at markets,” says Caitlin.
“Risky” is a word often used when discussing farming. As our climate continues to shift, those with their hands in the soil, have witnessed these shifts and understand the risk to their operations. The Farm Safety Net is crucial for small and beginning farmers. This critical package of federal programs protects farmers from major financial losses caused by things like natural disasters and severe price drops. These programs were created to keep farms and the food supply stable in times of crisis. For small rural farms, however, some federal assistance programs do not apply because these programs aren’t structured for farms of their size. This often results in emergency funding going to support larger farms.
There is a lot of debate at the USDA level regarding what is classified as a small farm. Sometimes this designation is classified by annual revenue, while other programs base the size of the operation on acreage. Rural farms are often measured in acres while urban farms are measured by the number of city lots the farm sits on. This ambiguity across the nation leaves a lot of farms in the gray area. Because rural economies rely so heavily on the small family farm, in the next farm bill, sizing standards need to be outlined and the safety net needs to be broadened to protect farms of all sizes.
After six years of applying, Caitlin and Larry finally received funding for their hoop house. In rural spaces, this funding typically goes to large farms. The reasoning is that large farms contribute more to the national food supply, but that ignores the vital contributions small family farms make to the community. While many large farms do the critical work of supplying markets outside of the neighborhood, small farms feed us at home. Expanding programs through the FSA and NRCS to include small and micro farms like Danu Hof expands local access to food across the state.
Ultimately, small rural farm priorities come down to ensuring consistent funding and program access to underrepresented farmers. When we discuss historically underrepresented farmers, the conversation is typically taken directly to racial lines and support for urban farmers. This comes from the misinformed perspective that these farmers only exist in urban spaces and that these programs are “woke DEI initiatives” to support ethnic and racial minorities only. This just is not the case. Underrepresented farmers exist in every farming community, yes, as farmers who belong to certain ethnic groups, but also as women and the gender-diverse, first time farmers, farmers with disabilities, Queer farmers, specialty crop farmers, small-scale farmers, and more. For farms like Danu Hof, federal programs need to specifically recognize the unique barriers to funding and support faced by farms because of their size, location, and the intersecting identities of those who run them.
Planning for The Future
Within the next five years, the plan for Danu Hof includes regenerating more land, adding sheep to the rotation, expanding the market garden, and eventually raising cattle. These changes will diversify and increase the farm’s offerings, providing more food and financial security. For Caitlin and Larry, the hope is that as their children grow up on the farm, they continue to embrace the rhythm of this work to ensure the continuity of their operation into the next generation.
The future of farming and our current local food system rely on the stability of the small family farm. These farms are often overlooked, but as policies are made that will directly impact them, they deserve to have a say. Challenges to the stability of the system can have major impacts on small farms who are not positioned to bounce back quickly. When small farms are not supported, the families who rely on them feel it first. This work can feel isolating, “but we are stronger when our voices are united,” says Caitlin. “We are resilient, willing, and eager to be heard.”
The work to bring about an equitable farm bill is urgent, and we need support in getting it done for our farmers and for our Michigan economy. Congress needs to fund a bill that ensures that all farmers have access to programs that can sustain their lives and the food system across the country. Please share this story and visit our Groundwork Farm Bill Advocacy page to learn more about ways you can support this work. 
Amanda Brezzell is Groundwork’s Policy & Engagement Specialist. amanda.brezzell@groundworkcenter.org
