Holland’s Shady Aspect Farm to be preserved for agriculture
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WEST OLIVE — The West Michigan growing season may not have started yet, but the Ottawa County Agriculture Preservation Board is celebrating a bumper crop after officially protecting its sixth property: Shady Side Farm.
The farm has been protected through the Purchase of Development Rights Program. The agreement guarantees the land will continue to be used for agricultural purposes or remain in a natural state in perpetuity.
“I am so glad to see this program taking off,” said farm co-owner and operator Mike Bronkema.
This moment has been 30 years in the making. Bronkema and his wife, Lona, bought the property in 1992 — long before the county had a farmland preservation program — from a farmer that wanted to see his land continue to be used for agriculture.
“He wanted us to buy the farm because he knew we were going to farm it instead of subdividing it,” said Bronkema.
Covering 123 acres over five parcels, Shady Side Farm is unique because of the diversity of products its operators produce — including beef, lamb for meat and wool, organic dry beans, and grains including corn, einkorn, spelt, and barley.
The Bronkemas also employ conservation practices, such as planting tree rows to prevent wind erosion; creating pollinator habitat, grass waterways and buffer strips; and using cover crops, rotational grazing and composting. The farm has been MAEAP (Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program) verified since 2004.
“Farmland preservation is just an extension of some of those conservation practices,” said Bronkema. “They’re interconnected. One feeds the other.”
Shady Side Farm is the first Olive Township operation to be protected through the county’s PDR Program. To apply, a property must be located within a participating municipality. So far, 10 townships — including Olive — have approved the necessary resolution.
“Our township wasn’t on board with it right away,” said Bronkema, reflecting on the process. “We had to work our township up to it and get it (the resolution) approved before we could go through the … program.”
Ottawa County’s Agriculture Preservation Board continues to have conversations with the remaining townships and cities to garner support for this particular tool.
Interested in preserving your farmland or know someone who might be? Now through March 31, farmers and other landowners may apply to preserve their eligible, agriculturally zoned property by selling its development rights.
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Get the process started by completing a pre-application at bit.ly/OCPDRapp. Not sure if your property is in a participating township? Visit bit.ly/OCadopted. Have additional questions? Call 616-738-4852 or email [email protected].
— Rich Lakeberg is a former Holland Sentinel staffer.
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