While there may’ve been some side-eyes given the location of Michigan Farm Bureau’s 2026 Voice of Agriculture Conference, the event’s Friday-afternoon tour slate dispelled any notion that metro Detroit wasn’t ready for its ag-themed spotlight.
Four tour options gave conference-goers a tough choice; some couples wisely chose to divide and conquer, splitting up to take in as much content as possible that afternoon.
Each of the following recaps comes from a different conference attendee.
Barnyard to classroom: A day at Bowers School Farm
By Kassie Acker, Gratiot County Farm Bureau
Touring Bowers School Farm at the 2026 Voice of Ag Conference truly showed that agriculture is everywhere and for everyone!
Nestled alongside I-75, I was shocked to find a functioning farm operating on 90+ acres in metro Detroit. Between horses, lambs, cattle, poultry, veggie fields and greenhouses, Bowers School Farm stays busy year-round.
While the farm itself was incredible, it was even more impressive to hear that students and summer campers are its boots on the ground. A fully operational farm, Bowers partners with Bloomfield Hills schools, hosting their FFA and Career & Technical Education students. Younger students are also welcome for curriculum-aligned ag lessons in social studies and science.
As an agriscience teacher and Promotion & Education enthusiast, my greatest take-home from the tour was that ANY student can be an agriculturalist — a conscientious steward of the land. Regardless of their age, background, or prior farming knowledge, everyone involved at Bowers School Farm thrive by learning through agriculture.
Ports & Plants: A Detroit discovery tour
By Rachelle Lehman, Ionia County Farm Bureau
During our tour of the Port of Detroit we learned it’s the largest inland port on the Detroit River, which connects Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie and separates southeastern Michigan from Ontario, Canada.
Both cruise and cargo ships utilize the port, which this time of year is closed for the winter. Even with temperatures well below zero, we were still able to view products in the shipping yard and learn about innovative projects and future plans under development for expanding the port’s use.
Our second stop was at CWO Farms at the Marygrove Conservancy, where we learned how they’ve created a successful, growing farm in the City of Detroit that bridges the gap between urban and rural agriculture.
Run by Wayne County Farm Bureau Vice President Candi Fentress, CWO offered several hands-on learning stations, including opportunities to make teas, bath soaks, as well as tasting some collard greens prepared by a local chef.
Cultivating innovation at the Henry Ford
By Hailey Gilbert, Michigan Ag Council
I greatly enjoyed the chance be part of the Cultivating Innovation tour at the Voice of Ag Conference.
We started learning more about the great ways the Michigan Soybean Committee works to collaborate with Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. From museum displays highlighting agricultural history and modern-day technologies, to purposeful interactions with consumers and summertime students at Greenfield Village, I left feeling genuinely inspired by this unique partnership.
Touring the museum, it was incredible to see how people engaged with the Agriculture and the Environment display. All ages stopped to learn about featured plows, engines, harvesters, microscopes and other innovations that’ve impacted agriculture.
My favorite, though, was an interaction between grandparents and grandkids who wanted to stay and enjoy the interactive 1975 New Holland combine for just a little bit longer.
It’s my hope such memorable experiences will help visitors — young and old — think just a little bit more about the generations of farmers who have come before us and the advancements in technology that have allowed hardworking American farmers to continue to feed the world.
I look forward to seeing how this programming will continue to grow and evolve to benefit the surrounding community, and Michigan agriculture as a whole.
Growing opportunity in the city: Detroit agriculture
By Jeremy C. Nagel, Michigan Farm Bureau
Short & sweet, I promise. Three tour stops, in this order:
Planted Detroit is an enclosed, vertical farm on Detroit’s near-east side, just inland from the bridge to Belle Isle. The almost entirely self-contained operation churns out hydroponically grown salad- and micro greens for individual customers and restaurants across the metro region.
With meticulous control over temperature, nutrient intake and lighting, the vertically integrated operation maximizes every possible efficiency in its controlled, pest-free environment. The results are chemical-free, nutrient-dense greens and vegetable sprouts including broccoli, carrot, celery, mustard and radishes.
From there it was a good hike out to Detroit Horse Power — or at least the building site where DHP’s main facility is taking shape through the winter months. Only ‘facility’ and ‘building’ bare scratch the surface of the 14-acre former school property where the nation’s largest urban equestrian center is taking shape. By the end of this year the former Paul Robeson Academy location will be home to ample outdoor paddocks and a massive indoor riding arena equipped with stables, classrooms and meeting spaces.
With brutal wintry elements making a site tour impracticable, DHP mastermind David Silver boarded our tour bus for a succinct overview of the project and the new era of equestrian-based youth-development programming soon on tap — a natural extension of the urban education work that first brought him to Detroit from New York City more than a decade ago.
Last stop was DPFLI — the Detroit Partnership for Learning and Innovation — an MSU Extension research and teaching outpost on the city’s west side. This is where Extension Specialist Naim Edwards summarized for his Farm Bureau guests the innovative practices he and his small staff explore and share with urban growers from across metro Detroit.
Naim’s work follows the DPFLI mission to enhance urban agriculture and its practitioners’ quality of life, promote awareness and connect community members through education and outdoor experiences.
About our contributors:
- Alma native and former MFB intern Kassie Acker is a Farm Bureau member in Gratiot County, where she was a member of the St. Louis FFA Chapter. A recent graduate of Michigan State University, she now teaches agriscience at Perry Public Schools. The 2003 Michigan Sugar Queen, Kassie has also served as a Michigan Grown, Michigan Great ambassador for the Michigan Ag Council.
- Rachelle Lehman is one of MFB’s more senior county administrative managers, serving Farm Bureau members in Allegan, Barry and Ionia counties. And as CAMs go, Rachelle’s at the top of her class, going on 20 years’ experience serving Farm Bureau members.
- New Lothrop native Hailey Gilbert is another former MFB intern who didn’t fly far from the nest. As executive director of the Michigan Ag Council, Hailey is now a professional agvocate, preaching the gospel of Michigan agriculture over at Michigan Grown, Michigan Great. She’s also a member of the Gratiot County Farm Bureau.
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