Eding brothers farms

Eding Brothers Farms was started by Henry Eding Jr. in 1937. Henry passed down the farm to his son Al who had been farming celery his whole life. Al greatly expanded the farm to the 175-acres it is today. Now, Al’s sons Dale and Ron primarily run the farm along with Jeff, who represents the fourth generation as a minority partner. The family divides the responsibilities of farm work amongst one another. Ron does most of the greenhouse work and sprays for crop protection while his wife Grace does most of the bookkeeping. Dale oversees transplanting and irrigation, and Jeff is in charge of the field production, the packing facility and much of the mechanical maintenance. Other family members, local help and several migrant families also dedicate their hard work to the farm to help everything run smoothly. Additionally, the farm has been working with Michigan State University to develop better farming techniques, including using cover crops to protect the soil and prevent insects. In 2010, the farm won the master farmer award which recognizes good farming practices as well as involvement within the community and the industry.