KEVIN YOUNG, DIRECTOR
60822 Creek Road
Niles, MI 49120
269-684-3870
kevin60822@sbcglobal.net
JULY/AUGUST 2025 GRANGE NEWS
Last year at this time, I was talking about how we finally got the addition to our chicken coop done and needed to get more pullets to help fill it plus keep egg production going. Well we had done just that, and we fortunately were able to find pullets just getting ready to lay their first eggs. We also took on a rooster as well. He is a very handsome and tame (so far) Buff Orpington that keeps the hens in line but doesn’t come after me!
As I sit here on June 18th writing this, we are about to head into a very hot stretch of weather. Today it was in the mid-80s and very humid before a storm front came through at 4pm. We had a good amount of rain from the storm front, and we needed it for sure. By this weekend we will see highs in the 90s with heat index in the triple digits!! At least we are getting the moisture to help with the crops and gardens to grow.
Remember one class that anyone can enter is the class labeled: Any planting in a Unique container. It can be any type of container, but the planting must have grown in the unique container. Keep in mind that you must be able to transport this item to State Session and be able to bring it from your vehicle with little assistance.
Wow it’s July!? The first 6 months of 2025 have gone by way too fast! I hope everyone that planted a garden kept in mind the Agriculture Department classes for the 2025 State Session. I really hope to have a good turn out in my Department again this year as there were a wonderful number of entries at the 2024 Session.
We are a few short months now from our 2025 State Session that is being held in Owosso. It will be a great time celebrating yet again the 152nd year of the Michigan State Grange.
Fair season is here again. In just two short months the Berrien County Youth Fair while be coming to a close, as it ends on August 16th. Please go support our local youth by attending a Fair near you. There are plenty of things to see besides the amusement rides and fair food if that isn’t something you care to do. I remember when I was an exhibitor how it felt to have everyone walk by looking at my animals or still exhibits. It is the youth exhibitors’ time to shine for all of their hard work during the summer months (or winter too) leading up to entry day.
Last year at this time, I was talking about how we finally got the addition to our chicken coop done and needed to get more pullets to help fill it plus keep egg production going. Well we had done just that, and we fortunately were able to find pullets just getting ready to lay their first eggs. We also took on a rooster as well. He is a very handsome and tame (so far) Buff Orpington that keeps the hens in line but doesn’t come after me!
As I sit here on June 18th writing this, we are about to head into a very hot stretch of weather. Today it was in the mid-80s and very humid before a storm front came through at 4pm. We had a good amount of rain from the storm front, and we needed it for sure. By this weekend we will see highs in the 90s with heat index in the triple digits!! At least we are getting the moisture to help with the crops and gardens to grow.
Remember one class that anyone can enter is the class labeled: Any planting in a Unique container. It can be any type of container, but the planting must have grown in the unique container. Keep in mind that you must be able to transport this item to State Session and be able to bring it from your vehicle with little assistance.
Here is hoping your gardens are growing or will be and that your harvest is bountiful.
Until the next MGN….
Until the next MGN….
AGRICULTURE
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2025 GRANGE NEWS
We got our garden in around Memorial Day weekend this year, planting zucchini, tomatoes, and butternut squash. I have seen a few squash amongst the vines so we might be able to enter in the Ag Department class. We got the butternut squash planted late this year. I have been watering our garden almost every day when there wasn’t rain coming. I hope others have had better luck and will have lots of items to enter in this year’s classes. If there is a class suggestion for the 2026 State Session that you would like to share with me, please do so. I am always up for making changes if it works with when our State Session is held.
As we move into the harvest season, please keep in mind that we will once again be sharing the roads with very large sized farm equipment. I know we are all in a hurry to get where we are going but we need to keep in mind that those big pieces of equipment help to put food on our families’ tables.
Wow! August is just about over as I write this article, and another County Fair season is just about over for my area. The weather is up and down with temperatures and humidity, but it wouldn’t be summer and fair season without that type of weather! The Berrien County Youth Fair just finished on Aug 16th and we had pretty hot and humid weather most of the week, besides 2 days that had some rain. But once it stopped raining, it was great, and the people flocked to the grounds. There are only a few more fairs left in Michigan now with one of them being the St. Joseph County Grange Fair in Centreville and I believe the last one in Michigan being the Hillsdale County Fair.
We got our garden in around Memorial Day weekend this year, planting zucchini, tomatoes, and butternut squash. I have seen a few squash amongst the vines so we might be able to enter in the Ag Department class. We got the butternut squash planted late this year. I have been watering our garden almost every day when there wasn’t rain coming. I hope others have had better luck and will have lots of items to enter in this year’s classes. If there is a class suggestion for the 2026 State Session that you would like to share with me, please do so. I am always up for making changes if it works with when our State Session is held.
As we move into the harvest season, please keep in mind that we will once again be sharing the roads with very large sized farm equipment. I know we are all in a hurry to get where we are going but we need to keep in mind that those big pieces of equipment help to put food on our families’ tables.
I look forward to seeing everyone that will be coming to the Michigan State Grange Convention that is being held in late October up in Owosso. I hope everyone has been working on entries for the Departments so we have a great Grange Contest year!
See you at State Session!!
