Fridays on the Farm: A Blueberry Farm Better Than the Bahamas

This Friday, meet the Carini family of Organic Blueberries LLC, a blueberry operation located a few miles off the coast of Lake Michigan in West Olive, Michigan. The area’s cool lakeshore breezes and naturally acidic, well‑drained soils create excellent conditions for blueberries, and for fourth‑generation farmer and matriarch Vicki Carini, it’s also home. 

The Carini family's legacy of growing blueberries has been rooted in Michigan soil since the early 1940s. Vicki and her husband, Kurt, are carrying on that tradition. Today, their son, daughters, and grandchildren are all familiar faces around the farm. 

A Personal Paradise

Michigan ranks among America’s top blueberry‑producing states. For the Carini family, the area’s ideal climate is inseparable from the life they’ve built. To Vicki, the farm is more than a farm—it’s a personal paradise. “I don’t need to go to someplace… the Bahamas or wherever,” she said. “I can be out here, and this is the Bahamas to me. It is the quintessential perfect place to be.”

However, as idyllic as that farm life can be, it also comes with its share of uncertainty. A few years ago, a frost wiped out nearly 40% of Organic Blueberries LLC's crop, a devastating hit for a small operation. 

“It was really hard to right ourselves up because we were counting on that crop to pay bills,” Vicki said. The loss became a turning point in how she viewed risk and the tools available to protect her family’s livelihood. Previously, Vicki considered crop insurance a luxury, something meant for larger farms, not for her. 

“You get insurance for your car, and you think, well, I need that, but I never thought about it for my crop,” she said. “A small farmer especially is in need of help because our dollars are very, very small, so our margins are very small as well. We have to really watch every dime that goes in or out, and crop insurance has a huge value.”

Finding Protection and Peace of Mind

Organic Blueberries LLC is now protected from eligible losses through the Micro Farm program through USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA), which provides a risk management safety net for all commodities on a farm under one insurance policy. This insurance plan is ideal for small and diversified farms that grow specialty crops, sell directly to consumers, or see year‑to‑year revenue changes.

Instead of insuring individual crops, Micro Farm protects the farm’s whole revenue, including pick‑your‑own berries, farm stand sales, and other direct‑market income. With pick‑your‑own blueberries being a major part of her business, and harvests that naturally vary, revenue‑based protection helps Vicki plan with more confidence.

Through a public-private partnership with RMA, Approved Insurance Providers sell and service Federal crop insurance policies in every state and in Puerto Rico. The Carini family has a strong relationship with their local insurance agent, who helped her decide that Micro Farm was the right fit.

Now, Vicki has both peace of mind and protection. Crop insurance can help keep Vicki’s dream alive if disaster strikes and she experiences a qualifying loss.

Vicki is an advocate to other farmers facing similar uncertainties about the importance of Federal crop insurance and the stability it provides. “Crop insurance lets me sleep at night knowing I’ve got some protection out there,” she said.

Like many farmers, Vicki’s motivation for returning to the fields each year is honest and simple. She just wants to preserve the paradise her family has created for the next generation. 

“I love this little farm, I really do, and I don't want to get bigger,” Vicki said. “I love just the way we are. When I see my grandkids running to the field with their buckets, and I see my family out here, it means everything to me. That’s the legacy I can leave behind.”

More Information

Visit local farms, ranches, forests, and resource areas through our Fridays on the Farm stories. Meet farmers, producers, and landowners who are working to improve their operations with USDA programs. 

USDA offers a variety of risk management, disaster assistance, loan, and conservation programs to help producers weather ups and downs in the market, recover from natural disasters, and invest in improvements to their operations. Learn about additional programs. 

For more information about USDA programs and services, contact your local USDA service center.