West Central Michigan Research and Extension Center’s first farm manager is a former greenskeeper, golf course superintendent, landscaper, turf manager, dune restorator, and health program instructor.
While he didn’t grow up in a production ag background, Ashley Fleser has been surrounded by it his whole life.
And now he’s the first full-time farm manager at the research station.
“I love being outside, even on days when people don’t want to be,” the Montague native told Michigan Farm News.
“I don’t come from a tree fruit-production background, but I know what these commodities mean to this area’s economy, to this state’s economy. I just want to do what I can to support them.”
The research center will conduct tree fruit and vegetable research and production, with a particular focus on peaches, apples, cherries, asparagus and pears. Industry partners for the project are MSU, West Central Michigan Horticultural Research Inc., Michigan Asparagus Research Inc., Peterson Farms Inc., and the Michigan Tree Fruit Commission.
“The opportunity to work at a facility like this in your backyard doesn't come around all the time,” Fleser said. “It’s brand new, and you get to help shape the vision and the future of it. I have family members who are fruit farmers in Oceana County. I have friends who are farm managers or fruit farmers or work adjacent to the industry. Part of the decision to move back to West Michigan was to become part of the community and become invested and engaged in it.”
READ: West Michigan research station nears completion
Located on 68 acres in Oceana County, the donor-owned station completed its multi-million-dollar project build in 2021. It serves Ocean, Mason and Newaygo counties.
Fleser, who now lives in Whitehall, is tasked with handling scientists and MSU Extension educators. He expects the center will manage 20 research projects each year.
“Some of them may just be monitoring projects,” Fleser added. “Some of them may be experimental design.”
A graduate of MSU, Fleser’s been involved with land management for more than two decades.
He previously served in various golf roles, including as a Michigan greenskeeper and assistant superintendent at a Cayman Island course. Fleser’s also worked at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Muskegon County Habitat for Humanity, and Grand Valley State University.
Source: michiganfarmnews.com
Categories: Michigan, Business