Michigan Apple Committee showcases orchards for Women’s History Month

The Michigan Apple Committee (MAC) recognized three women-owned apple orchards in honor of March’s Women’s History Month. 

Women’s History Month celebrates the contributions of women to history, culture and society. The orchards are Ed Dunneback & Girls, Plymouth Orchards & Cider Mill and Corey Lake Orchards 

Ed Dunneback & Girls started as Ed Dunneback & Sons until Michael Dunneback died during the Vietnam War. His sister Suanne Shoemaker was left to take over the family farm.

“I grew up on the farm, and it was just a way of life. My dad didn’t have any sons to take over the operation,” Shoemaker said in a news release. “I went to college and earned my degree in social work. However, the farm was where I belonged.”

Shoemaker took over the farm in stride as she felt that was what she was meant to do. She was the first female farmer in the area, though was always welcomed.

She was then able to raise her daughters, Stephanie and Sarah, on the farm with her husband. Now, Shoemaker runs the farm with her daughters.

Mary Emmett is the owner of Plymouth Orchards & Cider Mill and works alongside Alicia Estrada, the general manager, and together they have grown the orchard to what it is today. Emmett started the farm with 60 acres and 5,000 apple trees to establish the orchard.

“I can honestly say that I have felt nothing but support. I do not know if it is the type of agriculture that this is but even in the very early days, from MSU Extension agents to suppliers to growers, it has been a very positive experience. Also, I do not look for skepticism. I just do what I do and enjoy myself,” Emmett said in the release.

Emmett is confident in her abilities to run a successful farm, and she has done that. In 2013, the farm started a three-year transition period to become certified organic. Then in 2018 solar electric panels were added to the property.

“What we are today is the sum of some incredibly wonderful people over the decades. I also think one of the key ingredients to this business and life in general is humor. I think that is my real business strategy,” Emmett said in the release.

More than a decade ago, Beth and Brenda Hubbard left their corporate careers to take Corey Lake Orchards over from their parents.

“One of the hardest things I have ever done,” Beth Hubbard said in the release when asked about her experience as an apple grower, “The science of farming is very complex. People in general don’t understand the science piece. I took so many classes and tried to learn everything involved in the farm.”

Aside from the science, Hubbard had a leadership role to take on as a woman in farming. She has been able to bring a collaborative and problem-solving leadership style to the farm.

“Farming is a male-dominated field, and each of these women, as well as other female farmers, have broken barriers and had great success as owners of their farms. We appreciate their spirit of collaboration as well as their role modeling for future generations of apple growers,” Diane Smith, MAC’s executive director, said in the release.

Throughout March, MAC recognized each of the growers on social media with a dedicated post showcasing each of them and their experience as a woman farmer through a male-dominated industry.