Highwater Farms is owned by married couple Anthony (Tony) and Sarah Browne. Our mission is to provide clean, healthy produce to its community. In the end of 2013, about a week after their wedding, Sarah was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She also experienced seizures as a result of the tumor. Tony spent endless hours researching treatments, holistic, traditional and modern medicine like chemo and radiation. Tony began making medical marijuana oil for her and Sarah took it both morning and night. In addition, she altered her diet to be low-carb and low-sugar. Carbs are broken down into sugars, which feed cancer cells.

A few years prior, the two had opened a small law firm, as both were attorneys. Once the seizures began, Sarah couldn’t take on legal work in good faith and Tony was too stressed about possible seizures when he wasn’t around, so also stopped taking on legal work. In an effort to eat higher quality food and spend less on commercial “organic” food, Tony started a garden in the backyard. The tomatoes thrived and took over most of the growing area. Realizing they were not the only people struggling to afford quality, healthy produce, the idea of starting a farm began.

After spending a short amount of time looking to buy land, the two started leasing an urban plot from the local land bank and Highwater Farms was born. The first season, the urban farm produced standard market produce such as greens, summer squash, cucumbers, etc. In the following seasons, Highwater slowly turned its focus to different varieties and types of produce to distinguish itself from other farms. Tony and Sarah’s preference for colorful and interesting produce led them to heirloom tomatoes and fun cherry tomatoes, among other things. In the first few seasons, the farm started growing ground cherries, also known as husk cherries. Ground cherries are in the tomato family and have a little husk around them, making them look like baby tomatillos. Most people (around Lansing) had never seen them before. The sweet, delicious, ground cherry soon became a staple of Highwater Farms. The Lebanese zucchini, kusa, was the next variety on the market table. It was very popular with people who knew what it was and it won over first time customers easily. For a time, Highwater grew delicious salad greens, including mustard greens and salad kale, but the greens market became flooded and prices dropped. To avoid losing money on their hard work, Highwater switched to microgreens.

Tony started with broccoli microgreens to help fight Sarah’s tumor. Broccoli contains sulforaphane, which kills cancer cells, and microgreens deliver a huge dose of the benefits from the plant you’re eating. Microgreens has become the staple product of Highwater Farms as it is a great source of health and can be used creatively in nearly every meal.

Despite the wave of price increases after COVID, Highwater has kept their prices affordable so customers can make healthy eating a priority over their budget.

Our reputation was built on being friendly and taking an interest in other people before trying to get them to be interested in us. We strive to be a source of positivity in our community, even if we’re not feeling positive in our personal life. Making eye contact, smiling, or giving a simple wave lets people know you are open to talking to them, this includes other farmers. Remembering returning customers, from what they normally buy to their pet’s name, tells people they are appreciated way beyond what they might buy. That rapport creates a good basis for a strong relationship, which encourages customers to support you and your business through sales, and creates solid friendships.

Working full days in an urban environment, we were able to meet many of the people who live in the neighborhood and also frequent the nearby farmers market. I believe seeing us constantly out on the farm plot working hard and beautifying the property encourageS people to support us.

We were at a tough point in life when we started the farm. There were many visits to the emergency room to break the seizures Sarah kept having. Medical bills were piling up because both farm owners had to stop taking on legal work and other jobs weren’t realistic due to seizure frequency. Both had huge student loan debt from college and law school and didn’t want to take on any additional debt. There was some money in our savings that we were living off of and had to start using some of that money to get the farm up and running. We were exceptionally lucky to discover the Ingham County Land Bank which allowed us to lease land instead of buying it. Any project we could figure out how to do on our own, we did. We used discarded fencing and whatever else we could find to keep wildlife and the occasional trespasser at bay. Random bricks and cinder blocks were used to hold down row cover, allowing seeds to germinate in a place birds couldn’t reach them. All work on the farm, including watering, was done by hand using our own garden tools or those donated by family members. After some time (which seemed like forever), the farm brought in income and we were finally able to stop using our personal funds.