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    Growing Ingredients, Growing Community: The Granor Farm Model with Liz Cicchelli

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    Imagine if farms across America were designed to nourish land, people, and community, not commodities …

    In this week’s episode, cohosts Janet Kraus and Cleo Carney explore what that world could look like in a conversation with Liz Cicchelli, co-founder and co-owner of Granor Farm, a certified organic and regenerative farm in Three Oaks, Michigan.

    Janet, a self-proclaimed “serial entrepreneur,” was eager to speak with the woman who transformed 10 acres of land into a 400-acre regenerative ecosystem with a dining program, grain and spirits production, a farm store, and a beloved children’s farm camp. And Cleo, a sophomore at Harvard University, found comfort in Liz’s story. “It showed me that you don’t need to have everything figured out to begin,” Cleo says. “If you have an idea and the passion to take on something you may know very little about — simply because it feels important, or like a problem worth being part of solving — you can do it.”

    Liz brings deep intentionality to every part of Granor Farm, from soil health and community meals to raising the next generation of people who care about nature and food. This conversation left us inspired about a future where farms heal soil, build connections, and strengthen local economies, one ingredient at a time.

    In This Episode, You’ll Hear:

    • How a family vision turned into a nationally recognized regenerative farm.
    • Why Granor grows food for people, not markets, and how that changes everything.
    • The soil-first philosophy: how Granor partners with Michigan State, Purdue, and heritage seed networks to continually improve soil health.
    • The real economics behind expanding and later contracting acreage — tariffs, labor, demand, and time.
    • Why success isn’t about one big farm but many interdependent small businesses thriving together.
    • Taste of Granor, a weekly greenhouse dinner featuring a menu created entirely from what was harvested that week.
    • How childhood curiosity sparked a signature program, Farm Camp, that now serves over 200 kids each summer.
    • Why romanticized images of farming don’t match the physical demands and how Granor built a long-term, reliable agricultural team.

    About Liz Cicchelli

    Liz Cicchelli is the co-founder and co-owner of Granor Farm, a 400-acre certified organic and regenerative farm in southwest Michigan. Raised in Chicago with summers spent in Michigan, Liz brings a unique blend of nonprofit leadership, global health experience, and community-minded values to her work at Granor.

    Before farming, Liz worked in human rights and global health with organizations including Human Rights Watch and Partners In Health. Her passion for equity, education, and nourishment guides Granor’s mission today.

    Meet the Hosts:

    • Janet Kraus: I’m Janet, a serial start-up founder and CEO, twin-girl mom, and wife to a fun and funny guy. I am on a mission to build healthier thinking in young people, stop toxic division, spotlight hopeful climate action, and advocate for safe AI.
    • Cleo Carney: I am Cleo, a student at Harvard University, and I strongly believe that conversations, businesses, and the private markets can create profound change. I also love to cook nourishing food, work out in nature, and find sustainable swaps for everyday items and habits.
    • Victoria Riskin: I am Victoria Riskin. I’m always looking for the best life has to offer despite a turbulent world. I find comfort in the environment and joy in friendships. We have a great team of all ages at Bluedot who inspire me every day as we work together to build community.
    • Ally Giebutowski: I’m Ally, a freshman at Lafayette College. I believe that a sustainable life is a happier life and that human connection is at the heart of it all. Every day, I try to weave greener, more intentional living into every part of my life, whether that’s in the college classroom, in the kitchen, or through meaningful conversations with others.
    Imagine If Podcast Hosts from left to right: Vicki Riskin, Cleo Carney, Ally Giebutowski, Janet Kraus.
    Imagine If Podcast Hosts from left to right: Vicki Riskin, Cleo Carney, Ally Giebutowski, Janet Kraus.

    Transcript

    Hosts: Victoria Riskin, Janet Kraus, Ally Giebutowski, and Cleo Carney
    Guest: Liz Cicchelli

    Liz Cicchelli: Big agricultural farms around us — they're not trying to grow organically, and I understand why. They are not growing ingredients; they are growing commodities. We don't grow commodities. We grow ingredients. And what we grow on Granor Farm is utilized in everything we do, from our farm store to our dining program, to our grain program and spirits, to our farm camp. Granor is available to the community that visits Granor, and it comes in a lot of different forms.

    Victoria Riskin: Hi everyone. Welcome back to the Bluedot Living podcast, where we imagine if people were actually making progress on climate change because they are. Every episode we talk to great people in the trenches doing big and small things to make a difference. I'm going to turn it over to Cleo to introduce our next guest.

    Cleo Carney: Imagine if every farm in America was a regenerative farm and every farmer was dedicated to building community and caring for their land. We get to imagine that reality today with our guest, Liz Cicchelli. Liz is the co-founder and co-owner of Granor Farm, which is a 400-acre certified organic and regenerative farm in Three Oaks, Michigan.

    Believe it or not, these 400 acres came from just 10 acres of soil that she and her family transformed nearly 20 years ago. Now it has a farm-to-table restaurant, a distillery, and a community-supported agriculture program. Liz's dream in building this farm was not only to care for the land and bring farming back to its original practices, but also to bring people back together as it once was. In that vein, the farm employs over two dozen full-time workers and offers educational programs for children, raising the next generation of regenerative farmers, or just people who care about nature and where their food comes from. They also host seasonal dinners that bring people closer to the land and one another. One thing that's really important to note for Liz is her background in nonprofit work and social justice; she was involved with Human Rights Watch and Partners In Health. I think that just shows how much of a caring person she is and how she brings that care to everything she does, including Granor Farm.

    Janet Kraus: Very cool.

    Ally Giebutowski: Shall we dive in?

    Victoria Riskin: Who wants to hang out with Liz and interview her? Of course I do. I probably should; I always think I should do all of these!

    Janet Kraus: Yeah, that’s what I was going to say, Vicki.

    Cleo Carney: I do think Janet might be well-primed to interview Liz, just because she understands what it's like to be in the throes of entrepreneurship and how difficult it can be. I think it would be very interesting to have that perspective, but that's just my take.

    Janet Kraus: Well, thank you. In fact, I was thinking about it from that perspective because she is clearly an entrepreneur. To start with 10 acres and get to 400 acres — I want to know that story and how that happened. The other part that sparked my interest was how she's really thinking about this not just as regenerative farming, but also building a sense of community because that is what is needed so desperately today.

    The thing I love about anybody who is a climate warrior is that the solutions are local. The localness of it creates, by definition, people working together toward a common goal, which is what I love in general in life and what I think the world is yearning for. Furthermore, I want to get some tips on how to do that, because that's what we're doing here at Bluedot: creating a sense of community. So we're hosting dinners … sorry, I'm going on. I'm clearly excited about her.

    Victoria Riskin: I have to add a little twist for why I should interview her. I love clean, healthy, good food. Cleo, you and I have talked about food so much. I don't know, maybe you should do this because you're a wonderful cook.

    Janet Kraus: This one feels like Cleo because Cleo has done recipes, and the whole regenerative farming thing is kind of her bag. And actually, sorry to butt in one last time, Ally, there is the sustainable farm at your school that you were talking about getting involved in.

    Victoria Riskin: Oh!

    Ally Giebutowski: I was very…

    Victoria Riskin: Now I don't know who to vote for.

    Ally Giebutowski:…excited about that.

    Victoria Riskin: OK so let's take a vote. Maybe we better just do it the old-fashioned way. Write it down. OK, everybody, let's see who we have. Can you read that?

    Cleo Carney: I knew Janet!

    Victoria Riskin: Alright, Cleo and Janet.

    Janet Kraus: I love it, ladies. We'll report back. It'll be fun, Cleo.


    The Interview

    Janet Kraus: Hello, Liz. We're so happy that you've said yes to us, and we're really, really excited to meet you today and speak to you as we are here at Bluedot Living “Imagine If.” Imagine if all farmers decided to approach the growing, harvesting, and sharing of food the way you do at Granor Farm. Cleo and I are really excited to talk to you today to learn about how you and your team have returned to a way of life in which farming and farmers and community members are in close connection with each other, investing in farming practices that lead to better soil, better food, healthier people, and better communities. Could you, in your own words, describe yourself?

    Liz Cicchelli: Sure. I was born and raised in downtown Chicago. I have spent most of my life growing up here other than school in Wisconsin. My summers were spent in Michigan, about 80 miles outside Chicago, so I view myself as a Chicagoan, as well as somebody who was raised in Michigan. I'm married and I have two fabulous daughters, both who live on the East Coast. Granor Farm, which we're going to talk about today, is actually named after them. Our older daughter's name is Grace, which is the “GRA,” and our younger daughter's name is Eleanor, and the “NOR” in Granor is from her name. They have been a part of this project since the get-go.

    Cleo Carney: Well, it's lovely to hear about some East Coast people because I myself am currently living on the East Coast and love it here. I'm in Boston. It's lovely to meet you. As Janet mentioned, I'm Cleo Carney. Before we get started, I want to say the person behind Cleo is very interested in sustainability and food systems, especially how we can reduce food waste. I've done work with another organization on limiting food waste, so I'm really interested to hear about how Granor Farm works toward envisioning a future of a sustainable and more delicious food supply chain. From my research, I understand you and your husband have not always been farmers, which gives you a very interesting angle that our listeners will love to hear because there's something in your story they can relate to. Can you tell us about the story behind Granor Farm, not just the name, and what in your life led you to pursue this vision?

    Liz Cicchelli: Sure. I spent most of my young adult life and childhood in Michigan. I introduced my husband even before we were married to the area, and we started visiting with my family. My husband is a real estate developer and lawyer, but he grew up in Stillwater, Minnesota. His mom co-founded a children's school called The Children's Farm. It still exists today, and it is a preschool for children under the age of five. They learn about counting, reading, and independence through the life cycles of farming. His mom, Regina, co-founded that program, so he grew up with a little bit of a farming background and co-ops.

    His father moved to the United States from Italy at the age of 35. Rob grew up in a household that really valued good, homemade food. You only ate the food that was available at that time of year, so they did a lot of canning and preserving. In 2006, Rob came home and said, “I think we need to start investing in farm property in Michigan and I want to start a farm.” I was like, “What? What are you talking about? We live in downtown Chicago. Our kids go to school in Chicago. What's this vision?”

    It really was because we're both philanthropically involved with nonprofit organizations grounded in education, global health, and human rights. We really believe in good food and in finding resources for good-tasting food. That's kind of how it started. I'll be honest with you. I will tell you right now, I'm not a farmer. I am somebody who supports and values the role of the farmer in agriculture and education. We recruited my cousin, Jesse Rosenbluth, who had recently graduated from college, to help launch Granor Farm. He moved onto the property. Granor Farm at the time was a very small farmhouse from 1910; there were two small garden buildings and 10 acres that had been leased out to a local farmer who had thousands of acres and was growing either winter wheat or soybeans on the property. That's where it started. It was truly with our family members and this vision of bringing back farming from an organic perspective into the community, with a focus on what good food should really taste like and understanding how hard it is to produce.

    Cleo Carney: That's fascinating.

    Liz Cicchelli: It was very family-driven.

    Janet Kraus: Right down to the name. So you're living in Chicago, you've decided to buy 10 acres in Michigan, and you recruit your cousin. When your husband came home and said he was thinking we should be investing in farmland, was that an investment decision or was that heart-driven? Or was it some beautiful combination of the two?

    Liz Cicchelli: I would say it's a combination of the two initially, but mostly driven by the fact that we really do believe in giving back to your community and supporting your community. We've been doing it in a lot of different ways since we met each other over 30 years ago. This was a leap because we had never discussed it; it was really just an idea out of the blue.

    Cleo Carney: I am curious: how long did it take from the moment he came home and said “we should do this” for you guys to actually do it?

    Liz Cicchelli: Not long. He had already been scoping out some property. If you know anything about a real estate developer, they're always looking at property or buildings. He had been spending some time researching and found this house and property. It was the perfect size for us to start. When we launched Granor Farm, the property was not certified organic. It had been part of a big ag program leased by another big ag farmer in the area, who was incredibly supportive.

    Janet Kraus: Oh, great. That's always so interesting when you discover the “boogeyman.” When you get close to them, they do things because of history, but they're supportive of new people coming in to do new things. I'm happy to hear that.

    Liz Cicchelli: My cousin at the time was 23 years old. To have a young man reach out to an established, multi-generational farmer and say, “Hey, I want to start farming and I want to turn this land into an organic program” doesn't happen a lot today. There was incredible support from the get-go. When we started to till the property for the first time, this farmer came out and did it for us with his enormous equipment. Our farm is a community of young people who've decided to make farming a priority in their lives and live in a small-town community in southwest Michigan. They have been, in many ways, embraced by a lot of the farmers in the area who have been there for many generations.

    Cleo Carney: Hmm.

    Janet Kraus: That's fascinating. You started with 10 acres. Can you describe for me what you thought the vision was at that point, and then tell me what it's grown into? Is the mission different today?

    Liz Cicchelli: I would say the mission of Granor has been consistent. We don't grow commodities; we grow ingredients. What we grow on Granor Farm is utilized in everything we do, from our farm store to our dining program, to our grain program and spirits, to our farm camp program for children ages 5 to 10. Anything that isn't used is composted on the property or fed to the chickens. It's really about what we grow at Granor being available to the community that visits, and it comes in a lot of different forms. That hasn't changed. We are about growing good ingredients that either we can develop into something for our visitors, or for you to take home and appreciate at your own table. Some would say we have a farm-to-table program and we do, because it starts at the farm, but it can go to many different tables.

    Janet Kraus: It is not just the table that's there on the property. Before you tell me where you've gone in terms of size and scope, I had read that one of the things core to all of this was that you really wanted to improve the soil and leave the land better than when you started. Was that central, and is that still central to your mission?

    Liz Cicchelli: Absolutely. We started out with soil that was not organically treated. I don't really know if chemicals were used on that property, but it was not certified organic. We worked closely with Michigan State University, constantly testing our soil. We still do that. If there's something going on in the field that we don't totally understand, we send soil samples to our partners at Purdue or Michigan State. So it's not only ensuring that we're doing the right stuff with the soil on-site, but we partner with a lot of other organizations and institutions who are also trying to improve the soil. Not only the soil — we also work with a lot of heritage grains that we get from other sources that are not readily available. We're re-establishing them in the marketplace. That has been a very rewarding experience, and sometimes, boy, that didn't work!

    Janet Kraus: Lots of trial and error. Could you share what you see as the benefits of improving the soil? There are ripple effects to better soil. Could you unpack what it means to strengthen the soil?

    Liz Cicchelli: Better soil helps you deliver better products, better produce that is healthier and more sustainable over time. For example, we've had problems in the past with Brussels sprouts; for whatever reason, we just couldn't get them to grow in our climate and our soil. Working really closely with our partners and through trial and error, we've improved the soil. I can't personally tell you what they put in it, because that's not my expertise, but we now have beautiful Brussels sprouts on the farm. A lot of it is trial and error. As soon as you get it organic, that’s great, but that’s not the end.

    Janet Kraus: That's the beginning, right?

    Liz Cicchelli: That's the beginning. There's your foundation. Now, what other nutrients do you need to help that soil grow better ingredients?

    Cleo Carney: What's clear to me from this conversation and from researching Granor is that there are huge benefits to farming this way. But as someone who's studying economics and realizes so much of the world comes down to this, I want to ask about scaling. Do you think these practices can feasibly be done at scale? What are some of the challenges you've found in your growth from 10 acres to now?

    Liz Cicchelli: I'll give you an example of a challenge we've had at Granor in the last few years. We started out with 10 acres, and those original 10 acres are still there. We've expanded. I think we own up to 50 or 60 acres now. Then we expanded by a lot and leased property to farm in the area. People reached out to us saying, “I have farm property; would you be interested in growing organically on it?” We expanded up to over 400 acres with the leased partnerships. We used that property for our grain program — corn, beans, oats, wheat, rye, etc. — thinking it would support our baking program and spirits program.

    What happened is a couple of things. The economy of farming and the impact of tariffs on soybeans and corn hit us hard. Then we looked at our spirits and baking programs and realized we were growing way too much to serve what the farm was able to produce. We've spent a lot of time looking at not only how much we're producing, but what we are winning or losing with that production from an economic perspective. Also, those properties are not right on Granor Farm property, so we have labor that has to go to and from these sites. Is it worth our while? Over the last couple of years, we've significantly scaled back how much property we are leasing. Another example is our vegetable program. How much do we actually need to grow to support the farm store, dining, and distilling? One year we could be selling so much, and another year it's not as strong. A lot of that is controlled by outside forces we can't control, like the economy.

    Cleo Carney: Interesting. So it seems like the tough spots with scaling have been not actually the growing, but being able to refine the products and the demand side, which is often about the wider macroeconomics.

    Liz Cicchelli: We have some fields where we grow Bloody Butcher, a type of corn. Not a lot of farms grow it organically and are successful with it. We have interest from outside programs, specifically distilleries, who want our corn. But now we're saying, “Wait a minute, maybe Granor should be utilizing that for Granor and the community around Granor.” As we've gotten better at farming, it gives us room to make better decisions on how close we can keep it to Granor versus going far away with it.

    Janet Kraus: In the same vein of scalability, since it's clear you've been building a name for yourself in this part of Michigan, do you find other farmers reaching out to learn from you? Are there partnerships you're investigating?

    Liz Cicchelli: I wish. I'll be honest, I wish. I would say the big agricultural farms around us, absolutely not. They are not trying to grow organically, and I understand why. They are not growing ingredients; they are growing commodities. We live in a huge commodity-driven farm area. Both have a role to play. Because they aren't adapting, what Granor is doing is not a negative, in my opinion. We learn from both. I've grown up going to southwest Michigan. When I first went there, there was a donut shop, a five-and-dime, and the beach. The scale was so much smaller. That community has really changed over the last several decades, especially since COVID.

    Separate from Granor Farm, I am very involved in global health and equity in parts of the world where there is such poverty. The ability of those communities to rise above it and collaborate is incredible. Sometimes I think those of us who are in a different situation would benefit from seeing more of that.

    Cleo Carney: I'm doing a minor in global health and public policy. Whenever I'm in courses related to that, you realize how trivial your problems are and how so little can change people's lives. Perspective is something more people need to be exposed to.

    Liz Cicchelli: That happens at the farm. Over the years we had an internship program for young adults. They’d come saying they want to be farmers and talk about the romance of it. But when it came to being out in those fields for eight hours in the heat, they didn't last very long. They didn't realize how hard work it is to grow that beautiful tomato or those wheats. We had to stop that program because we couldn't find people who wanted to do it. So we work with the government on an H-2A agricultural program. We have a team of people who come in. They've been with us now for seven years and they are integral to the success of the farm. Those are evolutions we’ve had to roll with. At peak season, we have about 32 to 35 people working for us full-time. During the winter, it comes down quite a bit.

    Janet Kraus: You actually just gave us exactly the bridge we wanted to walk. We were going from the economics of farming to the ripple effect of what you do. Where you're taking us is broader: the impact of Granor Farms on the community and the diversification of the economy. The food system in place is powerful. Take us down that path, because clearly that feels like the place where you feel you've had the most impact.

    Liz Cicchelli: I am still in awe of what's going on in our community in southwest Michigan. First, the number of young people moving into the area to raise families and launch small businesses grounded in good quality ingredients. I see it in wine shops in Three Oaks, in an unbelievable pizza business, and in restaurants and wineries. We partner with a couple of wineries in the area; they source the grapes for us, and we work on those blends together. We now have a whole line of Granor wine that is all grown in Michigan, and it's really good. These are young couples launching these businesses. You see it in farming with poultry and dairy. There's a ripple effect. I'm not going to say Granor caused it, but it is establishing itself as a small industry in that area.

    Janet Kraus: What is so amazing about that is the way you think about scale is different. If a bunch of people see the same thing and build something locally and interdependently, you have this growing “scaling” of partners together to make a community more vibrant, healthier, and happier. It doesn't mean everybody has to become big; it just means they become strong in their success together.

    Liz Cicchelli: You take a step back and see what's opening up and who is doing it. There are shared practices for sure. One of the driving factors for why we have Granor is to create an environment and community where people can establish a career in farming, dining, or hospitality. My husband and I are very involved, but Granor Farm is as successful as it is because of our team.

    Janet Kraus: I'm now visualizing Granor Farm in a different way. In Traverse City and north of there, there’s a very similar thing going on — organic farms that are the rooting connection for vibrant food and wine commerce.

    Liz Cicchelli: Traverse City is further along than we are in the Three Oaks area, but it's coming. We've partnered with people like Iron Fish, which has an amazing distilling program up there; they helped us as we started to think about our whiskey and bourbon. We launched Granor Dry Gin this year, our first vermouth, and a rye whiskey and bourbon. We've done an Amaro, and we’re going to have a second one in the spring of 2026. We have red and white wine, sparkling, and a rosé.

    Cleo Carney: You've mentioned several different things that Granor does. Can you give our listeners an overview? If I went to visit your farm, what could I engage in?

    Liz Cicchelli: Granor offers a variety of programs. There's the farm store. During peak season, Thursday through Sunday, you can purchase any of our produce and prepared foods. We do partnerships with cheese people and meats. You could literally prepare an entire meal out of our farm store. Then there's our dining program, which we call “Taste of Granor.” It's a ticketed event on Friday and Saturday evenings in a working greenhouse we built during COVID. In the middle of the growing product is our dining program. You sit at communal tables with up to 60 people, and every weekend it is a different menu driven by what our team is harvesting that particular week. The growers meet with the dining team and say, “Here's what you can expect,” and then the dining team develops the menu. I have no idea what the menu is week to week, so when I go to dinner, I don't even know!

    Janet Kraus: That would be so wonderful for both a chef and a participant. You could come back every weekend and never have the same meal twice. That’s so cool.

    Liz Cicchelli: Yeah. We also have Farm Camp. We just finished our 14th season of Farm Camp for children 5 to 10 years old. We have about 45 kids. It’s based in a grain silo.

    Cleo Carney: Yes, I know what those look like. I remember math equations where I had to work out the circumference of one.

    Liz Cicchelli: Oh, that's a good one! We worked with our architectural team and bought a grain silo, and that is now a building that hosts all of our educational programs and Farm Camp. We call it the schoolhouse. We do that in the summer for children, and we launched classes this year for young adults and adults, ranging from knife skills to pie crusts to barbecue. And then our next biggest one is distilling. But at the end of the day, we wouldn't have anything at Granor without our growing program. It’s our team of vegetable, fruit, and flower growers that really makes Granor work.

    Janet Kraus: When you explain it, it just feels so healthy and nourishing. Just getting your hands in the soil and being around things that are growing is a good feeling, especially with screens and AI and all that stuff. Getting back to living in a community with people around plants feels amazing. I think I want to be 10; I think I want to go to camp.

    Liz Cicchelli: We've had a lot of people say that! That's why we actually launched some adult programming and classes. I have one story that was a real “aha” moment for us this year. At the original farmhouse, we added a contemporary kitchen and dining program. Around it was a white fence that enclosed the farm yard. We took the fence down and added a play garden, mostly for our campers. With those two things, we found that more people were coming to the farm and staying. They would come on Saturday morning, buy from the farm store, and stay in our farm yard with a cup of coffee or a cocktail. Their kids played in the garden and they made it an experience for themselves.

    Janet Kraus: Are they locals or people traveling?

    Liz Cicchelli: Most of them are traveling from South Bend, St. Joe [St. Joseph, Michigan], or Detroit. Marketing and social media are becoming a full-time job at the farm, which they haven't been in the past. We used to go to St. Joe and Chicago for farmers markets, but we found the economics didn't make a ton of sense. It was also counter to being supportive of your local environment. We made a decision: People need to come to Granor to experience it. We're not going to become a “mobile farm,” so to speak.

    Cleo Carney: And do you still have other family members involved in the farm?

    Liz Cicchelli: Our daughters are still involved. The Farm Camp was actually their idea. When they were little, we would drive 30 minutes to Niles for them to attend a farm camp at Bertrand Farm. After we had our farm for about a year, our older daughter, Grace, said, “Mom, why don't we just start our own farm camp at the farm?” I thought it was a great idea. I reached out to my Aunt Vicki, who was a preschool teacher in Chicago for many years, and asked if she wanted to launch it. Her son Jesse helped us launch the farm itself. Our first year was mostly good friends and their kids. Now it has evolved into 225 campers every summer. Many of our counselors were campers in the past. Granor has been the source of a lot of college essays over the years! It’s created a great community.

    Cleo Carney: That's the perfect segue into what we ask every guest: imagining the future. You have shaped the lives of many people of future generations through the camps. But if you had a magic wand, what would be your “Imagine If?” What future do you envision?

    Liz Cicchelli: I hope collaboration across different perspectives becomes embraced in a way that I feel has been lost. At Granor Farm, we collaborate with people and programs that come at things very differently from different experiences, political points of view, backgrounds. But at the end of the day, we are working to achieve a similar goal, which is a good product that is of use to the community at large. I would love for that to happen across a lot of different playing fields. I hope we come back to those partnerships and collaboration in a way that isn't so antagonistic.

    Janet Kraus: That is a beautiful imagination. The more all of us can imagine how to collaborate better with people across different platforms and backgrounds, the world will be a better place. I imagine you see that a lot in southern Michigan — people with different perspectives working together to create a great product.

    Liz Cicchelli: I hope for the long term, for the next generations to come.

    Cleo Carney: Coming back to our common ground, whether it be physical or metaphorical.

    Liz Cicchelli: Exactly. It's harder today to break through the noise.

    Janet Kraus: This has been great, Liz. Really inspiring. It makes me want to take another trip to Michigan to experience Granor Farm; it sounds magical.

    Cleo Carney: Thank you so much for your time.

    Liz Cicchelli: You are welcome anytime. We would love to have people visit Granor. Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to share our story.

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