It’s about 33 miles from Minden City to Croswell, but there must be something in the water, because much of what we learned last year about Sanilac County Farm Bureau’s current president seems equally true of another Sanilac standout — new District 6 Director Mike Noll.
That’s a compliment to both leaders, who anchor opposite ends of Sanilac County: Darcy up north by the Huron County line, and Mike in the deep south, near the boundary with St. Clair.
Only months ago, member delegates from across the Thumb chose Noll to represent the five-county region (Huron, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Tuscola) on the Michigan Farm Bureau’s Board of Directors, succeeding St. Clair’s Travis Fahley after his 10-year tenure.
The fourth-generation farmer works alongside his brother Mark outside Croswell, working an always-growing operation started by their great-great-grandfather.
“I’m very appreciative of the start my parents made for us here,” he said. But he also believes that experiencing other options is crucial to making an informed choice about returning home.
That’s why the fifth generation — Noll’s three sons — are already scattered, gaining experience in the outside world, nudged from the nest by a dad who understands the value of perspective before merging back into the home flock.
The family farm is called Noll Dairy for short, but a deep-rooted appreciation for diversification means there’s a lot more going on than daily milk truck visits.
“We’re never done expanding,” he said, referring both to the scale of the operation and the diversity of irons in its fire. “The dairy is not huge, and Grandpa bought the farm next door where the beef cattle are.”
In the ground every year is the standard rotation of Corn Belt classics, regional specialties like sugar beets, niche crops like food-grade soybeans for the Japanese tofu market — and some pickling cucumbers, because why not?
“It’s just our fourth year growing pickles for Gielow,” which has a humming processing facility on the north side of nearby Croswell.
“I enjoy the challenge of doing new things,” he said, and fussy little cucumbers definitely fit that bill.
Year one was a bumper crop, the kind of beginners’ luck that made him wonder what all the fuss was about. But year two was a pie in the face. Subsequent seasons fell somewhere in the middle, between those extremes — successful enough to keep the high-maintenance crop online, at least for now.
“We also do custom farming and put up a lot of feed for a big dairy nearby.”
All this is set against a backdrop of deep Farm Bureau involvement, highlighted by local leadership and participation in legislative activities. He served nine years on the Sanilac County Farm Bureau Board of Directors, terming off in 2018 after five years as county president.
And it’s this involvement — a hand in every reachable pie — where the likeness to Darcy really comes into focus. While his north-end peer is invested in local government and civic groups, Noll presides over the Croswell-Lexington Community Schools’ board, helping shape the future of thousands of local schoolchildren.
“You’ve got to be actively involved in the local community, no matter what,” Noll insists. “You don’t have any course of rebuttal if you’re not involved.”
Equally broad is his understanding of agriculture’s reach, both locally and across the Thumb, arguably the most farm-focused and ag-intensive region in the state.
“All the people tied to this operation — from motor parts to equipment dealers to the local hardware store — without them here, it’d be so much harder to do business,” he said.
“We value them. You have to.”
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