Overview

• In early 2025, the sudden suspension of USDA grant disbursements sent shockwaves through Washtenaw County’s local food system, halting momentum on projects designed to strengthen year-round food access and support for small farms. One of the most notable setbacks involved Argus Farm Stop, a mission-driven retail hub in Ann Arbor that serves as a critical connector between over 300 local producers and the broader community. Argus had been awarded a $413,480 USDA Local Food Promotion Program grant, with an additional $103,729 in matching funds, to expand its cold storage and distribution infrastructure—essential upgrades to keep local food moving through the winter months.

• Until last year, Bill Brinkerhoff, co-owner of Argus Farm Stop with his wife, Kathy Sample, never sought USDA grants to grow. They only pursued this one at the urging of the USDA during Biden’s term. The application process was arduous, but the possibility of finally being able to have a refrigerated truck for deliveries and provide more year-round support to their farmers and customers made it worthwhile. 

• Washtenaw County’s local food system relies heavily on decentralized, community-based models: small farms, mission-aligned retailers, food hubs, and mutual aid organizations that work in tandem to deliver fresh, locally grown food. When programs like the Local Food Promotion Program are halted midstream, the ripple effects can be profound. Farmers lose critical markets. Storage and transportation gaps persist. And consumers—especially those in underserved communities—see fewer fresh options on shelves. In this case, grant-funded upgrades at Argus were intended not just to serve their retail stores, but to support a wider regional distribution strategy that included wholesale partners, restaurants, and other local vendors.

• This disruption highlights a larger issue: even as community-led food systems gain momentum in places like Washtenaw County, they remain highly vulnerable to shifts in federal policy. The USDA grant wasn’t just a check—it was a catalyst for scaling up infrastructure that supports hundreds of farms and thousands of customers. Without stable, long-term investment from public institutions, the progress made in building a resilient, regional food economy is at risk of stalling.

Argus Farm Stop

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Transcription

David Fair: This is 89.1 WEMU, and food insecurity and farming uncertainty–it’s our topic on Issues of the Environment today. I’m David Fair, and I’m quite certain you’ve noticed higher prices at grocery stores. And if you shop at one or more of the area farmers’ markets, you’re often running into more of the same. Federal budget cuts to the U.S. Department of Agriculture are being passed down and impacting food suppliers and the cost of food. How’s that going to change in the future? Well, we wanted to get a picture of how it will play out locally and what the month to come may bring. Our guest today is Bill Brinkerhoff, who is co-owner of Argus Farm Stop. It serves the community with three locations in Ann Arbor. And, Bill, thank you for making time for us today! I appreciate it!

Bill Brinkerhoff: Yeah! Thank you, David! Thank you for having me on the show!

David Fair: How many area farmers do you work with at the Argus Farm Stop locations?

Bill Brinkerhoff: So, last year, we had over 300 local farms and producers that sell through Argus, and these really represent a wide array. Some are produce farmers, but we also have local meat producers, local artisans producing various coffees and honeys and chips, but the stores, yeah, 100% stocked with these producers.

David Fair: In your interactions with small and family farmers from our area, all those you were working with at Argus Farm Stop, what are the biggest concerns you’re hearing with all of the uncertainty surrounding policy and procedure in the new administration?

Bill Brinkerhoff: You know, that’s a good question. What we’re seeing is the new administration seems to be focusing on the industrial farmers–the funding to continue tariff protection for really large farms is there or the funding help industrial egg producers. Those are coming through. But what we see is the termination, cancelation, delay and ambiguity around all of the local food initiatives that had been well, in a way, over the last decades.

David Fair: So, I think it’s important to understand the impact that smaller-scale and family farms have on our food supply right here in Washtenaw County. How heavily do we rely on this kind of decentralized, community-based model of agriculture?

Bill Brinkerhoff: That’s another good question. I think the ideal food systems kind of have an overlay. The national food supply has certain aspects that are appealing. They generally have generic supply, like low prices. And and there’s a role for that. But what’s also important is this local food infrastructure and community-sourced food has an overlay. And what that provides is, the economics locally, it provides healthy food that really represents what’s produced in your local food shed. And we’re fortunate in Michigan to have one of the best climates for growing local food. We have the ability to grow a huge array of vegetables and produce and fruits, second only to California. And so, it’s one of that, I think, the things in Michigan, in particular, that is important to protect and to grow.

David Fair: And I think it shows in the abundance of farmers’ markets available throughout the county and the region. Are the families and farms that you work with expressing fear of going out of business with all of this uncertainty?

Bill Brinkerhoff: The uncertainty is tremendous. And unfortunately, it’s happening right at the beginning of the growing season.

David Fair: Right.

Bill Brinkerhoff: So, this is when the farms are deciding what they’re going to invest in, what they are going to plant and how much they can rely on the sales that are going to come out of the ground. One example is that cut of the local food funding for schools. That had been a federal program to help bring local healthy food into the school systems, and that’s been entirely eradicated. And so, that immediately makes those farmers uncertain about whether they have sufficient customers for their produce, which, based on an agreement with the government, they had planted and gone forward with all of the effort to produce this food and to have it canceled abruptly right at the start of growing season is pretty especially problematic.

David Fair: Our Issues of the Environment conversation with Argus Farms Stop co-owner Bill Brinkerhoff continues on 89.1 WEMU. And, Bill, you operate in an interesting manner. You’re not a nonprofit, but not a fully commercial enterprise either. You’re designated an L3C. That means you are more of a hybrid kind of business. What does the designation mean in the way you work with the community of growers at your locations?

Bill Brinkerhoff: Sure. We use business practices to achieve a social outcome. Our mission is to grow the local food system, and that’s first and foremost. But unlike organizations that are nonprofit or cooperative, which can also do important things, our designation as an L3C, or a low-profit, limited liability company, lets us pay staff, lets us have great refrigeration, lets us have really a best practice experience for customers, in terms of shopping from these local farms. And as owners of Argus, we don’t take money out of it. It’s a self-sustaining enterprise. And so, the farms at Argus get 70% of retail sales, which is four to five times higher than the national average. Normally, a farmer across the country gets 15 to 20 cents on the retail dollar. And at Argus, they get 70 cents. And we use the 30 cents that remains to run our three locations, pay our staff, and have a great convenient way to patronize these local farms.

David Fair: Last year, Argus Farm Stop sought and was awarded its first USDA grant, and with matching funds included, represented over a half million dollars. What were your plans for the money in terms of investing in this local food economy?

Bill Brinkerhoff: One thing I’ll note is that we had come this far without any grant funding. So, this is a model that communities could start in their area without lots of external funding. But late in the stage, we’re coming up on 11 years in business, the USDA became aware of how powerful kind of a farm stop model is and encouraged us to apply for a local food promotion grant. And so, we applied, and we were awarded last fall with a grant that really had four different goals. One of them was to grow the winter sales of local produce. It’s an especially challenging thing in Michigan to sell local produce January to May when it’s freezing outside. They have an amazing ability to produce products in the winter. The second area was a delivery radius expansion and to get a delivery vehicle that actually some refrigeration. We had bought our first delivery vehicle from U of M during COVID, and it’s been great. But it’s tiny, and it’s been outgrown. The third area is local meat. That’s another huge opportunity for local farms and local customers is to expand the access to meat that’s raised on small farms in humane practices. We have a great selection of this local meat. We wanted to expand what we can offer there. And so, the grant is funding expansion of local meat sales at Argus. And then, finally, just to teach the model. They wanted us to put together materials to just explain how we do what we do and share that with communities across the country.

David Fair: Our Issues of the Environment conversation with Argus Farm Stop co-owner Bill Brinkerhoff continues on 89.1 WEMU. Has the grant been fully realized, or did part of it get frozen?

Bill Brinkerhoff: So, it started off well, and we’ve got a great grant administrator up through Inauguration Day. And then, the train went off the tracks, and we went through weeks and weeks of a story that was frozen and changing. And, clearly, our grant administrator was, I think, frustrated. He couldn’t communicate as well as he could. But it was a top-down, complete reshuffling. And so, it’s a reimbursement grant like many USDA grants. So, we have to outlay the cash first. And then, we apply to get reimbursed. And so, after a few successful reimbursements of some startup expenses last year, things went dark. And so, just in the second half of March, they said our grant has been one that’s cleared and could start moving again. So, we are hopeful because we had committed to all of the infrastructure improvements in December, and the suppliers of the equipment that we had outlaid for were not contingent upon us receiving grant funding, like many farmers across the country. They had put money out of pocket, and then, the reimbursement stopped. So, we’re feeling a little bit better about us. And I think the farmers, if this can go through, there will be a good impact from this grant funding.

David Fair: Well, that is certainly positive, and I love ending on positive notes! I have one more question that may have a positive response. Are there lessons to be learned through all of this turmoil and all of this uncertainty that could result in longer-term solutions that better insulate the local food system in the future?

Bill Brinkerhoff: You know, what’s happening at the federal level is pretty crazy where they’re hollowing out local food systems and really supporting the industrial part of agriculture. I think where we see some hope is that the state level and that, in particular, the Michigan Department of Agriculture is an innovative group and is working to grow our local food system. And so, I think there’s an ability at the local level. For example, the Michigan Department of Agriculture put aside a million and a half dollars to fund additional farm stops across the state. And we’re also working on an innovative way to sell small farm eggs, instead of just relying on the million industrial farm eggs. There could be a way to have local eggs from small farms in a grocery stores across the entire state. So, I think looking to the state and local for the solutions to support local food is a positive avenue.

David Fair: Thank you so much for the time today in sharing your first-person observations and experiences! I think we can all appreciate that!

Bill Brinkerhoff: Thank you very much!

David Fair: That is Bill Brinkerhoff. He is co-owner of Argus Farm Stop, which has three Ann Arbor locations. For more information on today’s topic and for links to the work Bill and his team are doing in the community, stop by our website at wemu.org. Issues of the Environment is brought to you every Wednesday and produced in partnership with the office of the Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner. I’m David Fair, and this is your community NPR station, 89.1 WEMU-FM Ypsilanti. Celebrating 60 years of broadcasting from the campus of Eastern Michigan University!

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