Long Ears, Olive Trees, and Lots of Apple Cider Vinegar

A visit to Harper’s Ridge farm on Old Mission Peninsula

By Molly Cox | May 10, 2025

Spring is in the air, and we are all eager for visits to northern Michigan’s many farmers markets and farm stands. Our abundance of fresh, local products and produce is one of the many perks of our region, but we rarely take time to understand and appreciate the work farmers do to get our food to the table.

The challenges of maintaining a profitable farming operation are evident by the shrinking number of farms in the U.S. According to the latest census data from the Department of Agriculture, the number of farms in the U.S. fell while the average age of U.S. farmers rose. Too often when a farmer is ready to retire, there is no one ready to take over the operation.

There is good news however; the number of new farmers is on the rise, with those who have farmed for 10 years or less increasing to over one million. Two of those farmers are Cassandra Rossbach and Jeff Kane, who started Harper’s Ridge Farm in 2016 when they moved to Old Mission Peninsula from Chicago. As Kane says, “We wanted a slower life where we could create a more fulfilling life at home rather than seek it elsewhere.”

We visited the farm to talk to the couple about their businesses, how the community can support our local farmers, and the future of their farm.

Love and Vinegar

Harper’s Ridge is named after the couple’s young daughter, and the property includes a historic barn, built in 1906. It is a well-known landmark along Old Mission’s Center Road, and relatives of the original owners still visit on occasion.

Along with being the family homestead, Harper’s Ridge is home to a small menagerie of geese, chickens, dogs, and donkeys. “We love our animals, and animals in general, so they are pretty spoiled and have free range of the property much of the year,” Kane says.

When the duo adopted their first two donkeys, a mother-daughter bonded pair, they fell in love with the long-eared equines. Now, four more mini donkeys have joined the herd (more on them below!).

“People are always asking if they can come visit the donkeys, pet the donkeys, brush the donkeys, etc. The community is really interested in what we are doing with them and love seeing them out in the field,” Rossbach says.

In honor of those sweet creatures, the farm’s main brand is Little Long Ear Provisions, which focuses on various types of artisanal aged vinegars. The farm’s core crop is apples to make their popular apple cider vinegar. The unique qualities of the vinegar come from the types of apples they use and from their aging process, which takes at least a year before bottling.

Being relatively new farmers, Rossbach and Kane have done a lot of experimentation to find what works and what sells. They initially planned to produce wine and hard cider when they bought the farm; however, a happy accident occurred when Kane found a batch of cider in the basement that he had forgotten about that had transformed into a surprisingly delicious vinegar.

Rossbach was skeptical, but as she tells it, “Jeff was like, ‘this is actually really good vinegar—try it!’ and it was. It was much more complex, smooth, and apple-forward on both the palette and the nose than the vinegar I had tried before. We knew then we had something special.”

Going Organic

Rossbach and Kane take their role as farm stewards seriously, even when that means growing those apples and managing the farm with intentional and sustainable agriculture.

“We try not to bring in outside inputs as much as possible and let things work themselves out,” Kane says. “For example, we use all the kitchen scraps, animal manure and bedding, leaves, mulch from the trees on the property, etc. as the ‘feed’ for the property. We try to mimic nature as much as possible.”

Their commitment to sustainability led them to go through the lengthy process to obtain USDA organic certification. Only about 1 percent of U.S. farmland has organic certification, and maintaining it while staying profitable presents even more challenges than conventional farming.

As Kane explains, “I have been on this for over seven years, and I am not seeing crop yields anywhere close to conventional. I think my fruit tastes better and is probably more nutrient dense, but we don’t grow more fruit. So higher costs, more work, and lower yields; you need to build a following and make every apple and pear count as sold.”

An additional challenge is that organic farming is not as well studied as conventional, so there are fewer resources available when organic farmers need advice on how to address issues like crop diseases. Despite the difficulties for farmers, organic farming offers numerous benefits to the land and to consumers, like reduced pesticide exposure, improved soil quality, increased biodiversity, water conservation, and safer, higher quality food.

Kane notes that it’s also important for consumers to understand that consumers can’t just look for a USDA Certified Organic label and think they are getting a sustainable product that helps small and/or local farmers.

“[Big box retailers] sell certified organic mangoes and cherries, but the mangoes were grown in Peru, shipped to Mexico to be processed and flash frozen, then shipped to distribution centers around the U.S. The cherries are shipped from Turkey right here to the Cherry Capital! We have chain grocery stores with Washington apples in plastic bags in the middle of our apple harvest.”

So how can we support our local farmers and ensure we are getting the best products and produce available?

“The best things people can do would be [to] find a farm or two they like and join the CSA—it helps that farm with upfront costs—and visit the farmers markets and try things that are in season that you may not normally eat,” Kane tells us. “You start to lose nutritional value the second that your vegetable or fruit is harvested, so the fresher it is, the healthier and better tasting it is.”

To help increase access to food produced locally, farmers markets participate in state and federal food assistance programs, like accepting SNAP and WIC benefits.

Still Growing

The couple has big dreams for the future of Harper’s Ridge Farm. While they plan to continue to grow their vinegar business, taking out their grape vines has also freed up space for new projects.

One of these will be a “healing garden,” where people can come to the farm by appointment to interact with the donkeys in a tranquil setting. Equine therapy is popular for its physical and emotional benefits, so the mini donkeys’ small size and calm dispositions make them well suited for it.

They are also planning to add an ambitious new crop that is not currently produced in Michigan: olives. Olive trees typically grow in warm climates like the Mediterranean, so the couple is building a greenhouse for a grove of Arbequina olive trees from Catalonia, Spain.

“It’s our favorite type of olive oil, and we actually have 55 gallons bottled from a single source in Spain to ‘pre-seed’ while the trees develop,” Kane explains. “If we can get them to fruit, we will be doing a high density on trellis planting. It’s a really premium olive oil for dipping, drizzling, etc. I think it would go well with our homegrown and handmade vinegars.”

You can find Little Long Ears Provisions products online at donkeyprovisions.com, at specialty food stores around Michigan, or at a farmers market this summer. Look for them on Saturdays at the Sara Hardy Downtown Farmers Market in Traverse City, Tuesdays at the Glen Arbor Farmers Market, and Fridays at Fulton Street Market in Grand Rapids.

TC Spirit Donkeys

TC Spirit Donkeys is the donkey rental arm of Harper’s Ridge. Ollie, Autumn, Yankee, and Doodle are Miniature Mediterranean Donkeys, a breed that originated on the islands of Sardinia and Sicily. They are available for birthday parties, weddings, and any other celebration that needs some extra cuteness.

Donkeys tend to be less skittish than horses, so they don’t mind carrying champagne buckets, delivering presents, and receiving the affection of excited admirers. Here’s what Rossbach has to say about her four-legged friends.

Ollie: Ollie is a two-and-a-half-year-old brown spotted mini donkey. He is very handsome and is the smallest and loudest of the minis. He’s always eager to greet us at the fence for a long hug! 

Autumn: Autumn is a puppy dog around humans and follows us wherever we go. She is a solid, dark brown mini and our youngest female at just 10 months old, but don’t let that fool you. This little lady is by far the bravest of our minis and second in line to our herd leader, Luna. Autumn lets her presence be known everywhere she goes! 

Doodle: Doodle is a two-year-old grey spotted mini donkey. He is the clown of the herd. He’s always making funny faces and in your personal space when it’s time for chores! He will do anything for a pet!

Yankee: Yankee is two years old, and he is a brown spotted mini donkey. He is Doodle’s best friend, and they are bonded for life. He is a leader in his own way and is the serious one; he knows his job and does it well! His favorite pastime is finding a way out of the fence!

Booking information for TC Donkey Spirit Donkeys can be found at donkeyprovisions.com/pages/tc-spirit-donkeys.