Jennifer Berkey is the District 3 Director and has worked for MSU Extension for 28 years, providing administrative oversight for six MSU Extension Offices in Northwest Lower Michigan; and links Benzie County residents to MSU Extension resourses and programs.
Michigan State University Extension programs are open to everyone, and it was created over 125 years ago for noncredit knowledge. District 3 consists of Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Leelanau, and Manistee Counties. The program is funded by state, federal, county, and grant dollars. For every $1 invested yields $6 in other programs and services. In Benzie County, 2024-2025, 190 unique programs were accessed by residents; 1,742 individuals were reached through programming; 23,923 reached by social media.
MSU Extension is best known for agriculture for farming, horticultural, and occupational health. Profitability is the biggest challenge for local growers, and MSU Extension provides farmers with training on budgets and financial planning, boosting production, cash flow, and other aspects of the farming business.
MSU Extension AgrAbility Project is a statewide program that helps farmers with a disability or injury to continue to farm. Farmers/growers have the highest suicide rates. 2024 saw an increase of 1,130 farm stress participants representing a 131% increase. Grant funding assists elder or disabled farmers with specialized equipment and training.
MSU Extension Master Gardeners program is a volunteer outreach that shares a science-based, environmentally sound gardening knowledge that engages citizens and communities to use responsible gardening practices, improve food security, improve community and quality of life, and develop youth through gardening. In Benzie County, 2024-2025, the Master Gardener program provided 546 volunteer hours valued at $18,285. These hours were dedicated to educating residents and preserving the natural resources of Benzie County, which included a diagnostic clinic on the second Tuesday from May-October at the Benzie Library; providing pollinator planters in downtown Frankfort; and hosted Benzie Central Middle School for the SEEDS EcoSchool progam at Mills Community House gardens.
Jennifer Berkey co-founded the Agritourism Summit through the MSU Extension Program which started in May 2024. This event brings farmers, elected officials, and community members from across Michigan to explore how supporting on-farm tourism and small businesses can strengthen rural communities. The first event focused on the Grand Traverse Region with over 250 attendees. The May 2026 event will be in Antrim County and Traverse City that will include farm tours, lectures on planting seeds, and an evening at Flintfields Park, home of the Traverse City Horse Shows.
MSU Extension 4-H Program focuses on developing youth and communities. In Benzie County, there is a collaborative partnership between the Benzie Central Middle School and High School soccer programs that involve 155 youth. This program provides smaller team sizes, age-appropriate fields, develops learning objectives to include sportsmanship, teamwork, soccer skills, and healthy habits. For fundraising, the 4-H Plat Book is available and provides a map of seasonal roads. The 4-H Program also has a livestock program where a youth will buy an animal, raise it, and then sell it. The youth are taught to send out buyer letters and advertise in order to become profitable on their efforts. The 4-H club sponsors horse and dog projects.
Jennifer Berkey did express sadness in the fact that SNAP has been defunded and the MSU Extension can no longer provide services which it has done for 30 years. In Benzie County, a grant for $1,500 provided by MSU Extension to The Gathering Place was able to provide new knives and an updated fruit/vegetable chopper with various cutting/slicing instruments in order to serve a better variety of healthy fruits and veggies to those who visited the center. MSU Extension partnered with BACN for the Red Food Bag Program that delivered food bags twice each month to 20 homebound older adults in Benzie County.
MSU Extension Product Center supports entrepreneurs in Northwest Michigan who are launching or growing businesses in food and agriculture. In Benzie County, 5 businesses received 5 counseling hours, and over $750,000 was earned in combined annual sales, with a total of 16 employees.
If you would like to learn more about the MSU Extension Program, you can find many things through Facebook and other media platforms. Jennifer Berkey is always looking for members in the community to be part of an Advisory Board in Benzie County. If you are interested, please contact Jennifer Berkey at (231) 922-4821. To view Jennifer's presentation, go to this private YouTube video, https://youtu.be/jAFECCfWf2c