OUR FARM STORY

Every farm has a story. Ours is one of heritage, patience, and a shared dream that took years to come together.

 

Two Paths Toward the Same Dream

 

Joshua grew up in Kendallville, Indiana, on a family farm where his earliest memories were made riding on the tractor beside his Grandpa Nathan. As a boy he helped feed cattle, milk cows, and learn the rhythms of farm life. Those experiences planted a seed that never left him.

By the time he was a teenager, Joshua had already begun building something of his own. He started a herd of beef cattle raised on pasture, baled hay for neighbors, and worked at the local feed store. Hard work and self-reliance were simply part of life.

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His career later took him in a different direction. Joshua attended welding school, worked welding pipe, and eventually started a custom metal fabrication company. He later became a senior site manager overseeing automated warehouse installations across the country. But no matter where life took him, the dream of starting a farm never faded. For years he searched for the right place to put down roots, yet the right opportunity never quite appeared.

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Hollie’s story began right here in New Boston, Michigan, where farming runs deep in her family’s history. As a child, she worked alongside her father Robert and her uncle Charles, helping with field work and maintaining equipment for Helwig Bros. Farm. She also spent time working at a local produce farm, learning firsthand how to plant, weed, harvest, and serve customers at a roadside stand. Those early experiences shaped her understanding of farming not just as work—but as a way of life.

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Hollie later studied business in college, planning to become an entrepreneur. After several years working at an accounting firm, she realized something important: while she enjoyed business, her heart was still in agriculture. In 2017 she purchased the remaining ownership interest in 34 acres of farmland that had been inherited by her and her siblings. She had the land and the vision—but she was still waiting for the right partner to build that dream with.

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When the Right Time Finally Came

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In December of 2021, Joshua and Hollie met. What they discovered almost immediately was that they shared the same vision: a life rooted in family, faith, hard work, and farming. They were married the following spring, and together they began building what would become Heritage Farms New Boston.

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Their farm is built around a simple idea: bringing old-fashioned farming values back to the land. They focus on growing heirloom crops, stewarding the soil through regenerative practices, and producing food with integrity and care.

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A Legacy That Began Over a Century Ago

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While the land that Heritage Farms New Boston sits on today is not part of the original Helwig homestead, it is still deeply connected to the Helwig family’s long history of farming in the New Boston community. In 1917, Hollie’s great-grandfather, August Helwig, immigrated to New Boston and purchased a 40-acre farm on Bell Road. That farm was later operated by her uncle, Emil Helwig, who established Helwig Dairy. Hollie’s grandfather, Edward Helwig, later purchased land on West Road where he established a farm that raised thousands of Leghorn hens. He delivered fresh eggs to families throughout New Boston and the Downriver Community, even as far as Eastern Market in Detroit. In 1975, her Father, Robert Helwig and Uncle Charles Helwig established Helwig Bros. Farm. They purchased their father’s farm on West Road where they set up operations. They farmed over 2,100 acres of land throughout New Boston, and the surrounding communities, raising corn and soybeans. In 1985, Robert and Charles purchased additional farmland from Gladys Otter. Today, that very land is the home of Heritage Farms New Boston.

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Continuing the Heritage

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Joshua and Hollie are continuing a farming legacy that stretches back generations while also building something new. Their focus is on heirloom varieties, regenerative soil practices, pastured eggs and poultry, and producing food that reflects the care and stewardship that farming was meant to embody.

 

What began as two separate life journeys has become a shared mission:
To cultivate the land faithfully, honor the generations who farmed before them, and provide exceptional food for their community. At its heart, farming is not just about what grows in the fields—it’s about nurturing a legacy, honoring the past, and cultivating a future. Every crop, chicken, and loaf of bread at Heritage Farms New Boston tells that story—a story of land cared for, community nourished, and food grown naturally, sustainably, and with integrity.