Atwater Farms in Michigan: History, What It Grows, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Atwater Farms of Ubly, Huron County, Michigan, is a six-generation family operation that Michigan Sugar profiled as growing about 4,100 acres of sugarbeets, alongside edible beans and white wheat. Run by brothers Clint and Brad Hagen with about 20 employees, it is a large-scale grower in Michigan's Thumb sugarbeet country.
| Location | Ubly, Huron County, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Founded | Six-generation family farm (founding year not published in the source) |
| Sectors | Sugarbeets; edible beans; white wheat; trucking; cattle |
| Scale | About 4,100 acres of sugarbeets; about 20 employees (Michigan Sugar profile) |
| Why it is elite | Among the largest sugarbeet plantings profiled by Michigan Sugar; diversified into trucking, cattle and drone spraying |
| Ownership | Family-owned; Clint and Brad Hagen with the next generation involved |
| Official website | Michigan Sugar grower profile of Atwater Farms |
History of Atwater Farms
Michigan Sugar describes Atwater Farms as a six-generation farm family, with Clint Hagen as a fifth-generation farmer who runs the operation with his brother Brad. Clint has grown sugarbeets since 1986, when he was 10 years old, so his experience with the crop spans nearly four decades.
The next generation is already involved. Clint's son Dylan works on the farm with his wife Ashley, another son, Cole, helps when not at school and has started a drone spraying business, and Clint's wife Melissa and their children are connected to the operation. That depth of family participation is a large part of why the farm has been able to add enterprises.
What Atwater Farms Grows and Raises
The core of the operation is about 4,100 acres of sugarbeets, supplied to Michigan's sugar processing industry. The farm also grows edible beans and white wheat, a typical Thumb rotation that breaks disease cycles and spreads field work across the year. Michigan Farm Bureau lists dry beans and sugar beets among the state's leading crops and economic contributors.
Beyond cropping, the farm has a trucking business and has recently expanded into cattle. The Hagens employ about 20 people. Cole's drone spraying business shows how younger family members are using new technology to open new services.
How Atwater Farms Makes Money
Sugarbeets
Sugarbeets are the farm's largest planting at about 4,100 acres, according to Michigan Sugar. They are the main revenue crop and anchor the rotation.
Edible beans and white wheat
Edible beans and white wheat add crop diversity and a second and third commodity income stream. They also help match equipment and labor to different parts of the season.
Trucking, cattle and drone spraying
The farm runs a trucking business, has moved into cattle and has a young-family drone spraying business. These sidelines use existing equipment, labor and land and create income that does not depend on a single commodity price.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Atwater Farms
A first lesson is that a large single-crop base works best when it is surrounded by complementary businesses. Trucking fits naturally with hauling beets and grain, and cattle can use forage and byproducts from the rotation.
A second lesson is to give younger family members room to build their own ventures. A drone spraying start-up costs little compared with new land, brings in new skills and can serve neighbors as well as the home farm.
Growing 4,100 acres of sugarbeets is serious business, and anyone who has watched a beet harvest in the Thumb knows the piles can look like small brown mountain ranges. If you enjoy farm satire, farm humor, ranch humor and farm jokes, farm.FM is a gentle way to unwind after a long day of hauling, and no drone is required to find the punchlines.
For context, farm.FM is the nation's first satirical farm site and the home of Tractor Tunes, country music for farmers. Its contributors each keep an archive, and this one is a good sampler of ranch humor and farm jokes.
How to Contact Atwater Farms
Website: https://www.michigansugar.com/?p=4011
Public page listed as the best verified source for this operation, November 2026. No official farm website, address, phone or email was verified; the Michigan Sugar profile is listed instead. Confirm current details with the operation before visiting or placing orders.
Atwater Farms Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Six-generation farm family grows 4,100 acres of sugarbeets - Michigan Sugar profile of Atwater Farms
- Michigan Farm Bureau agriculture facts - State commodity facts including beets and beans
- USDA NASS 2022 Census, Michigan - State farm counts and sales
- USDA FSA Michigan state office - Farm loans and programs
- MDARD Farmland Preservation - Michigan farmland protection program
Atwater Farms FAQ
Where is Atwater Farms?
It is in Ubly, in Huron County, in Michigan's Thumb region.
How much does Atwater Farms grow?
Michigan Sugar reports about 4,100 acres of sugarbeets plus edible beans and white wheat.
Does Atwater Farms have other businesses?
The profile mentions a trucking business, a recent expansion into cattle and a drone spraying business started by a son.
How can I contact Atwater Farms?
No official site was verified. Michigan Sugar and local Huron County agricultural offices are the best starting points.
Atwater Farms combines large-scale sugarbeet production with trucking, cattle and technology sidelines. See the Michigan state guide for the Thumb region's soils and markets, and browse the other Michigan profiles for contrast.