About US
History
The Van Slooten family has been planting conifers since Folkert Van Slooten purchased our little piece of West Olive in 1891.
At that time, Folkert operated a portable saw mill to fund the construction of the homestead. Conscious of the future, Folkert replanted the harvested timber in hopes his children would have access to the same resources when they were ready to take over the farm.
As West Olive and the Van Slooten homestead grew through the generations, land was cleared faster than it could be regenerated. By the 1930s, nearly 50 acres of our farm were in the process of regenerating, and the majority of local timber stands were exhausted.
Although Michigan was not as severely impacted by the dust bowl of this era, driving wind through these now open, sandy areas threatened dune stability along lake Michigan. While not pure sand, our fields are very sandy loam due to our proximity to lake Michigan (about 1 mile), and are no less susceptible to wind erosion.
As a means to combat this erosion, Frank Van Slooten transplanted some mature Scotch pine to serve as a windbreak to reduce the amount of sand blowing into our neighbors fields. A local resident passing by noted the Scotch pine (then new to the area), and liked its form so much he inquired if he could buy one for a Christmas tree. That chance encounter sparked the idea to grow Christmas trees, which did very well in our well-drained sandy soil, as a means to supplement income on the farm.
Today, Vans Pines Nursery has entered into its fourth generation of operation on our same little slice of West Olive. Our focus has shifted from timber and Christmas tree production, to producing genetically superior seedlings for use throughout North America.
By utilizing modern growing technology and techniques, and by adopting a continuous improvement culture, we provide our allied businesses with faster-growing, higher quality planting stock.
