Zeeland Farm Services, Inc. (ZFS)

06/05/2026

Congratulations to Craig Zahrt, who carried his last load of soybeans today after 19 years on the road for Zeeland Freight Services.
For almost two decades, Craig has served ZFS and its customers with respect, professionalism, talent between the white lines and, of course, his wonderful sense of humor.
We wish Craig the best of luck as he moves on to the next stage, which we hope is filled with calm waters, long, straight drives down the fairway and just a little bit of Planet Fitness.
Happy Retirement, Craig. It is well deserved.

05/25/2026

Honoring the brave men and women who gave everything for our freedom. Today, we remember their sacrifice and reflect with gratitude.

05/15/2026

We have been hearing rumblings that planting season has begun across Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. With warmer weather on the horizon, planting is about to ramp up fast. Big shoutout to Main Farms LLC for the awesome video!

05/10/2026

05/06/2026

Want to support ag education and enjoy a sweet treat? Head to Culver’s tomorrow, May 7, and donate $1 to receive a scoop of Fresh Frozen Custard. All proceeds benefit local FFA chapters through Culver’s Thank You Farmers Project🍦

05/05/2026

Today we wrap up our recent series highlighting the teams and day‑to‑day work that define who we are at ZFS, just in time for planting season to start! We hope this series helped you learn a little more about who we are and what we do. If you’re still curious about something we didn’t cover, drop your question in the comments and we might feature it in a future post!

Although we couldn’t feature every team, you still got a great glimpse into the inner workings of ZFS and the people who make it all happen: our elevator and scale crew, soy receiving and processing teams, refinery staff, plant and freight maintenance groups and our administrative teams in the office.

We also want to take a moment to express our appreciation for our customers and growers. Your partnership is at the heart of everything we do, and we’re grateful to work alongside you season-after-season.

We all work together to get the job done and to honor the ZFS legacy that has grown strong for more than 75 years.

04/30/2026

The Credit and Collections team at ZFS consists of Laura Petroelje, Alicia Beld, Derek Weenum, Tina VanDyken and Julian Leal. Together, they oversee the evaluation and approval of customer credit, monitor credit activity and ensure the timely collection of outstanding receivables.

Their core responsibilities include assessing customer creditworthiness, setting credit limits, monitoring aging accounts, protecting against fraud and following up on overdue invoices. The team works closely with sales, treasury and accounting to resolve billing issues, negotiate payment arrangements and minimize bad debt. They also manage much of the day-to-day communication with both internal and external customer groups, helping maintain strong and positive customer relationships.

We hope this introduction helps put a face to a name and gives you a better sense of the team supporting these important processes.

04/30/2026

ZFS had the opportunity to host a group of engineering students from Calvin University on Wednesday, and they learned there is more to our operation than meets the eye.
ZFS Engineer Brandon LaRosa gave the students a pretty in-depth look at the soy processing plant and refinery, and they saw up close what it takes to move crops from the field into the food chain.
Thanks to Brandon for spending an afternoon with the students, and thanks to the students for spending some time at ZFS. It was a fun afternoon.

04/28/2026

Meet the ZFS Grain, Meal, Oil and Export Accounting division! This dedicated team is made up of Heather Dabbous, Stephanie Hill, Miranda Bachman, Taylor De Roo, Jennifer Wiersma and Ben Mann, along with their manager Lisa Roelofs.

Our grain accounting team works closely with grain merchandising staff across multiple locations to support not only our merchandisers but our grain customers as well. From issuing checks and processing tickets to handling many behind the scenes details, they’re here to assist however needed. Our meal, oil and export team handles a wide range of responsibilities including issuing certifications, coordinating with dispatch on outgoing loads, checking destinations and ensuring you receive exactly what you ordered.

Many of you have interacted with this team over the phone, and now you can match those familiar voices with the faces behind them. They look forward to connecting with you again in the future.