Archive for the ‘Farmers’ Category

By Phil Vogelzang

As you leave Chimacum and head south along Beaver Valley on Highway 19, past the sheep farms and pastures of Solstice Farm, Bishop Dairy and Spring Hill Farm, take a right on Embody road, just past the Beaver Valley store. Near the end of the road where a road sign tells you “end of maintained county road” you come across a vegetable row crop operation named Dharma Ridge Farm.  Beep the horn and out tumble Zach Wailand and Haley Olson’s kids, Farryn, age 10, Asa, age 8, and Shai, age 4. They may look typical, but

By Phil Vogelzang

To walk around SpringRain Farm and Orchard in Chimacum, owned by John Bellow and Roxanne Hudson, is to see ambition. And a remarkable amount of vision, coupled with an equal amount of very hard work. It is especially impressive when one realizes they only bought the land and started farming it 3½ years ago. 

by Phil Vogelzang

When she first purchased her 10 acres of Beaver Valley in 2001, Jennie Watkins of Ananda Hills Farm wrote a mission statement.  Her goal was to “live a life that connects me intimately with the earth, food and animals”. A vegetarian at the time, she probably didn’t fully appreciate just how intimately she would become with her animals. But she certainly was intimately connected when I visited her recently to help butcher

by Phil Vogelzang

I recently found Gerald Bishop of the historic Bishop Dairy in upper Beaver Valley working on a recent Saturday morning. He was happy to talk, but seemed a bit distracted, since his main focus was keeping a careful eye on his various nephews and grandkids who were out driving a regular fleet of large trucks and tractors harvesting their first cutting of silage. If you haven’t noticed, the grass in Chimacum is green and lush – ideal for harvesting.  

by Phil Vogelzang

Gloria Brown of the Brown Dairy in Chimacum WA has been a Chimacum resident for over 50 years now. And she’s seen a lot of changes in those years. But one of the most significant in Chimacum will be happening in the next few years, thanks to her plans to sell 50 acres of her historic dairy farm that she and her husband BG, or “Brownie” bought in the early 1950’s and ran till their retirement in the 1990’s.

by Phil Vogelzang

Permaculture:  an approach to designing human settlements and agricultural systems that are modeled on the relationships found in natural ecologies. (wikipedia.org).

Permaculture is exactly what Janet Aubin was trying to explain to me recently as to why she and Jeff Horwath, are doing fewer row crops and instead concentrating on perennials such as

by Phil Vogelzang

A Profile in grass farming: Mystery Bay Farm’s Rachael Van Laanen and Scott Brinton

Walking around these 5 acres of rainswept Marrowstone Island as I did recently on a windy March morning, it’s easy to understand why folks around here are so enthusiastic about Mystery Bay Farm’s fresh chevre and ricotta cheeses. Ever since Rachael Van Laanen and Scott Brinton became full time grass farmers and goat milkers here on the island, people have been talking about, and eagerly buying their cheese.  

By Phil Vogelzang

Kevin Short of Short’s Family Farm in Chimacum doesn’t mind being short. In fact he doesn’t mind it in the least. He just think’s it’s ironic. Ironic because he took the name from his step-dad, Roger Short. And people think he got his…. ahem…… lack of stature from Roger. Only he didn’t. See Kevin’s real last name is Goatz, which he got from his real dad, Phil Goatz, who was tall.