Welcoming the Dawn
In light of the climate crisis, Whatcom County farms embrace sustainability.
Story by MacKenzie Dexter | Photos by Christa Yaranon
Misty winter mornings in the Pacific Northwest settle over the landscape like a thick wool coat, leaving the muddy hills of Whatcom County farmlands slick with dew.
On one particularly cool day in January, roosters at Silver Creek Farm crow from a new perch, watching over their stomping grounds as hens scramble for seeds freshly scattered in rows of sprouting garlic. Ten minutes east at Alluvial Farms, a pregnant pig eats her breakfast, unaware that she’ll welcome 11 new piglets later in the day. At Ten Fold Farm, herds of sheep frolic through an open field, greeting each other with familiarity.
While these farms couldn’t look more different on the same chilly morning, they are connected by one passion: sustainability.
With the rise of climate consciousness, people are looking to adopt more sustainable ways of living. And when 73% of consumers around the world want to change their eating habits to cater to the environment, farmers become the foundation of that change.
Many farms around the nation have been practicing sustainability for decades. But as consumers wake up to the climate crisis and the negative impacts of mass production of goods, small farms are popping up like flowers, ready to serve a burgeoning group of young sustainable eaters.
As consumers wake up to the climate crisis and the negative impacts of mass production of goods, small farms are popping up like flowers, ready to serve a burgeoning group of young sustainable eaters.
Among the many components contributing to climate change, agriculture, including deforestation and other land use, accounts for a third of greenhouse gas emissions. As corporations fail to respond to the agricultural industry’s contribution to climate change, small scale operations are making moves to fill the gap. But while change is possible, the process of going sustainable is complex and operates on economic, social and environmental levels.
According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, environmental sustainability means maintaining soil, using water cautiously, reducing pollution and encouraging biodiversity.
Economic sustainability involves finding ways to support economic growth in a way that won’t harm the environment or stability of a population.
Social sustainability is about actively influencing the greater well-being of a given culture or community.
For Tiffany Bell, co-owner of Ten Fold Farm, all of these factors were integral to her approach.
Since 2015, Ten Fold Farm has sought to provide healthy food and farming education to people in Whatcom County and beyond. The farm grows a variety of Certified Naturally Grown vegetables that are sold at local farmers markets. They also raise and sell USDA beef and pork and pastured eggs and chickens.
Even with years of farming and a foundation of sustainable practices, practicing eco-friendly tactics take time, education and effort.
When the 10-acre farm was purchased, there was minimal organic matter in the soil, meaning a lack of diverse microorganisms that allow a release of nutrients. Bell explains the process of healthy soil as a cycle — one that can be initiated at any point. For her, it is important to work with the land instead of against it.
The cycle begins with bugs and earthworms who break down organic matter and release their nutrients back into the soil. This process makes it easy for plants to absorb those vitamins and nutrients which they, in turn, pass to people. Farm animals are also a vital part of the cycle because they eat the plants too and their waste returns to the ground, fertilizing the soil without the use of artificial fertilizers or harmful chemicals.
Even with years of farming and a foundation of sustainable practices, practicing eco-friendly tactics take time, education and effort.
“Sustainability isn’t something immediate, something that is all or nothing,” Bell said. “Sustainability is something that starts small and grows.”
For Alluvial Farms, being sustainable means using land well. As co-owner Katie Pencke trudges through the mud outside of the barn on a weekend, her boots stick and squelch. She pauses to point to where the land naturally slopes, explaining that the farm uses this to its advantage. The run-off caused by rain runs down the slope away from the nearby creek, fertilizing the grain pasture the pigs feed on.
In the future, Pencke and Alluvial Farms co-owner Matthew McDermott hope to plant a forest of trees to fence off the stream from any potential runoff. Since opening the farm two years ago, the two have consistently done research to discover new ways to incorporate sustainable practices, even during off-seasons.
“[We’re] constantly studying best management practices, research in our region in [the] field of organic and sustainable agriculture, and applying for funding to continue our own research,” Pencke said.
While some sustainable farms require more space, some areas are as small as five acres and are surrounded by neighbors.
Silver Creek Farms is nestled far outside of town and is kept guard by Kai the smiling corgi. Haley Davis and her mother, Meg Delzell, own the farm and live on the property together. They sell a variety of produce to local restaurants and farmers markets.
With a background in biology, Davis has a passion for experimentation in farming and often discovers new ways to practice sustainability.
The pair use cover crop tactics as a way to get nitrogen and carbon into the dirt in order to improve the soil. Plants that they aren’t selling, such as rye and winter wheat, are grown in order to pump nutrients into the ground. They also use hoses that release water in precise places so they waste less water than a sprinkler would.
While sustainability and eco-conscious practices are crucial to these small farms, the biggest obstacle is capital.
The majority of Americans are under the assumption that buying food from large grocery stores is not only convenient but more affordable. Yet, 60% of individuals who frequent farmers markets in low-income neighborhoods said they found that the price of food is more affordable than grocery stores.
And there is more to the cost of food than just the price it is retailed at.
For Ten Fold Farm, everything is paid for out of pocket. While they want to expand the farmland and build a new barn, the risk of a bad growing season or not selling enough is too big.
“We’d love to go faster, and we have clients that want us to grow faster, but we have chosen to grow at a slower pace so that way we can be fiscally responsible,” Bell said. “And also [be] good stewards of the land.”
Pencke of Alluvial Farms said that learning the skills of running a new small business has come with challenges and lessons.
“It’s also a very capital-intensive business,” Pencke said. “So there are some businesses you can start up with very little capital, but a farm business and especially one where you’re […] transforming 45 acres with nothing on it [is] something you need a lot of dollars upfront.”
Another challenge Davis said, is marketing her different produce.
“I grew some tomatoes [and] I don’t have anyone to sell it to,” Davis said. “That’s been the hardest for me is, is that hustle as a business person, to try to find someone who wants to buy them.”
While capital can make sustainable farming a hard business to run, that doesn’t make it impossible.
“Farming isn’t something that people go into to get rich, the majority of us do it because we love growing food for people,” Bell said.
Bell said when the larger community learns how to grow their own crops, such as a tomato plant or herbs, they better understand the enjoyment farmers gain from their work.
“I think a lot of people would appreciate having that experience because then they can see that tomato in the store and realize, like, this tomato took this many hours to grow,” Bell said. “And so then they get a better appreciation for that.”
Whether it’s a farmer, consumer or new gardener, farming has a simple goal: sustainability and community.
According to the Farmers Market Coalition, local retailers like farmers markets, give back more than three times their sales to the local economy. In 2018, $24 million was spent at farmers markets, giving access to low-income community members and revenue for farmers.
Pencke says that supporting local sustainable farms will help people feel more connected to the environment and where their food comes from as well as support the generations to come.
“Farming sustainably is a lot of work, but the rewards are healthier living and an ever-expanding base of experiences,” Bell said. “Being scared is a perfectly normal emotion, but with knowledge, experience and exposure those fears reduce. Who isn’t initially afraid of something new and unknown?”
