Lyndsay Jacobs is crouching in the dirt.
She studied graphic design and architecture at James Madison University but now spends her mornings like this one, hand-weeding the vegetable beds at Sprout and Blossom Farm near Vancouver Lake.
“It’s hard work, for sure. It’s a labor of love,” she said. “There’s nothing better than being outside connecting through food.”
Jacobs, 27, is one of three young farmers contacted to explore how Clark County’s farming economy is evolving in the face of an aging farmer population, land use laws and renewed interest in locally grown produce.
All three were creatives who found themselves drawn to being stewards of the land and growing food for their community. They’ve all farmed on less than two acres of land for less than two years. And all of them are women.
Washington’s Open Space, Farm and Agriculture Program
The State of Washington created the Open Space, Farm and Agriculture Program to maintain, preserve and conserve adequate open space lands for the production of food, fiber, and forest crops.
Under the program, if a land owner is using their land to produce and sell agricultural products for commercial purposes, they can apply to have their land valued based on the current use value; instead of, the “true and fair value.”
This means the land will be valued for its agricultural output; as opposed to, its market value. The agricultural output value will be significantly lower than the value of the land to a developer. This lower land value results in lower property taxes.
—Rachel Pinsky
These are their stories.
Lauren Ruhe — Starting Out
Lauren Ruhe earned a degree in ceramics from Oregon College of Art and Craft. Her path to farming started a few years ago with her own garden plot. She found that she really enjoyed growing her own food.
Ruhe, 26, grew up in Clark County on a large property where her mother grew food for their meals. This experience taught her to, as she said, “taste the difference between homegrown stuff and stuff from the grocery store.”
Being able to grow her own food was an exciting and powerful experience for Ruhe. She also believed in using organic methods to farm. Hoping to learn more, Ruhe searched the area for volunteer opportunities. Fortunately for her, she found April Thatcher of April Joy Farm.
Ruhe said, “April was one of the first people I contacted. I wanted to work on a certified organic farm because that’s important to me.” The timing was perfect. Thatcher, a pioneer in organic farming in Clark County, had just begun an apprenticeship program to train new farmers.
The apprenticeship at April Joy Farm lasted a year and a half. During that time, Ruhe worked through the seasons with April and Brad Thatcher — learning about crop rotation, up-potting, harvesting and the business of running an organic farm. Though the apprenticeship is formally ending, the Thatchers will remain her mentors and help Ruhe with the paperwork for getting her farm certified organic and any other challenges that arise.
Finding land for her farm has more difficult than expected, Ruhe said.
“We were planning on purchasing land in Clark County. We were searching for land this summer, but things are so expensive,” she said. “I was really hoping if I networked enough, I would find a farmer with a lot of acreage to split off a little section of land for us to buy.”
She also didn’t want to be rushed and pick land that wouldn’t pass the organic farm certification process (if land has been sprayed with chemicals, it takes three years of rest for it to be eligible for certification). For the upcoming growing season, Ruhe rented a piece of land on her parents’ property. “My parents have been on their land for over 20 years and they haven’t sprayed anything on it.”
The Ruhes plan on applying for a loan through Northwest Farm Credit Services’ AgVision program for young farmers while working on their rented land and searching for land to buy. Ruhe’s marketing plan is to sell produce at farmers markets and local grocery stores. She would eventually like to have a CSA.
Kelly Peters and Patrick Dorris of Flat Tack Farm
Kelly Peters has a simple explanation for why she, and her partner (in business and life) Patrick Dorris, became a farmers. “Food! We are big time foodies. Patrick used to be a chef and I love to cook,” Peters said. “My interest in farming came from cooking food and growing my own food.”
Their interest led them to World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, an international program that links volunteers with organic farmers all over the world. Volunteers work on the land and learn about farming in exchange for room and board.
Peters, 34, and Dorris, 33, spent two years with the program in Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia (Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos).
“Being around people who were growing their own food and living sustainable lifestyles,” Peters said. “We interned with quite a few people who were living sustainable lifestyles. It was so inspiring to see how much you can do on your own.”
They both received certifications in permaculture in Australia. In Thailand, they learned to farm by terracing (a good way to grow things on a small piece of land). While overseas, Dorris learned that Sunny Parsons of Heathen Estates was interested in having a farm on the property.
In April 2017, Peters and Dorris moved back to Clark County to start Flat Tack Farm on Heathen Estates. Peters interned at Full Cellar Farm in Portland (where she still works part-time), learning the farming techniques that she uses at their farm.
Peters and Dorris started farming on their 1-acre farm at the end of last summer. Their partnership with Heathen Estates has been extremely helpful. They don’t pay to lease the land. They farm the land and the owner gets a tax break under Washington’s Open Space, Farm and Agriculture Program. In addition, they supply produce to Heathen’s Feral Pub, and have a farm stand on Heathen Estate that is open on Fridays and Saturdays and for other Heathen Estate events (Flat Tack’s Facebook page lists all upcoming events).
They supply produce to Rally Pizza and Elements restaurants and sell their produce (and Peters’ soothing lavender eye masks) at farmers markets in Battle Ground and Vancouver. They also partner with consumers through the credibles app. They’re looking into putting produce on the Farm & Sell website (www.farmandsell.com).
It’s been a bit more than a year since founding the farm, and Peters said their main challenges have been moving large amounts of produce and financing their business. They are still paying off start-up debts, including on equipment, a greenhouse and an irrigation system. They recently started working with Chuck’s Market and hope this will help them get extra produce to market.
“It’s been amazing,” Peters said. “New opportunities are presenting themselves every day. We came into it with the Heathen family, and that really helped us get our foot in the door. It gave us somewhere to start. We have the space to do what we want.”
She said that anyone interested in becoming a farmer should seek an internship or apprenticeship to get experience and see what it’s really like to be a farmer.
“See if this is what you really want to do. It’s hard work, but it’s very rewarding.” She recommended the Farm Incubator Program at Headwaters Farm in Gresham, Ore.
Are small organic farms viable?
Can these young farmers create a successful long term business? April Thatcher, of April Joy Farms, believes they can.
Thatcher started her farm in 2003, and it’s a thriving business that supports her and her husband, Brad. Thatcher firmly believes it’s important for young people to know that farming is a viable and fulfilling career.
“Why is farming not an interesting career? I found so much joy, challenge and meaning in it,” she said. She began speaking at events and started an apprenticeship program to spread this message.
Thatcher, 42, is interested in cultivating a farming community in Clark County — a place with rich farmland and great market potential based on an increased public interest in eating local produce. Starting new farms begins with matching landowners with young farmers — something that could be solved with a website and some outreach.
Until that happens, Thatchers would be happy to play matchmaker. “If you have land, I can find a young farmer for you,” she said.
Additionally, there is a new statewide service aimed at connecting landowners to new farmers. It can be found online at
farmlink.tilthalliance.org—Rachel Pinsky
Lyndsay Jacobs of Sprout and Blossom Farm
While working on her degree in graphic design and architecture from James Madison University, Lyndsay Jacobs learned about problems related to industrial farming, became a vegan and focused on food production. After college, she packed up her car and moved to the Pacific Northwest.
She joined the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms program and ended up at Fiddle Fern Farm in Hood River, Ore. Then she moved to Portland and apprenticed at Zenger Farm and got a degree in permaculture.
Jacobs met Lauren Krug while working at Fiddle Fern Farm, and they decided to start a farm together. Krug met a property owner interested in having someone farm on his land. The agreement was that Krug and Jacobs would farm the land rent free and provide produce to the land owners, who get a tax break through Washington’s Open Space, Farm, and Agriculture Program. Krug shared the good news with Jacobs and Sprout and Blossom Farm was founded in February 2017.
About a year and a half later, the 1.5-acre farm is flourishing. Sprout and Blossom, like Flat Tack Farm, sells all its produce directly to customers. They have a CSA program, a booth at the downtown Vancouver Farmers Market and Tech Center Farmers Market, and they supply produce to Mt. Tabor Brewing Co., Rally Pizza, The Grocery Cocktail & Social, and Herb N Roots. Jacobs also fed 300 people at Burning Man this summer with produce from Sprout and Blossom.
Krug left Sprout and Blossom in December to pursue a career in early childhood education but still helps out on the farm. Jacobs has a crew of five volunteers who work four hours a week in exchange for a CSA box. She doesn’t have to pay for land, and the landowners helped her with creating infrastructure for the farm; as a result, Sprout and Blossom farm made a profit this season.
Jacobs would like to redesign the farm to make it easier for crop planning, and she’d like to build up her CSA subscribers to get a more steady flow of money. But, for now, she is looking forward to a long winter’s rest. During the growing season, she sleeps four to six hours; in the winter, she sleeps for ten. She laughed as she explained her seasonal sleep habits, “I’m like a bear.”
