Washington’s healthiest farms

The effects of greenhouse gases have been a hot topic for the past 20 years and with agriculture and deforestation alone counting for nearly a quarter of global emissions it’s no wonder scientists are looking to the soil for a solution.

In fact, food production alone, when considering the factors of packaging and transportation, can account for as much as 37% of emissions.

There’s no doubt about it, farming is contributing to global warming, but it’s also threatened by it. Droughts, flooding and excessive pests can wipe out months of hard work and land efforts in a single day.

For many of us, the going ons of a farm might seem irrelevant to our daily life, but it’s thanks to farmers that we have food to come home to after a hard days work. Farming also holds an important place in the economy of a State and in Washington accounts for 12% of the economy, generating over $10 billion in revenue each year.

But Washington can be a challenging place to grow food because of the low carbon levels of its soils. Carbon is the main component of soil organic matter and helps give soils its water-retention capacity, its structure and fertility. The world’s intensively cultivated soils have lost 50-70% of their carbon stocks already but it’s not all doom and gloom. 

Many scientists believe that regenerative agricultural practices can turn back the carbon clock, reducing atmospheric CO2 while promoting soil health, productivity and increasing resilience to floods and drought.

New research shows how effective land restoration could play a major role in slowing climate change and is amongst the most economic approaches to dealing with greenhouse gases.

Lucky for us, many farmers have already been making the shift to more sustainable practices and here are 3 Washington farms worthy of a mention.

21 Acres Farm

Located in Woodinville and with views to Mt.Rainier to the south, this breathtaking farm is home to a small apiary, community gardens and a fantastic team of volunteers and veteran contributions. The farm not only practices regenerative ag but also offers tours, classes and educational opportunities for all ages serving as an outdoor classroom for continued learning and a connection for all to learn how food is grown. You can stop by every Friday and Saturday to pick up some veggies at the farm market or if you’re too far for a visit why not  visit them virtually with their inspiring videos and tutorials that will make you feel part of the team no matter where you are.

Spoon Full Farm

Spoon Full Farm located in Thorp Washington is a collaboration between several young humans and one llama, yes… a llama. This is a farm you will remember buzzing with fun personalities who share a passion for healing the land and supplying delicious food. The produce of their “whole earth” farming practices comes from combining ancient wisdom with cutting-edge ideas: no-till ecological farming, holistic management grazing, permaculture and biodynamic agriculture. The result is healthy soil that grows crops to heal the body and the whole earth from the ground up. There mission is clear: be Loyal To Soil.

Ecolibrium

Ecolibrium is a bio-intensive market garden located in the Sammamish Valley. This dreamland is made up of a diverse team of farmers, chefs and creatives with years of experience as farmers and naturalists. The farm includes Certified organic fields adhering to Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) standards, permanent beds to help increase soil health, dynamic pest management and no-till practices to enhance the biodiversity of the soil. They even have a culinary program to share their love of cooking which they view as an extension of their agricultural processes.