Karyn Williams and Red Dog Farm’s namesake, Rupert Dandelion. Williams is an experienced farmer who is as comfortable with her hands in the soil as she is at her computer, crunching the numbers to run her business. - Photo by Selden McKee
Karyn Williams, the new owner of a 23-acre farm in Center Valley, is growing five acres of vegetables for the 2008 season. The project is made possible through the Jefferson LandWorks Collaborative, a network of organizations that work with landowners and potential farmers and foresters to keep rural areas economically viable. - Photo by Selden McKee
By Selden McKee
Rupert Dandelion, the red border collie, romps with his new canine neighbors while Karyn Williams, the new landholder in the area, runs the tilled soil through her fingers and pictures the crops that will soon turn her farmland green.
Williams has been farming on other people's land for many years, but now, thanks to the support of the Jefferson Land Trust and other members of the Jefferson LandWorks Collaborative, she has her own land to work. With the lively name of Red Dog Farm, the land lies just south of Chimacum in an area with a rich agricultural heritage.
Williams looks out over her 23 acres, ready to plant her first crops in the field she has already tilled, happily anticipating the hard and rewarding work ahead. And she knows well what is involved, having worked for nine years on farms in the Pacific Northwest as well as Europe and Morocco. In fact, it was the two years she spent abroad that made this young woman from the Seattle suburbs know that someday she would have her own farm.
"Farming was definitely not a cool career choice when I was growing up," she laughed. But working on small farms abroad showed her that a family living simply on small acreage could farm successfully. She returned home and enrolled in The Evergreen State College Sustainable Agriculture Program, where she earned her bachelor's degree and managed the college's farm.
"At Evergreen I learned crop planning and timing, what to grow and how to sell the produce and manage the accounts. But I especially loved learning by doing - not just the farming itself but the business end of the operation," Williams explained.
The business of farming
The hands-on experience came in Jefferson County, where she and a friend leased Old Tarboo Farms for two years. Williams wrote the business plan and obtained financing. She learned about local growing conditions as they grew vegetables, berries, flowers and hay. And she learned about local markets as they sold their produce at the Port Townsend Farmers Market, to The Food Co-op and local restaurants, and through a community supported agriculture (CSA) program.
Williams is a businessperson as well as a farmer. She loves spreadsheets and the detailed work of analyzing which crops are best for the conditions and which give the best return for the time and money. "I like to spend time in the office, not just in the field," she said.
Innovative financing
Williams is on her new farm due to the diligence and work of members of the Jefferson LandWorks Collaborative, a network of organizations that work with landowners and potential farmers and foresters to keep rural areas economically viable.
Williams wanted to buy a 23-acre parcel that was the Brown Dairy Farm, part of the historic Chimacum Dairy, bordered by Chimacum Creek to the west and Center Road to the east. It is across the road from Glendale Farm, an organic beef operation that LandWorks is in the process of preserving as a working farm. This area at the confluence of Center and Beaver valleys has the most productive agricultural soils in the county, and LandWorks sees preservation of the farms there as vital to the agricultural future of the area.
Knowing she would need financing to buy her own farm, Williams contacted Mark Bowman of ShoreBank Enterprise Cascadia, a unique financial institution that provides financial and business support to small farmers and foresters. Another member of LandWorks, ShoreBank had partnered with the Jefferson Land Trust to put other small farmers on their own farms. Bowman referred Williams to Sarah Spaeth, Jefferson Land Trust (JLT) conservation director.
"Sarah and others at JLT took the time to hash through all the details," said Williams. Spaeth describes the arrangement between JLT and Red Dog Farms as a "nationally innovative way of making farmland accessible for small farmers eager to get their own land to work. And the community benefits from the increased supply of locally grown food."
Under the arrangement, Williams leases the land from the Land Trust and in five years will purchase the land for a price tied to the original purchase price. The Land Trust used money from the Kilham Revolving Fund to make the down payment; the money will be paid back with interest. ShoreBank made the loan to JLT for the balance of the purchase amount.
Because it is a land lease, the farmer will own all the improvements she makes on the land. JLT will put in utilities and, when grant money is obtained, will place an easement to protect the riparian habitat along Chimacum Creek and to preserve the land as farmland in perpetuity.
"It's a very new tool for land trusts, and we hope this will be a model lease arrangement for other projects that the Land Trust and the LandWorks Collaborative undertake," said Spaeth.
Favorable factors
Mark Bowman of ShoreBank says there were several reasons the financing came together so well. First, there is the mutual trust and synergy of the partners of LandWorks. "We have a common goal and can work together on a project," he said. "Together we can walk the fields with the farmer, provide information, contacts and support, and then combine our efforts to get the deal done quickly."
Williams' reputation was another important factor. She has been farming and marketing her products successfully for several years, so she had proven herself.
The strength of the Land Trust was a major factor. "They have a great reputation, strong community support and a good record, so we could accept the financial risk knowing the Land Trust was so well supported," Bowman explained. He added that the more financial support the community gives the Land Trust, the more able it is to partner with ShoreBank and other LandWorks partners to protect lands before they are developed.
Support from many
Williams' energy and expertise has attracted another new type of financial support: an equipment loan from a local couple who recognized the opportunity to support a young farmer while earning a return on their money. "We aren't wealthy people," said the woman. "This loan is significant for us, but we have utmost confidence in Karyn and her goal."
The lenders will receive produce as part of the interest payment, but primarily they are involved because "it feels entirely right. Small farmers work very hard, don't make much money, and live on the edge of survival. We can help to feed the community while supporting a woman who has farming in her blood."
Williams has found support from many others in the area. The Food Co-op, another LandWorks partner, is a great supporter of small farmers. General Manager Briar Kolp said, "This is what we're all about: encouraging local food production, getting more farms and farmers going, and providing the markets for their produce."
The Co-op helps farmers with marketing not only at the store but also through farmers' markets and CSAs. "What works for the farmers is what is important," said Kolp. She appreciates that small farmers are experimenting with crop variety to provide a year-round mix of produce. And she knows farming is a huge responsibility and that the whole community benefits when someone such as Williams takes on that responsibility.
Al Latham, district manager of the Jefferson County Conservation District, another LandWorks member, provided Williams information on various properties, wetlands and land conditions. Kate Dean, outreach coordinator of the LandWorks Collaborative, knows the farms and farmers and has provided many important contacts.
Katherine Baril, director of Washington State University Jefferson County Extension, has provided marketing advice and expertise. WSU is also a member of LandWorks, and Baril is enthusiastic about the future of the small farm, saying, "We are growing a whole new crop of young farmers."
And Williams herself will nurture this "new crop." She will have five interns, people who want to learn how to make their living as farmers. She wants to teach others who will someday have their own small farms, joining the community of farmers who supply this area with healthy fresh food.
"We share information and help each other out. Each person has a specialty and each farm is different, but we share the goal of providing good food to the community and keeping small farms viable."
The work ahead
At Red Dog Farm, Williams is fixing up a small trailer that will be her home once the utilities are installed. As soon as possible, she plans to put up a house, a barn and a greenhouse. A well with potable water is on the property, but she will also get PUD water. The farm should have its organic certification by April.
This first year, Williams will plant 5 acres with mixed vegetables, salad greens, strawberries and flowers. She'll grow a cover crop on another 4 acres and hay on another 10. She knows this will be a learning process, especially since her land has five different soil types and since moisture content varies from the low wet area along Chimacum Creek to the drier higher sections.
Because she is so detail-oriented, Williams plans a year in advance and keeps records that let her track what works and what doesn't. She knows there must be a good business reason to raise a certain crop or animal.
Practical and realistic about her farming business, Williams also knows there is a limit to what she can do, that she can't work at the summer pace - that is, day and night - every month of the year. "I'm working to balance the financial viability of the farm with my ecological responsibility to the land and community, while at the same time taking care of myself," she said.
CSA and markets
Williams will market her produce at the Co-op and farmers markets, will sell to restaurants, and will offer a CSA. With a CSA, or community supported agriculture, a person pays for farm produce up front and receives a regular basket of food from that farm. It is a way for the public buying the food to become more involved with the farmer providing the food. Many farms in the area offer CSAs.
A Red Dog Farm brochure will be available at the Co-op and from Williams, who can be contacted at karynlw@hotmail.com and 774-6249.
The Jefferson LandWorks Collaborative is a nationally innovative model of land conservation and rural economic development comprising nine local groups working together toward a common goal: to make working lands in our rural county productive and profitable, thus ensuring their long-term viability. Landowners interested in the services of Jefferson LandWorks Collaborative can contact Kate Dean at 301-1750 or info@jeffersonlandworks.org.
Reader Comments
Posted: Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Article comment by:
Simeon Baldwin
Great article featuring a great model of land conservation and a great entrepreneur in Karyn Williams.
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