Viva Farms opens for free tour

“I just think food people are the best people,” said Danielle Halstead, Viva Farms development manager, when asked about her favorite thing about working with the organization. “People who grow food in the dirt are authentic and inspiring and anything I can do to help them is wonderful.”

Executive Director Michael Frazier, shares that enthusiasm. It was visible as they led a tour last Wednesday evening. Attendees came from all parts of the Skagit Valley to learn more about Viva Farms and getting involved.

Viva Farms was founded in 2009 to provide farming essentials, including training, land, infrastructure, equipment, marketing and capital to aspiring farmers through holistic practice. The nonprofit organization supports 33 farms on 119 acres of land. Each farm is managed by those who have either gone through, or are currently going through Viva’s Farm Business Incubator program. 

Their Practicum in Sustainable Agriculture course introduces the program. Attendees go through a whole farming season in a cohort, learning basics from land management to pest control to bookkeeping. From there, participants apply to be a part of the incubator program, Once accepted, they maintain their own farms in conjunction with Viva acting as support during a five year apprenticeship.

Viva Farms doesn’t just operate their practicum and incubator programs. It is also heavily involved in the future of agriculture through numerous studies with the Washington State University Bread Lab. The Bread Lab is working to reshape people’s approach to bread to make it healthier, better tasting and affordable. 

Viva Farms farmers sell to the community with programs such as Community Supported Agriculture. Its CSA distributes weekly boxes to subscribers, guaranteeing fresh produce to participants and sales to their farmers.

To make produce more accessible the CSA operates on a sliding scale,

As the tour group walked past different farms, the community Viva fosters became clear. Frazier noted that there are no fences between plots. Facilities, tools and space are shared, leading to collaboration between participants in the Practicum plot and program farmers. Halstead remarked that it wasn’t uncommon for farmers to create joint efforts in their work as the years went by. 

The next tour is 10 a.m., Saturday, Sept 19.

For information on the CSA program or getting involved with Viva Farms: vivafarms.org.