The weathered red barn and old tractors moving slowly through Full Circle Farm seem typical, but on closer inspection you might notice that many of the folks cleaning produce, loading boxes or driving tractors stacked with flats of lettuce seedlings look more like college students or high tech entrepreneurs than seasoned farmers. On this land the ideals of the organic movement have been grafted with the sophistication and market savvy of the twenty-first century, and the results have been fruitful.

Full Circle Farm has 120 acres of land in production, most of it along the Snoqualmie River, 30 miles east of Seattle. This large scale, coupled with cooperative links to other west coast organic farmers, has allowed the farm to offer greater flexibility than other subscription farms, bringing the idea of community supported agriculture (CSA) to new audiences by providing unparalleled selection, convenience and service.

Where most CSAs provide their subscribers with a box of whatever is ripe every week from spring through fall, Full Circle Farm collaborates with other farmers to provide a wide variety of organic fruits and vegetables every week of the year. Customers can make online substitutions and opt out of some weeks to accommodate their schedules. Instead of one-size-fits-all quantity and pick-up options, Seattle area clients can choose from three box sizes and 25 pickup locations. “We are really making it as consumer-friendly and convenient as possible, and the feedback we’ve been getting is just amazing,” says owner Andrew Stout. “People are so excited about being part of this, about the opportunity to work with the farm, while also having it work for their lifestyle. It’s 2004 and people have busy lives and they don’t want to be tied to a traditional CSA.”

CSA membership has recently doubled to 600 subscribers, and Andrew expects that number to double again as they add eggs, honey, cheese, bread, and shade-grown coffee to their list of offerings. Full Circle also sells to over 50 restaurants, 15 grocery stores, 12 farmers’ markets, and 4 wholesalers. All of this adds up to expected annual sales of over $1.2 million.

The seed of Full Circle Farm sprouted just over a decade ago in the Midwest. Andrew had completed an internship on an organic farm in Minnesota, and was looking to start his own farm in the Northwest in partnership with his wife Wendy Munroe and childhood friend John Huschle. They raised capital for the new venture by unconventional means, making and selling over 1000 egg rolls at Grateful Dead shows. Before long, they had leased five acres in North Bend. Andrew recalls, “It had just three acres of tillable ground on a beautiful mountain side, but very rocky, rough conditions. We started with a rototiller and an idea, and only novice farming skills.”

Still by the end of their first summer, they had put together 20 sample boxes with a price list, farm description, and a business card, which they drove around on a Friday to give to restaurants and grocery stores in the Seattle area. Andrew explains, “We called people back on Monday, and we started with $1600 in sales that next week, and it’s climbed ever since.” Every year they were able to put a bit more acreage into production in different locations. Andrew attributes their success in those first years to their high-quality produce, and to stepping into the market at the right time.

By 2000 they were farming four different sites, and moving equipment efficiently from place to place was becoming logistically challenging. When the roof blew off the donated trailer they were using as an office in North Bend, they decided to consolidate elsewhere. Through a service offered by King and Snohomish Counties called FarmLink that connects aspiring farmers with land and services, they were able to find an 80-acre dairy in nearby Carnation. In 2003 they purchased the adjacent 60 acres, allowing them to have more crop rotations and year-round production.

Quite a bit of work was required before they could move the whole operation to Carnation. It included pouring two hundred yards of concrete; completely power washing 80 years of debris out of barns; getting rid of all of the manure, stables and stanchions; putting up the greenhouses; and building the infrastructure (kitchen, break rooms, office) that the place required to be operational. They did all of that while farming 40 acres. “Fortunately,” Andrew recalls, “that was the year I was getting married, and we wanted to get married on the farm. There’s nothing like a wedding to make a farm look good!”

Now Andrew and Wendy are reaping the benefits of their hard work: “We have a good marketing plan and a very diverse cropping mix. If one crop fails, we’ve got ten more to take its place.” Andrew smiles and demonstrates his unflappable sales skill, “If you don’t want my apples, how about my kale, my potatoes, my squash? You find they can’t say no to everything. If one account is not buying much that week, we’ve got 15 other outlets to sell to.” Andrew admits it was hard to build up to this point, but now that it’s built, it’s able to run itself and take the stress off of them as business owners and principle farmers. Andrew still doesn’t consider himself an expert farmer. “I am not a great grower,” he says. “I am good, but it takes years to be great. Marketing is my strong suit and providing service.”

Full Circle Farm is also working with regulatory agencies to address environmental concerns connected to the Snoqualmie River that runs along one side of the farm and to Griffin Creek that flows through it. They were the first farm in King County to complete a horticultural plan that addresses erosion potential, waste management, and stream setbacks. Andrew says, “We’re trying to be the exemplary farm around here and show other farmers that you can work with the government, and do things legally, and it’s not a hardship, it is not something that’s crippling.” When the farm’s irrigation ditches needed cleaning, Full Circle Farm braved the 19-month permit process that led to the ditch being sloped, graded, meandered, planted with willows, and augmented with cedar stumps. “It was not easy,” Andrew points out, “but it worked, and we were able to show the county that some parts of the process probably weren’t necessary.”
 
Partnership building clearly comes naturally to Andrew: “We’re just out there saying ‘yes’ to whatever we can. It’s exciting!” Other projects underway include: development of a compost facility that will help several local dairy farmers manage their waste; Washington State University research into better managing the flea beetle; trial cultivation of Chinese healing herbs which currently have to be imported; production of jams and salsa; and promotion of farm to cafeteria programs and institutional purchasing of local foods. “We are always trumpeting that local is better: local flavor, local fresh, local support,” Andrew says.

Andrew and Wendy have themselves come full circle by offering seasonal internships to aspiring young farmers. Of last year’s five interns, four have started their own farms. “We’re first generation farmers which is unique,” he explains, “but also becoming more common as a lot of folks from the old days have gone out of it because the food system is broken and they weren’t able to survive. Now we’ve got new people coming in. The barriers to entry are stiff, but there is a strong desire to do well by both yourself and the community.” Andrew is bullish on the future of organic farming, and his optimism and enthusiasm are contagious. “I grow food because I believe that’s what I am supposed to do – grow good, healthy, organic produce for people.”

Contact
Full Circle Farm
Andrew Stout
PO Box 608
Carnation, WA 98014
Tel: 425-333-4677
Fax: 425-333-4678
info@fullcirclefarm.com
www.fullcircle.com