Who Are We?
We are a small, sustainable, family farm located on 25 acres in Deming, WA. Our primary focus is on raising heritage breed pigs, though there are other varieties of critters here on our farm. We firmly believe that every animal deserves happiness, regardless of their role in the great circle of life. Our animals are raised humanely and naturally, with lots of love and the utmost respect.
Our farm is constantly growing as we learn new things, sometimes faster than we want it to! There is never a dull moment around here. The pigs love to "help" us in every way that they can! In addition to the daily farm chores, there are fences needing built, shelters and pasture to maintain, knowledge to be gained, and plenty of pig bellies waiting to be rubbed!
We are proud members of the North Cascades Meat Producers Cooperative. This provides us access to USDA processing, allowing us to sell our pork products to our customers at the local Farmer's Markets. We also continue to sell whole and half hogs, as well as pork shares.
Our Story
We are Chris and Heather Forthofer. Chris works in the aerospace industry and I (Heather) quit my job as a Nurse in 2018 to farm full time. Neither of us had any previous experience or family history in farming, but here we are! Chris wanted chickens as soon as we moved into our last house, however I was dead set against it! After all, who has time for all of that extra responsibility?
I finally caved in over the summer of 2013, and told him we could have 3 hens and a rooster. Little did I know at the time that chickens are like the gateway drug to farming! Before the week was up, our little flock of 4 had already increased to 6. Every year we grew and added more animals to our farm. We now have chickens, gilts farrow (pigs), ducks, turkeys, mini donkeys, and Highland Cows. Who knows what other animals we could end up with in the future!
In 2018, we purchased a 25 acre farm and almost overnight our resident pig population went from 30 to 75. In light of this growth, we began in 2019 the process of building a new home, a barn, and a shop on our property. And with all of this space, it became a goal to add in vegetable gardens, orchards, and greenhouses. Looking to the future, we also hope to have a public pumpkin patch and maybe even a catering business!
We have grown to love each and every one of the animals here on our little farm. They all have a name and a personality all their own. It is so very important to us that our animals are loved and respected. It really is bittersweet to love our animals so much, and then to feel the profound loss when they move on to the next step in this great circle of life. We shed tears for every one of them, and we miss them when they are gone.
All of our animals are raised humanely, with love and respect. They are honored for the sacrifice they make. We do our best to raise them as nature intended, and to give them the best life we possibly can. They never have to leave our farm. They are with us from birth until death and we wouldn't have it any other way. Their "one bad day" happens here, with their favorite snack and lots of belly rubs (and tears from me).
We are so excited to see what the future has in store for us. It seems that our little farm is growing in leaps and bounds and has a momentum all of its own. I just hope we can keep up!