Burlington, Washington
Farias Farm was started by Francisco, Juan, Sergio Farias (pictured below in order from left to right). All three founding members were born in Michoacan, Mexico, Francisco and Sergio came to the Washington State when they were in there teens while Juan arrived when he was five years old, Skagit Valley has been their home away from home. In Mexico the Farias Family had been farmers for many generations growing their own food. Once in the US all three brothers worked in agriculture for a large portion of their lives and eventually decided to start Farias Farm. Farias Farm is Certified Organic through Oregon Tilth and uses sustainable farming practices. What drew the three brothers to organic farming was the idea of clean food, food that is free of pesticides and chemicals, food that you can grab and eat right out of the ground. "As farmers we only want to grow the type of food we would feed our families and eat ourselves......if it doesn't look like something I would eat, we wont sell it, and I am very picky, just ask my wife" Juan.
Farías Farm fue iniciado por Francisco, Juan, y Sergio Farías (en la foto a continuación en orden de izquierda a derecha). Los tres miembros fundadores nacieron en Michoacán, México, Francisco y Sergio llegaron al estado de Washington cuando eran adolescentes, mientras que Juan llegó cuando tenía cinco años, Skagit Valley ha sido su hogar lejos de casa. En México, la familia Farías había sido agricultores durante muchas generaciones, cultivando su propia comida. Una vez en los Estados Unidos, los tres hermanos trabajaron en la agricultura durante una gran parte de sus vidas y finalmente decidieron comenzar Farías Farm. Farías Farm tiene certificación orgánica a través de Oregon Tilth y utiliza prácticas agrícolas sostenibles. Lo que atrajo a los tres hermanos a la agricultura orgánica fue la idea de alimentos limpios, alimentos libres de pesticidas y productos químicos, alimentos que se pueden comer directamente dela planta sin preocupación de que están sucios. "Como agricultores, solo queremos cultivar el tipo de productos de calidad y de cuales comeríamos nosotros mismos ... si lo que crecemos no esta de la calidad de algo que yo comería, no lo vendemos, y soy muy particular en lo que como, solo pregúntale a mi esposa " - Juan.
Now fast forward to 2022 and Farias Farm has gone through some changes. At the end of 2021 Juan and Sergio decided to step away from Farias Farm. Sergio decided to Pursue a different business venture and is having great success there as well. Juan stepped away in order to spend more time with his wife and two little ones. Both Sergio and Juan are still involved in the business lending a hand at farmers markets and in any other thing they are able to.
Francisco decided to continue growing Farias Farm and keeping the family farming tradition alive. As of January 1st Francisco became the sole owner of Farias Farm and then not long after that Lorena, his wife joined the team and became a partner on the farm. "Lorena has always been part of the farm and it only made sense to make a partner in the business" said Francisco. Not only is Lorena jumping in so are all of the kids, making this into a true family run operation. Erick, Francisco and Lorena's son is staffing the Shoreline Farmers as well as transitioning into taking care of the administrative duties for the farm. Jasmine, Francisco and Lorena's daughter is also involved on the farm, she staffs the Shoreline market alongside Erick and will occasionally help staff the Sunday Capitol Hill Market.
Although ownership has shifted Francisco, Lorena, and the rest of the family is committed to continue growing delicious organic produce for their customers. Farming practices and values remain the same. Francisco had this to say about the recent changes "change can be scary, but it is also a great opportunity for growth".
