Country Life A7 • lyndentribune.com • Wednesday, April 11, 2018
Riverhaven: ‘The more you mimic nature, the better you can be’ Continued from A1 “I discovered the value of food being medicine and the phrase ‘you are what you eat,’” Kauffman said. One of Kauffman’s roles during his CDC tenure was region director for the Pacific Northwest. The assignment allowed him to become familiar with Whatcom County, which felt like home, he said. After retiring from the CDC, Kauffman started Riverhaven Farm in 2010. “On even the worst of days, I’m here by choice. I left a high-paying government job and I’m happy and better because of it,” Kauffman said. Despite his lifelong accumulation of health and food knowledge, and a healthy lifestyle complete with activities such as cycling and skiing, Kauffman was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder that causes blood clotting. The diagnosis resulted in Kauffman having to take Coumadin, a blood thinner that is also known as rat poison. Kauffman could no longer cycle or ski due to the medicine’s side effects, so he did what he knew best: he ate healthy. A follow-up appointment revealed Kauffman no longer had the disease. “I cured my disease by eating right,” Kauffman said. “More and more scientific evidence shows genes will be good if you eat healthy. You end up being the kind of person God made you to be by eating the food God made for you to eat.”
Richard Kauffman holds a young chicken at Riverhaven Farm, which he started in 2010. (Alyssa Evans//Lynden Tribune) The farm The production that makes up Riverhaven Farm is no accident. “Everything that happens is my fault — all the good and bad,” Kauffman said. “What’s been enjoyable is seeing a muddy field turn into a little paradise.” Every aspect of the farm, from the nutrients that make up the soil to the selling of food produced on the land, is facilitated by Kauffman with intent.
The farm emphasizes the practice of management-intensive rotational grazing, which consists of moving animals to a new area each day. This type of grazing stimulates root and plant growth, is good for the pasture, and results in healthier soils and animals, Kauffman said. Another major emphasis of the farm is mimicking nature. All animals live outside. Farm workers consist of family, friends and students, many of
whom live on site. Only natural food, such as grains and honey, is fed to animals. Wool from sheep is used as mulch. Soil is homegrown and includes no fertilizers. Fruit trees are planted throughout the property. Recycled materials are used for structures such as greenhouses. “The more you mimic nature, the better you can be,” Kauffman said. “The work is labor-intensive and nature-dependent. That’s the way I think it
should be.” Once an animal arrives at Riverhaven Farm, it will live the rest of its life there. The farm is a WSDAcertified on-site poultry and livestock processing facility. Animals are raised to become the healthiest food possible and are processed in ways to minimize their experience of fear and pain, Kauffman said. “It’s not just one farm. It’s a community of people trying to do it right,” Kauff-
man said. Riverhaven Farm products will be available at the Bellingham and Lynden farmers markets in 2018. (Bellingham has started for the season and Lynden begins on June 16. The farm also has an onsite store open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays and Sundays. Product delivery is available through the Barn2Door app. Riverhaven also had a booth at the Small Farm Expo in Lynden on Feb. 24.
The barn is open for food sales on Fridays and Sundays. Sheep and alpaca are also part of the farm operation. (Alyssa Evans/Lynden Tribune)
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