Where Do We Grow from Here?

BY ISABELLE HAINES | PHOTOS BY DINAH SATTERWHITE AND COURTESY MICHELE MUFFOLETTO

Three Farmers and a Foodie Speak on the Power of SmallScale Agriculture

In a world with Instacart and Uber Eats, there is not only a public appetite for farm-fresh food, but for farms themselves. Nobody knows this better than Brian Stahl and Penny Daniels, the husband-wife duo helming Winney Farm, an historic 2-and-a-half-acre property that produces beef, pork, lamb and chicken.

Stahl grew up on a 50-head Wisconsin dairy farm, and Daniels grew up watching “Little House on the Prairie.” The pair is equally passionate about their land and animals—and honoring Nellie Winney, the Texas-born ranching matriarch who made her home in the Pacific Northwest and founded the farm.

In her portrait, which hangs in the entryway of the Winney Farm Store, Winney appears bespectacled and well-coiffed. In the memories of neighbors, she was ornery and sweet, a legend of the T&C produce section who hosted school field trips.

“She was a farmer,” Daniels explained, spring-loading extra meaning onto that one word. “And she did it all on her own.”

Stahl and Daniels are trying to do right by Winney—not only through sustainable meat production, but also by welcoming the community onto their land.

Last October, they hosted their first Fall Festival, a spiritual successor to Johnson Farm’s Harvest Fair. The turnout was amazing.

“We were totally caught off guard,” Stahl laughed. “I bought 100, maybe 200 hot dog buns, and then about 1,000 people showed up.”

After the event, Stahl and Daniels got some criticism—people wanted to know why there wasn’t an entry fee. “We got a lot of advice on how to do it better,” Daniels said. “But that advice is always about making more money, and in my opinion, that’s not making it better.”

The wild success of the Fall Festival showed Stahl and Daniels a public eager to engage with their work at the farm. People may come for the hayride and the beer garden, but they’ll stay for the renewed connection to land and food systems.

At The Wanderers’ Nest, a 2-and-a-half-acre therapeutic farm tucked off Finch Road, that same sense of connection is the whole point. Michele Muffoletto, the farm’s owner and facilitator, totally gets it—sometimes you just need to pet a goat or sit quietly by a pond to feel OK.

“My youngest client is 4 years old; my oldest is probably 70,” said Muffoletto. Whatever brings a client to the farm—grief, stress, self-care—it seems that they are all seeking to build a relationship with the land, with themselves. »

The Wanderers’ Nest is a sensory wonderland by design. Every square inch of the farm has been thought out—from the fragrant path-side herbs to the textured glass panes in the gazebo. That same level of detail also goes into growing the farm’s fruits, berries, herbs and vegetables.

“We have to start planning in January for that one carrot you buy in July,” Muffoletto said. But she noted she is Virgo with a soft spot for logistics—the planning might be her favorite part.

Other elements of the operation aren’t quite so fun. Expensive land, supplies, housing and labor make the already demanding line of work even more challenging. Even with resources such as Friends of the Farms and Washington State University’s Master Gardener program, the whole thing can feel like a game of Chutes and Ladders.

“We have so much knowledge and ability here,” Muffoletto said. “But [sustainable, small-scale farming] is still hard and expensive.”

This is where Heather Burger, a proud foodie and the executive director of Friends of the Farms, comes in.

Brian MacWhorter Cultivates Fruits, Vegetables and a New Generation of Farmers

In his early days on the island, Brian MacWhorter and a generation of Kitsap farmers were mentored by Akio Suyematsu, an almost mythic figure in Bainbridge history. Now, as the proprietor of Butler Green Farms, MacWhorter is carrying that torch—whether it’s hosting field trips, running his own farm school or providing internships for up-and-comers.

“[Akio] got us all hooked on farming,” said MacWhorter. “Now we’re trying to keep his legacy going.”

And he’s doing just that, helping the next farming generation clear a few hurdles—such as finding affordable housing. MacWhorter offered up Morales Farm, a 5-acre property that he subleases, to be the site of three new tiny houses for farming interns. The project was the brainchild of Friends of the Farms, Coates Design architects, Clark Construction and Housing Resources Bainbridge.

“We decided, ‘Let’s take on the most impossible thing and see if we can pull it off,’” said Friends of the Farms Executive Director Heather Burger.

With roughly 26,000 pounds of donated building materials, 60 local businesses contributing supplies and services, and 100 volunteers, the project came together at time-lapse speed.

“We want more and more and more of this because it’s so good, but then where’s the capacity to do that?” said Burger. “It’s a real challenge we’re facing.”

Still, it’s not all doom and gloom in the island farming community—not even close. Both farms and the organizations that support them are working to keep the world of small-scale agriculture turning. Earlier this year, Friends of the Farms helped pioneer a tiny housing development for farming interns and arranged for local produce to be included in school lunches. What’s more, many farms are incorporating agritourism into their business plans, both to educate the public and earn more income. Other solutions, including more attainable county tax exemptions and conservation easements, are possible, too.

And then there’s community support—whether it’s shopping at the Bainbridge Island Farmers Market or the Winney Farm Store or the several farmstands around the island. This might be the most invaluable piece. As Burger put it, “If I didn’t have our local farmers, I most definitely couldn’t eat.”

Permits were acquired in June of 2022; the houses were done in December. This spring, three interns moved in.

“They just step out their front door, and they’re on the job,” MacWhorter said.

Even after decades of sharing his knowledge and welcoming others onto his land, MacWhorter is still moved by watching enraptured, field-tripping elementary schoolers dig around in the dirt.

“They pick a strawberry out of the field and just taste it— the wonder of it,” he said. “That to me is the most important thing I can do through my farming.”