Hello Farm Friends,
It has been a glorious, long autumn here in Northwest Montana. As the weather shifts towards winter, and the farm and personal projects shift indoors, I have been keeping my head down and getting things done. But the other day in an employee review, I was challenged not to forget to use our work as a platform for offering folks education and a positive story.
So, yesterday I sat down to make a list and take stock of what we’ve been up to, with the hopes of maybe someday updating our website. As I stopped to reflect, it’s hard to just view one year in isolation, because so much of what happened this year was informed by our past 16 years of farming, and really my entire life. But at this stage in life, I’ve begun to look at the farm with a different perspective. Or from two perspectives really. There is the inward facing perspective, where I think of my relationship to the land and the farm, and what it offers me, and what I offer it. And then there is the outward facing perspective, which is where I look at what we, and the farm, provide to others in our community.
Inward Facing…..
This has been, and continues to be, one of my biggest years of personal growth in many aspect of my life. There have been many challenges that I’ve tried to turn into opportunities to grow and be a better version of myself. There is no denying that 17 years of farming has been hard on us physically and emotionally, and it’s resulted in me asking some hard questions about “why do we do this” and “how can we do it to better honor ourselves”. Why not just move to a foreign country and live a simple life of ease by the ocean? Believe me, it’s tempting! But there has always been a core part of who I am that believes in living a life in alignment with my values, and that often comes back to being of service…to others and to the land. And this land, and this situation, is a gift that allows me to do that. And I keep reminding myself of that. So much effort has gone into building this farm and local food system, and while it’s tempting at times to walk away in search of ease and simplicity, I think at this point in my life I need to honor it by continuing to lean into it. Someday I will seek more ease….but not yet.
This land provides me a sanctuary of natural beauty as well as the peace and quiet that I thrive in. It is one of my core truths that living close to the land is where I am happiest. And this relationship with the land also provides me the opportunity to contribute something back. To help repair the damage of past management, to provide habitat and increase biodiversity, and to ultimately work with it to grow healthy food for ourselves and our community. It is not easy, but it is meaningful and tangealbe, and those are more important values to me. But in recent years, it has even become more than that. In a healthy shift of perspective, I have been able to take the weight of the world off my shoulders, and to stop feeling pressured to run the farm to satisfy the wants and demands of others. Instead, I am learning to follow my intuition and run the farm the way that feels right. In many ways, this process and this farm have become an offering, or a prayer, in a world that seems to struggle with so much. I can’t control our culture, or the myriad problems it creates with the values it promotes. But on this little postage stamp of land, I can live in a little bubble where I get to choose the values we live by, and I suppose I get to offer that up as my example of how things can be done differently. I find this to be very cathartic. And I think the impact of that radiates outward. How so?
Facing Outward…
It’s a little known fact that the creation of Two Bear Farm took a piece of land slated for development, and shifted it to agricultural production. Not only preserving open space and providing ecosystem services, but growing healthy food that feeds our community and heals the land….that is not something common to agriculture these days.
And over time, with the support of all of you, both the farm and the farmers have grown and evolved, creating new ways to leverage our farm to grow a local food system from the ground up.
We partner with Wicked Good Produce to operate a brick and mortar market called The Farmers’ Stand in Whitefish, to ensure our local community has better access to local organic food and products, including a completely organic grab and go section. It’s hard to believe we’ve been open almost 4 years!
We partner with the local non-profit Land to Hand Montana to help get school kids in Columbia Falls access to our delicious carrots
We partner with the North Valley Food Bank through both sales and donations to increase the amount of healthy local produce they are able to offer their clients. This year alone NVFB has purchased 25,000 pounds of local organic produce, and gleaned an additional 11,500 pounds of produce just from a handful of local organic farms in the Flathead.
This year alone…..
We provided space and mentorship to a new farmer (Flo!) to create an incubator farm named Three P’s Farm. Our country has lost 533,000 farms since 1980, so to help increase that number by 1 feels really good!
We invested in the Old Salt Coop to help protect large multi-generational family ranches in the Blackfoot Valley, and the habitat they provide, by increasing the amount of Montana beef raised, processed, and eaten in Montana.
We worked with Carbon Recall Kalsipell to install a photovoltaic (Solar) system to power the entire farm with solar energy. We were fortunate to receive a USDA REAP Grant to help cover half of the cost. Given all of the food we grow is solar powered, it seemed only fitting that the infrastructure was as well. We hope to have the project completed by year-end!
We partnered with Blarney Ranch in Trego, Montana to integrate regenerative cattle grazing on 35 acres at Two Bear Farm to help us bring degraded pasture back to health. While grazing livestock have a history of degrading landscapes in this country, the truth is the land has co-evolved with animals, and it benefits from their presence. As the saying goes “it’s not the cow, it’s the how”. We are fully supportive of the movement to return animal grazing to a regenerative function, and there is no better place for us to trial it and promote it than here at Two Bear Farm.
We’ve been working with the Flathead Land Trust to place the farm in a conservation easement to help protect the conservation value of this land, and hopefully to ensure the farm stays in local food production in perpetuity. Seeing the connectivity this creates between public and private land for wildlife along the Stillwater River is so compelling. While not finalized as of this post, the process is underway.
Lastly, we have been serving in an advisory roie to a new local nonprofit Save Farmland to help shape the organization so it can carry out it’s vision of purchasing and conserving farmland in our community and supporting farming and our local food system. As the pace of development in this valley accelerates, I believe the need to conserve farm land takes on more urgency. And Save Farmland is taking a creative new approach to try to do that, so I am hopeful and intrigued to see how it unfolds in years to come.
Looking over that list, it feels good. And all of that got done despite us spending every day in the field growing and harvesting vegetables! I am proud of all the relationships and collaborations that have been created and nurtured through our farm. If you’ve ever been into The Farmers’ Stand, you may have noticed the quote from Margaret Mead that is on the wall above the cash registers. It reads ” Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
That quote has always inspired and empowered me. And when I look back on that list of things we’ve participated in, I think it validates her point. I believe that “we the people” need to recognize the power that we do have to affect positive change in this world, in whatever capacity that may be. I think the 24-hour news cycle and social media distracts us from this point, and they evoke all the wrong emotions in us to capture our attention. But while change is inevitable, it doesn’t mean we don’t each play a role in it. How can each of us help to shape a better future, for ourselves, our community, and the planet?
Personally, I am already looking forward to 2025! Well, maybe after a vacation by the ocean 🙂
Todd
Two Bear is the best !! I appreciate all you do for us , the land and environment . How fortunate we are to have Two Bear Farm .
Thank you for all that you do. We are so fortunate to live in this little northwest corner of our country and in this part of our universe. I can’t express how important it is to preserve that, especially in the face of adversity, but you realize that! Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I love the Farmers’ Stand and am grateful for all who supply it.
I love reading your email newsletters. They are always beautiful messages and gentle reminders to support each other in our growing community; Artists, musicians, teachers, farmers and small businesses We are blessed to have you as our neighbors.
What a terrific reflection! Thank you Two Bear Farm for all of your contributions. We are lucky to have you in our local community! Wishing you a peaceful oceanside trip in the near future.
Thanks, Todd, for a chance to step back and be grateful for your farm and the great people around us here in the Flathead. Have a restful winter- see you next year!
You all are my people! I echo 100% of the intentions you shared as core values. It’s so incredible what you guys have accomplished in the last 16 plus years. Deep gratitude for staying true to your mission. I’m right there with you, as a peripheral part of the We. Its pretty dang special what we’ve all created in this community, and what you have done has been a incredible driver of the movement. When my mind goes to a life if ease by the ocean, I always come back to this network, food security, water, mountains, and know that while I’m a transplant of 28 plus years, my roots are interconnected with something deeply important and nourishing, soul food. Cheers to keeping on! 🙏🏽☮️💚
Thanks Todd…
Thank you for this Instructional and inspirational report, Todd. I am very grateful that you are taking care of your selves so that you’re willing to keep on keeping on and maybe while you’re sitting by the ocean you could think about what a transition to working parttime looks like. I I appreciate your participation in the six month program that brought beautiful people into help you! I was at the farmers stand last night and bought a 5 pound bag of your delicious carrots. With gratitude, Linda.
Todd thank you for your wonderful words and recap of your incredible contributions. Thank you for all you do in your corner of this land. I write from Northern California on our small little piece of land and my hat is off to you. Take care of yourself as much as you do of your land.
thanks Todd and Rebecca, we appreciate your hard work and thoughtfulness .
Thank you for this – and for all that you do.
Thanks for your wonderful insight in these difficult times,and thanks for gracing our community with your beautiful produce. You guys are a living example of hard work and and an abundance of kindness!! You two and your wonderful farm have an impact far beyond what you will ever see!!!
Much Peace,
Gerard, Loretta Byrd
Thank you so much for all your hard work!! I so appreciate you both.
Thanks for the impact your hard work is having on our community!
Todd and Rebecca,
I look forward to you missives. After farming writing must be something you enjoy doing . You are very good at it.
I belong to a prayer group and we are analyzing prayer. Since it is in part expressing gratitude and part asking for things your prayer fits the mold. You are grateful for your shift in prospective and ask for strength and courage to go on. All of that is great but if it is not coupled with action it falls fallow. You do it all. The impressive list of your accomplishments and community involvement
Makes my head spin. I wish you God speed as you make your way.
Family note…Julia Taylor Erika and Matt’s eldest is driving by herself YIKES to Wwoof at a farm in Ca then onto Oregon to Wwoof at a sheep farm while she awaits her Teach for Smerica assignment. Never a dull moment here. Wishing you and Rebecca a happy and relaxing Thanksgiving.💕ab & UB