Fairaview Farm

Website: fairaviewfarm.com

USDA Certified Organic

This grower has a photo album.

Fairaview Farm Story:

Fairaview Farm a farm that promotes self-sufficiency.
When this farm in the foothills of the Olympic Mountains in Washington was originally homesteaded in the 1940’s, skills and hard work were much “a way of life.” Guided by this pioneering spirit and a desire to preserve family farming values, it wasn’t long after my Husband and I purchased the rundown farm in 1999 that it became a Certified Organic farm, and Grade A dairy.
Farming is in my blood, I was born and raised on my family’s 80 acre farm that my Father, the late Dr. Eugene Dutro maintained on his days off. I grew up loving agriculture, and have had a real interest in self-sufficiency.
I feel that I had a great advantage growing up on a farm; it all comes easily and naturally for me. With one big exception, a childhood illness had pretty much taken full mobility from my legs. The complication from the illness and the nineteen knee surgeries has meant a life of constant pain and the restrictions of life on crutches, canes and a wheelchair.
Luckily, my dad told me,’ If you have the will, there’s a way.’ I have lived by that motto and it has served me well! It’s what my surgeons say has kept me walking for 50 years. They had advised me that knee replacement surgery would be out of the question. I was determined to remain hopeful and continued to expect modern medicine to prove them wrong. However, all the things I loved to do were becoming almost impossible. I couldn’t be outside if it was cooler than 50 degrees. Weeding my garden was only possible if I pulled myself along the ground to work inch by inch, row by row. I applied for and received a grant because of my disability to build a wheelchair accessible greenhouse on our farm. I was hoping that since our small town of Sequim is known as the Lavender capital of the Northwest, I might propagate lavender in the warm greenhouse. My business expanded to include two commercial greenhouses. However, lavender is a seasonal crop and I wanted a project that would keep me busy throughout the year. Lavender is a nice plant but, I love to grow food and share it.

Three years ago, my resolve was getting weak from the exhausting pain. I returned to the knee specialist asking again about knee replacement surgery. My surgeon recounted the long list of reasons why a knee replacement would likely be impossible. Feeling, that I had few choices, I asked to have my leg removed above the knee replacing it with a prosthetic device. With so few options, the doctor was willing to give the knee joint replacement a try. I went into the surgery room not knowing if I would have a new knee joint or and artificial leg. After eight hours of surgery and the newest technology in joint replacement, my prayers were answered. I have a new knee joint and a life without pain. Everything about my life is new! I feel as a prisoner must feel who has spent 50 years in a dark jail cell and is finally released into freedom and sunshine. Now, I am free to do what I love best, FARM. For me farming is a perfect circle, if you have a working farm and not a petting zoo. We are almost entirely self-sufficient. My philosophy about raising and butchering our own meat is this: we raise our animals in a loving, clean environment and when it is time to dispatch them we do it in the quickest, most humane manner possible. This I feel is better than purchasing meat from a grocery store where it is not known what conditions the animals were raised in, what they were fed and how they were treated.

These last three years we have expanded our farm production. We sell our Certified Organic produce to local restaurants, and have our own Community Supported Agriculture program. Once a week we put together and deliver beautiful baskets full of seasonal vegetables, flowers, eggs and fruit picked at our farm. Last year we applied for, and received a Grade A Dairy License. I have miniature farmstead Jersey Cows and I wanted to make Raw Milk Cheese to add to our CSA baskets. I love to share the true bounty that we produce here on our little (just over 5 acre) farm.
The skills and love of hard work that tie us to the family farmers before us, continues to serve us well, as we do our best to promote organic self-sufficient farming.