Community Food Co-op

Voted Bellingham's best grocery store. Full-service deli, hot bar, salad bar featuring organic, local, and natural foods. Everyone can shop, anyone can join. Co+op, stronger together.

Welcome! Everyone can shop the Community Food Co-op!
360-734-8158|
  • menu bar three linesMENU
    • Shop Online
    • Hours & Locations
      • Community Food Co-op, Downtown Store, 1220 North Forest Street at Holly StreetDowntown Store
        1220 North Forest Street at Holly Street
        Bellingham, Washington
        7 am - 9 pm
        360-734-8158
      • Cordata Co-Op exteriorCordata Store
        315 Westerly Road at Cordata Parkway
        Bellingham, Washington
        7 am - 9 pm
        360-734-8158
    • In Our Stores
      • Celebrating Our Co-op’s 50th Anniversary
      • Community Rooms
      • Customer Input
      • How to Shop
      • Dirty Dozen / Clean 15
      • Service Desk
      • What’s on Sale?
      • Contact Us
    • Departments
      • Bakery
      • Bulk
      • The Co-op Bakery Cafe
      • Dairy & Refrigerated
      • Deli & Deli To Go
      • Floral & Garden
      • Grocery
      • Meat & Seafood
      • Mercantile
      • Produce
      • Specialty Cheese
      • Wellness
      • Wine, Beer, & Spirits
    • About Us
      • Awards
      • Co-op Blog
      • Magazine & E-news
      • Our History
      • Strategic Plan
      • Sustainability at the Co-op
      • Vision, Mission, and Values
      • Contact Us
    • Community Giving
      • Community Shopping Days
      • Donations & Sponsorships
      • Donate at our Registers
      • Farm Fund
      • The Real Food Show
    • Join Us
      • Become a Co-op Member • Join Today!
      • Board of Directors
      • Employment
      • Local Business Partners
      • Sell to the Co-op
    • Recipes
      • Recipes
      • Cooking Videos
  • What’s on Sale?
  • Bakery Online Orders
  • Shop Online
  • Careers
  • Join Today!
  • Cooking Classes
  • Hours and Locations
You are here: Home / FARM FUND / Back to the Future of Farming

Back to the Future of Farming

by Laura Steiger, Outreach Team

oxen with yoke

During their early training, Lars (left) and Tim are getting accustomed to wearing a halter and yoke, and learning how to work together as a team. It will be almost three years before they are ready to plow.

Passion. When people have it, they make things happen. Such is the case with Garrett Franz, who found a way to share his newly found passion for traditional farming methods using draft animals.

Garrett recently completed an internship at Tillers International, where he learned about training and working with draft animals. Thanks to a Farm Fund grant, Garrett and his three new best friends—Tim, Lars, and Deb—are bringing that knowledge to Whatcom County.

As you may have guessed, Tim, Lars, and Deb are the Milking Shorthorn calves acquired by Garrett in February when they were just wee little babes. The trio spent their first weekend in suburban Shoreline at Garrett’s parents’ house (I’m sure they were the talk of the neighborhood!), before arriving at their new and more appropriately rural home at Moondance Farm in Acme.

Since then, Garrett has been training them, which at this early stage largely involves bonding. Brushing is one of the main ways to bond and gain the trust of these creatures that will eventually weigh one ton or more, each. Once bonded, like most creatures (human or otherwise), they are motivated to work and want to please their trainer. Other early training focuses on familiarizing them to people, noises, halters and yokes, and very carefully building their strength and endurance.

Just like in the cowboy movies, it is critical for the team to learn basic voice commands—whoa, come, haw (left), and gee (right)—because you can’t physically control two tons of oxen power.

The key to early training, said Garrett, is setting reasonable goals, so they can successfully learn one concept before introducing something new.

They won’t be ready to do any heavy cultivating or plowing until they are 3 or 4 years old. It seems like a huge investment of time and money, but a team of oxen is a bargain compared to the price of a new tractor and requires much less costly maintenance than an older used tractor. Besides, for Garrett there are other tangible benefits. “For me, it is more enjoyable to work with living things. They are my teammates, not just implements. I pay attention to their needs, and walk right beside them.”

East of the Rockies, many hobby farmers still use draft animals. “People out here look at me like I’m crazy, but most of the developing world uses draft power and a high percentage is oxen, because they are affordable,” said Garrett. Draft power is also starting to move into the sustainable farming movement in the U.S., since it eliminates the need for fossil-fueled tractors, and the oxen provide fertility (aka lots of poop) to the farm.

Garrett’s goal is to preserve this traditional skill, share his knowledge (and his oxen team) with local farmers, support the local sustainable farming movement, and eventually expand his herd.

Garret also has one request for all of us. Back East, draft equipment is everywhere and is inexpensive, but here it is sought after by antique collectors and often sold at high prices for purely decorative use. If you have a neighbor or family member who might have draft equipment to share, Garret, Tim, Lars, and Deb would be grateful to receive it. Contact Garrett at [email protected], specify “Farm Fund Oxen Project” in subject line.

community food co-op farm fund

For more information about the Co-op Farm Fund, contact Mardi Solomon or visit the Farm Fund page at www.communityfood.coop.

Tweet

FARM FUND Farm Fund| farming| sustainable

Categories

  • BAKERY
  • BULK
  • DELI & CATERING
  • EQUITY, DIVERSITY, & INCLUSION
  • FARM FUND
  • FLORAL & GARDEN
  • GROCERY
  • HOLIDAY
  • HOT OFF THE PRESS
  • LOCAL
  • MEAT & SEAFOOD
  • NUTRITION
  • PRODUCE
  • RECIPES
  • SALES
  • SPECIALITY DIET
  • SPECIALTY CHEESE
  • SUSTAINABILITY
  • THE CO-OP DIFFERENCE
  • UNCATEGORIZED
  • WELLNESS
  • WINE, BEER, & SPIRITS

2022 Community Shopping Day Donations

Every year, the Co-op Member Affairs Committee (MAC) and Board of Directors selects community organizations to be the monthly Community Shopping Days (CSD) recipient. CSD recipients receive 2% of the Co-op’s total sales on the third Saturday of their designated month, and all register donations made during the month. Now [...]
Farm Fund recipient Robin Crandall harvesting echinacea

Farm Fund Recipient: Ebb & Flow Herb Farm

We visited Farm Fund recipient Robin Crandall to talk about Ebb & Flow Herb Farm and her Co-op Farm Fund grant project.

The barn at Mariposa Farm under construction with support from a Community Food Co-op Farm Fund grant.

Appreciation for the Co-op Farm Fund. Donate today!

Thank you for donating to the Co-op Farm Fund! Farmers share their appreciation for the ways in which the Farm Fund has helped their organic, sustainable farms.

enews-sign-up-image

get connected and save - click here to sign up for our e-news

DOWNTOWN STORE & DELI • map • 360-734-8158 • 7 am – 9 pm
meat and deli counter: 7 am – 7 pm
made-to-order counter: 7 am – 6 pm
salad/hot bar: 7 am – 6 pm

CORDATA STORE & DELI • map • 360-734-8158 • 7 am – 9 pm
meat and deli counter: 7 am – 7 pm
made-to-order counter: 7 am – 6 pm
salad/hot bar: 7 am – 7 pm

Facebook Instagram Twitter TikTok

Machine Readable Files

Copyright © 2023 Community Food Co-op