A big thank you to Stahlbush for sponsoring my visit!
On a warm fall night, I packed up my camera with a few depleted batteries and set out for the 45-minute drive down to my hometown. I arrived right when the sun was hitting the tips of the conifers on the winding path to Stahlbush Island Farms.
It was a drive I took daily the summer of 2007. Usually in a panic that I might be running late, but sometimes even before the sun was even up. I rolled down my window and it still smelled the same. Fresh cut grass, corn husks, pepitas, and rich soil. It was my first real experience on a farm. And now, as a 36-year-old woman, I get to work with them in a completely new capacity. Something a little different than watering the flowers near the entrance.
I made my way to the office putting faces to names on e-mails and we sat in the back as the sun lowered to talk all about how the farm came to be.
Brecklin, who oversees making sure that the customers get the highest quality out of their experience, told me all about the farm’s humble beginnings in 1985. Bill and Carla Chambers had 300 acres and two crops. Year after year, the innovation continued. They set out to build a farm with minimal intervention.
They really do have a reputation for innovation. I remember working in the office the summer they started working on plans for their biogas plant. Now, the entire plants electricity runs off that biogas plant that turns any additional waste like corn husks into energy. And at the end, it produces a rich vegan fertilizer that then goes back into the land to nourish the newly harvested soil.
What I didn’t know is that they were the first farm to do this in North America, and they also produce so much fertilizer that they give it to other farms in the area.
And this isn’t the first time they’ve been ahead of the game. They were the first farm to become certified sustainable by the Food Alliance.
You might recognize their products in the freezer isle in the craft paper bags or in the pantry isle with their Farmers Market cans of puree made from pumpkins and butternut squash. You’ve probably known about their quality products that have become staples in many kitchens.
After dinner we took a walk around a few of their lakes and got to see one of the many blue herons that call Stahlbush home. Wildly enough, the farm is so healthy that it’s a haven for much wildlife. One glided across the break of the water while another stood atop a stoop looking across the neighboring field.
It’s hard to exactly put into words just how special this place is. I’m so proud that I got to work there in my formative years and get to call them one of my clients now. Over the years I’ve whittled down my list of partners to the ones that really fit with my goals and priorities. This place, this brand, their products, are an awesome example of doing things the right way, even when no one is looking, even when no one is doing it the same.
So, I left the farm with a car filled with pumpkin puree and lots of beautiful shots. So many good things happen there and I’m excited to see what they continue to do.
