Love the Land 2024 Audience Questions
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined us for this year’s Love the Land event at Seattle Farm! It was a wonderful celebration of our farming community, and one of the highlights was the engaging farmer panel.
We had the pleasure of hearing insightful questions from our guests, and we’re excited to announce a special monthly blog series where we’ll share some of the responses from our farmer panelists and Washington Farmland staff. The farmer’s personal stories and paths to farming in Washington continue to inspire us all.
Stay tuned as we dive deeper into answering more of your questions from Love the Land about farming and our ongoing work.
Question for farmer panelists:
What’s the hardest thing you experience as a farmer/on your farm? What gives you hope?
Farmer: Ryan Mensonides
Farm: Mt. Rainier Creamery & Market
Location: Graham, Washington
“From a business standpoint, the hardest challenge is finding and retaining employees. Our profit margins are currently so tight that it’s difficult to offer competitive wages. We’re also up against the Seattle construction market, which makes it even harder to attract workers.
On a personal, emotional level, the hardest thing for me is having to put an animal down due to illness or injury. Thankfully, it doesn’t happen often—maybe once a year—but when it does, I really struggle with it.
What gives me hope is seeing new life on the farm, like a calf being born or fresh grass sprouting. From a business perspective, I’m optimistic because our new creamery is nearly finished, and our farm store, which had a successful soft opening this summer, is already proving to be profitable. These developments will help ensure our farm’s future viability. I’m also hopeful that, with these successes, we’ll be able to purchase the property we currently work on with the Washington Farmland Trust.”
Farmer: Micha Ide
Farm: Bright Ide Acres
Location: Orting, Washington
“The hardest challenge I face as a farmer is burnout. The to-do list never seems to end, and the financial pressure is always there. Balancing the demands of running a farm business—while often holding down a second job and managing family responsibilities—can be overwhelming.
What gives me hope are my customers, especially the loyal ones. Some have been with us for years and say they could never go back to grocery store meat. Knowing that our hard work matters and is appreciated by the families we feed is what keeps us going.
