Anyone can get involved with the emerging fresh farm produce on campus at the Outback Farm and in Whatcom County at nearby farms.

“It’s important to be a little bit connected to our food,” said Henry Bierlink, executive director of Whatcom Farm Friends. “(The) connection starts with starting to grow things.”

Whatcom Farm Friends, based in Lynden, is a nonprofit that supports agriculture through lobbying, outreach and education. Bierlink said the easiest way to learn about agriculture is by planting a garden.

“The future is about the youth,” Bierlink said. “Keep the young generation down on the farm.”

With 72 diverse farms in Whatcom County, there are many options for anyone who wants to get involved with farming, according to the Whatcom County Food & Farm Finder.

“I think we do have a contingent group (of young farmers) here in Whatcom County,” Bierlink said.

However, the trend in America seems to be the opposite. The average age of farmers is getting older.

Currently, the average age of American farmers is 57, said Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture, during a National Public Radio interview. This could mean trouble for the future of American agriculture.

“Well, one thing I think we need to be concerned about in America is how many people are actually going to be able to farm. And how we replace those who are retiring and those who pass away.”

Promoting young farming
The Outback Farm has been promoting sustainable farming and land use methods since 1972, according to the official website.

The Outback Farm, a program through the Associated Students and Fairhaven College, is a five-acre garden located between the Fairhaven dorms and Buchanan Towers that is student-run. The Outback Farm is open to for use of the Western community.

Roby Ventres-Pake, 21, the coordinator at the Outback, said it’s important that people make connections with their food.

“I feel like this point in time it’s an incredible and necessary movement for people to know where their food is coming from,” Ventres-Pake said. “Going back to the land and learning how to grow food is crucial.”

Ventres-Pake said even with the average age of farmers getting older, there is a lot of young energy going into agriculture. In reality, the younger generation has a lot to learn in agriculture, Ventres-Pake said.

This energy is evident through Nick Spring, a recent Western graduate and one of the founders of BUGS, Bellingham Urban Gardens.

The farms help support urban agriculture by offering resources such as garden tools,  workshops, and places to plant urban gardens in Bellingham.

Spring said the Outback Farm, where he sometimes volunteers, will be selling its produce on campus in June. He said to start learning how to farm, just try it out and see what happens.

“The Earth is our best teacher,” Spring said. “She’s a benevolent teacher.”

The farm has been working since its establishment last year to convert lawns, parking strips, or vacant pieces of land into gardens.

After about a year of transforming a vacant piece of land into a healthy and soil-rich ground, the gardens are ready to be put to work, Spring said. This year the coalition has seven gardens they have converted mainly in the lettered streets, Sunnyland and Birchwood neighborhoods.

Exploring agriculture
Amaris Lunde, the community programs manager of Growing Washington, is currently using a garden converted by the farm. Growing Washington, started in 2006, is an agriculture-focused nonprofit, Lunde said.

Lunde said one of the projects that Growing Washington is working on is the Food Bank Farm, which makes sure everyone has access to fresh produce exclusive of their income.

Lunde who also works at Alm Hill Gardens near Everson, Wash., said many college students intern during the summer at the gardens.

“It’s a big issue, it’s really paramount that the younger generation takes an interest in (farming), a long lasting interest,” Lunde said.

An interest in agriculture may come unexpected, like it did with Alex Winstead, the founder, owner and operator of Cascadia Mushrooms, located north of Bellingham. Winstead graduated from Evergreen State College with a double major in mushroom biology and Taxonomy, and environmental science.

He was interested in the growing technique, the roles of mushrooms in the ecosystem, and mushroom cultivation. Winstead began growing mushrooms in his basement and garage, but in fall of 2009, Cascadia Mushrooms moved just north of Bellingham.

Now, Cascadia Mushrooms are featured at the Bellingham Farmers Market, seven local restaurants, and the Community Food Co-op.

“(I) kind of went about this by following my passion, wanting to do my passion, and what I thought would result in something real to share with people,” Winstead said.

But, if the young generation wants to get into farming for a profit, Winstead said they should go into something that’s in high demand or something that’s not sold everywhere. Pasture meat and other animal products that are grown sustainably, grass-fed and hormone-free, are one of the biggest commodities in the country, Winstead said.

Also, being innovative with crops can help a farm earn a profit such as growing a wide variety of mushrooms. Winstead has kept in touch with the older farmers and his mentors, who he said he has learned a lot from.

“The more people who know how to grow food,” Winstead said. “The more healthy we’ll be as a country and as a world,”