Producer

Small Acres is owned and operated by Mia Devine and Chris Henderson. Renewable energy engineers by training, we became interested in agriculture while volunteering in rural areas of Central and South America. We were inspired by the self-sufficiency of the communities we worked in, and upon our return we started a backyard garden and small flock of chickens. We became hooked on the rhythm of planting seeds, seeing plants grow, and feeding ourselves and our friends. We love the challenge and fun of producing a wide variety of crops on our small farm.

In 2013 we purchased a 5-acre property located near Nugent’s Corner, about 12 miles east of Bellingham, Washington. We acknowledge that we live, farm, and play within the ancestral homelands of the Nooksack (Nuxwsa’7aq) Tribe and benefit from the land and river they have stewarded for generations. We are committed to donating a portion of our harvest to the Nooksack Food Bank annually.

Collaboration with other farmers and exchanging ideas is an important component of our business and personal growth. We want the farm to be an example of appropriate scale technologies in action for small farms and want to offer positive examples of tools and practices that can be widely used. We regularly host other farmers, interns, and the general public who tour the farm, providing opportunities to see our systems and the sustainable management practices we are using. We frequently host member meetings for the Twin Sister’s Market, tours for the Cloud Mountain Farm Center educational program and the “Food to Bank On” program, plus regular farmer ultimate Frisbee games!

We are certified organic, and we strive to be as ecologically responsible as possible. This means we grow cover crops, minimize tillage, make high-quality aerated compost, add essential minerals based on soil testing, and use long-term crop rotations to maintain healthy living soil. We use a variety of native perennials and annuals to attract beneficial insects and pollinators. We purchase organic seed and chicken feed and we minimize waste by composting organic materials on site and recycling. We are also actively working to be 100% renewable energy powered with both solar and wind power. We use 100% biodiesel made from waste vegetable oils in our tractors and delivery truck.

We have been steadily designing and building out our farm systems to produce high-quality organic vegetables, fruit, eggs, and other items. Our method of vegetable production closely adheres to the intensive market-garden style of producing a diverse and abundant variety of vegetables in a small amount of space, using human-scale tools.