Interview With Valerie Foster
What year did you begin coming to the Proctor Farmers' Market?
I began coming in 2002.
What size is your farm?
The farm is 35 acres, with up to 8 cultivated each year.
Where/how else do you sell your produce?
We sell our produce at a CSA, restaurants, Steilacoom, and Broadway Markets.
How long have you been farming?
Holly Foster has been farming for 14 years. She trained in Scotland, New York, and Australia before buying her own farm in 2002.
What do you grow?
We grow 80 different vegetable varieties, strawberries, blueberries, some orchard fruit, organically raised pork, chicken, and eggs..
What farming methods do you use? (pest control, fertilizer)
We are certified organic and striving toward biodynamic certification. We use integrated pest management by attracting beneficial insects with planting. We build healthy soil-cover with row cover cropping.
What is one of your favorite things about farming?
It is one of the few vocations you can have where you’re part of the whole process: caring for the soil, planting the seed, caring for the plant, harvesting them, and then passing them along to the person that enjoys them..
What is one of the biggest challenges of farming?
There are so many unpredictable variables, including weather and market. It helps keep us resourceful and resilient.
What makes your farm unique?
We build community around agriculture, putting the culture back in agriculture.
Do you have special events at your farm?
We have potlucks and work parties.
Anything else you want people to know about your farm?
We are a multigenerational family farm, run by women who are passionate about what they do
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