Our Growing Practices
Who grows your food?
Bonnie and David Mackie haven't always had their hands in the dirt. Rather they started off with a love of theatre, working as stagehands and lighting designers in the Seattle and Philadelphia areas. However, it was always a dream to open a farm-to-table bed and breakfast. Someplace where they could share their love of cooking and local food with others. As the dream grew, they realized that now is the time of life to build a farm, and retirement is when the B&B can open!
Several years ago they returned to the Seattle area and started farming with other folks. Now they are ready to break-out on their own (with lots of help!) and make their own mark on the agricultural system.
Several years ago they returned to the Seattle area and started farming with other folks. Now they are ready to break-out on their own (with lots of help!) and make their own mark on the agricultural system.
Bonnie keeps the animals of Skinny Kitty Farms happy and healthy! She also grows all the vegetables and is our primary salesman! She is quite the cook and knows how to incorporate the freshest of ingredients to make a fantastically delicious meal!
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David is the builder, visionary, and heavy-lifter for the farm. With a background that includes carpentry, rigging, electrical, and plumbing, there aren't too many problems David can't out-think on the farm!
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Skinny Kitty Farms is a small diversified farm on Fir Island in Skagit county. We grow broiler-chickens and sheep on pasture using intensive grazing methods, that will invigorate our old-neglected pastures. We've taken the healthiest pastures and turned them under for vegetable and herb production. Our farming model keeps us portable and allows us to adapt to what the land can provide. We don't believe in fixed fencing or fancy fixed irrigation systems. The land will change, and we need to keep our farm on it's toes to best utilize what we are given.
We are not certified organic. However we practice organic growing methods, and our chickens and lambs never receive anti-biotics or growth hormones. We raise them on pasture and feed them only WA grown hay and grain; all GMO-free. We firmly believe in the health benefits pastured meats offer to consumers, and that's why we eat the meat we raise!
Our vegetables are grown in fields that move with the fertility of the land. After several years of being grazed, pasture is turned under, and the land goes into vegetable production. After several years of veggies, it is returned to pasture and grazed by animals. Cycling the land though pasture and vegetable production, keeps the land healthy and the ecosystem resilient to stresses such as drought and pests. We could talk about our methods for pages, but to really appreciate what we are doing, we encourage you to visit us. Come walk our pastures and hold our soil, we love to share what we're doing!
We are not certified organic. However we practice organic growing methods, and our chickens and lambs never receive anti-biotics or growth hormones. We raise them on pasture and feed them only WA grown hay and grain; all GMO-free. We firmly believe in the health benefits pastured meats offer to consumers, and that's why we eat the meat we raise!
Our vegetables are grown in fields that move with the fertility of the land. After several years of being grazed, pasture is turned under, and the land goes into vegetable production. After several years of veggies, it is returned to pasture and grazed by animals. Cycling the land though pasture and vegetable production, keeps the land healthy and the ecosystem resilient to stresses such as drought and pests. We could talk about our methods for pages, but to really appreciate what we are doing, we encourage you to visit us. Come walk our pastures and hold our soil, we love to share what we're doing!
