Farmer Spotlight: Bittersweet Family Farm
THE FARMER
Heather Forthofer did not want chickens. Her husband, Chris, thought it would be a fun project. After begrudgingly visiting a neighborhood Farm in 2013, Heather gave in to 3 hens and a rooster. By the end of that same week, they had 10 birds. By 2016, they were purchasing the first pigs for Bittersweet Family Farm, and in 2018 Heather and Chris moved to a 25-acre property to accommodate their 4 trailer-loads of pigs.
When Heather became a full-time Farmer in 2018, retiring from her previous career as a nurse, she had just moved to a new property with minimal fencing and 35 pigs, 4 about to have babies. She worked to fence the first 3 acres, and brought on help once a week to get the animals spread out. Meanwhile, Chris and Heather built their house on the property, and were later joined by her parents.
“We’re trying to make it part of our retirement plan—building it, growing it, making it work,” Heather said of Bittersweet Family Farm. When asked about the Farm name, she replied, “It’s bittersweet to raise these animals. It should hurt. The day it doesn’t hurt me to slaughter my animals, they’re not getting the love they deserve.”
Heather’s pigs are loved, inarguably. They have a private gardener (the neighbors), who grow a special “pig garden” just for them. Heather ferments her own corn, peas, oats and barley and supplements their diet with locally-made pelleted grain, in addition to pasture and hay. They have bowling balls and old Christmas trees to explore and romp with. Each pig has a name and a distinct personality.
“Pigs are very helpful. You leave a hammer on the ground and they’ll pick it up. They want to be right there.” Heather also gets lots of help from her 3 year-old granddaughter, who loves feeding the pigs, and climbs in the stall to pet her “baby” (a 250 lbs boar). “It doesn’t matter how big they are,” Heather explained, “You have to respect them. You get to know their personalities, and can read their moods if something is off.”
Before their “one bad day,” Heather has learned to back up the trailer to let the pigs explore and sleep in it. “My pigs don’t know concrete,” Heather explained. Once accustomed, she can simply shut the door and start driving.
GOING TO MARKET
Heather sells her pork to customers throughout Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom counties, stretching more and more towards King county (Seattle). “We moved to Whatcom with big plans, and ended up with a lot of excess pigs to find buyers for. I think I finally got that part down. I need to grow. I can’t grow if I’m not going to more places. I live in Deming, WA. There’s not a lot of people up there.”
“I want the Seattle market. There’s not a lot of small Farms nearby, and people are health conscious, they want to know what goes into their food and where it comes from. I can also deliver directly to companies, making it convenient for employees and getting lots of orders for each location. It is a great way to access new customers.”
“My plan is to deliver to Seattle once a month.” Heather stopped by Barn2Door’s Seattle office, delivering 10+ orders. “I would rather go to multiple office buildings and deliver multiple orders myself than sign up for another farmers market. I can target a small area and be in and out in a short window, plus I can charge extra for delivery if I choose. If I added a farmers market I would have to hire someone to be at the booth, which costs extra money and I wouldn’t be the one engaging with customers. When I deliver to offices I can shake hands with my customers, and be the face of my Farm.”
Heather continues to explore new markets and strategies. “90% of Farm sales is education. People are used to Costco and Walmart prices. That’s not realistic if you’re raising meat the way I’m raising it. I love teaching classes. This past week I did a class on lard, on pasture-raising, and on soap making. I would love to get into agritourism.”
HOW BARN2DOOR HELPED
“Farm life is overwhelming,” Heather explained, “I love being able to say: ‘Oh look! I sold that today!’ without any more effort on my part. The customers can order anytime on their own. I like the ability to create and share promo codes—I usually include them in emails. It creates an incentive for customers to buy, especially if there is a cut-off date. The automated order reminders are great!”
“Once I’ve sold products, I really appreciate the pick and pack list. I can print it off and pull everything at once without thinking about it. Then, I can sit and sort it out—it’s really handy. Barn2Door’s tools keep my orders organized and make it easy to stay on top of all my customer communications.”
Heather’s worked with Barn2Door since fall of 2019. “It’s been great, it really has,” she said. “[Barn2Door has] allowed me to focus on the things I need to focus on, and not stress about the things I’ll never get to. I used to update my website about once a year, and never logged in in between. Now, you’ve taken that off my plate. My website is beautiful and current—I don’t have to worry about it.”
CONCLUSION
We’re thrilled to support Farmers like Heather, who are such careful stewards of their animals and their land. We appreciate all that Heather does, and can testify how delicious her pork products taste! If you are a Farmer and not already using Barn2Door, we’d welcome a conversation. Watch this short video to learn how it works.