Cloud Mountain Farm Center

What Cloud Mountain Farm Center does

Cloud Mountain Farm Center & Nursery is a Washington-based nonprofit agricultural education center and retail nursery operating on a 19-acre property at 6906 Goodwin Road, Everson, WA. Founded in 1978 by Tom and Cheryl Thornton, it was established as a nonprofit in 2011 with support from the Whatcom Community Foundation and was owned and managed by Sustainable Connections from 2019 until its 2025 divestiture. Its core offerings comprised a seasonal retail nursery selling fruit trees, berries, grapes, and ornamental plants; on-farm agricultural education programs including workshops, field days, and a Farm Skill Series; the PADS (Processing, Aggregation, Distribution and Storage) service line supporting small farm businesses and food banks; and an archival fruit program focused on variety trials and heirloom preservation.

Technically, the center combined conventional nursery propagation (grafting variety wood to rootstocks and field-growing bare-root fruit trees) with applied agricultural research, including a 180-foot by 32-foot high tunnel used for UFO (Upright Fruiting Offshoot) sweet cherry production under protected cultivation, multi-year leafy greens variety and equipment trials conducted with Washington State University Whatcom Extension faculty, and an online degree-day-based codling moth and apple maggot spray-timing tool sourced from uspest.org. Marketing and customer acquisition were content-led, relying on a 181-page educational blog, an email newsletter, social channels (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn), and on-farm events rather than paid acquisition.

The business model was a hybrid of direct-to-consumer nursery retail, fee-based or grant-supported education and PADS services, and donor/philanthropic support. The organization is currently closed: the nursery ceased operations on June 30, 2025, and Whatcom Land Trust accepted interim ownership in mid-December 2025, placing a permanent conservation easement on the 19 acres and committing to support continued PADS services while seeking a long-term owner for the farmland.

Name

Cloud Mountain Farm Center

Legal name

Cloud Mountain Farm Center & Nursery

Website

https://cloudmountainfarmcenter.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cloud Mountain Farm Center is a nonprofit agricultural education center and retail nursery in Everson, WA, serving Whatcom County home gardeners, small farms, and food banks with fruit trees, on-farm workshops, and PADS processing services. Founded 1978, the nursery closed June 2025 and the property is now under Whatcom Land Trust interim stewardship.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Education and Nursery Services

NAICS

Nursery, Garden Center, and Farm Supply Retailers (444240), Support Activities for Crop Production (1151), Fruit and Tree Nut Farming (1113)

SIC

Retail-Building Materials, Hardware, Garden Supply (5200), Agricultural Services (700), Agricultural Production-Crops (100)

akta.pro primary industry

Plants, Seeds & Nursery Retail (Garden Centers) (CRAIAIAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Farm-to-Consumer Produce Boxes / CSA Delivery (AFAIANAC), Carbon, Sustainability & Farm Certification Support (Agro-Environmental Advisory) (AFACABAL)

Keywords

• Agricultural education services
• Fruit tree nursery
• Farm education center
• Plant nursery retail
• Food processing services

Headquarters

HQ city

Everson

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Cloud Mountain Farm Center operated a retail nursery selling fruit trees, berries, ornamental plants, and growing stock to home gardeners and small farmers in Whatcom County, WA. The center also delivered on-farm agricultural education through workshops, growing tips, and farmer training programs, and provided PADS (Processing, Aggregation, Distribution, and Storage) services to small farm businesses, food banks, and community organizations. The organization's Fruit Program focused on variety trials, heirloom preservation, and Pacific Northwest growing research.

Product overview

Cloud Mountain Farm Center & Nursery is a nonprofit agricultural education center and retail nursery in Everson, WA, offering a unified portfolio of products and services centered on supporting local food systems. The core offerings include: a retail nursery selling fruit trees, ornamental plants, and berries; agricultural education programs including workshops, growing tips, and farmer training; PADS (Processing, Aggregation, Distribution, and Storage) services for small farm businesses; and the Archival Fruit Program focused on fruit variety trials. The organization also provides extensive educational content through blog posts, FAQs, and downloadable resources covering fruit tree cultivation, pruning, and pest management. The nursery operates seasonally, with bare root fruit trees typically available February through early April, and the facility is currently transitioning to Whatcom Land Trust interim ownership as of December 2025.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Retail Nursery Operations Seasonal retail nursery at 6906 Goodwin Road, Everson, WA selling bare root fruit trees (February through early April), berries, grapes, ornamental plants, and related growing stock directly to home gardeners, hobby farmers, and small-scale growers in Whatcom County. Nursery operations ceased June 30, 2025.
• Agricultural Education Programs On-farm education services including workshops, field days, demonstrations, and the Farm Skill Series for home gardeners, new and beginning farmers, and commercial growers. Topics covered fruit tree planting, pruning, pest and disease management, orchard care, and sustainable farming practices.
• PADS Services (Processing, Aggregation, Distribution, and Storage) Cooperative processing, aggregation, distribution, and storage services provided to small farm businesses, food banks, and community organizations in Whatcom County. Supports local food system infrastructure and food access programs.
• Archival Fruit Program Research and trial program focused on fruit production, variety trials, and preservation of heirloom and unusual fruit varieties suited to the Pacific Northwest climate. The fruit program was suspended for 2025.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Whatcom Land TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2025Whatcom Land Trust accepted interim ownership and management of Cloud Mountain Farm Center in December 2025. The Trust will permanently protect 19 acres of farmland through a conservation easement limiting residential development, protecting farmland forever, and placing habitat protections along the stream. They are working with Whatcom Community Foundation to find a long-term owner for the farmland. The Trust was founded in 1984 to protect agricultural land from development.
• Sustainable ConnectionscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Sustainable Connections owned and managed Cloud Mountain Farm Center since 2019. Announced intent to divest in May 2025 after unsuccessful efforts to secure additional funding following the end of a major annual grant for food systems work. Redirecting focus and resources to its core mission of advancing a regenerative local economy.
• Washington State University (WSU) Whatcom ExtensionsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on agricultural research and education. WSU faculty worked with Cloud Mountain on growing trials including leafy greens trials starting in 2012. Extension agents like Chris Benedict contributed agricultural expertise.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Others

• Sustainable Connections: Whatcom County nonprofit focused on regenerative local economy, and prior owner/operator of Cloud Mountain Farm Center from 2019 to 2025 — provides direct context on Cloud Mountain's mission, funding model, and operating environment.

Broad incumbents

• Tilth Alliance: Washington-wide sustainable agriculture and food systems nonprofit offering education, beginning-farmer programs, and community gardens — overlapping Cloud Mountain's agricultural education and food system mission at greater scale.

Regional players

• Sky Nursery: Large retail garden center in Shoreline, WA selling nursery stock, edible plants, and offering educational workshops — comparable regional retail nursery with educational programming.
• Portland Nursery: Portland-area retail garden center with extensive edible plant selection and regular educational classes — a comparable retail nursery + education hybrid, though operating across the Columbia in Oregon.
• Molbak's Garden + Home: Pacific Northwest retail garden center with nursery plants, seasonal events, and grower education — overlapping Cloud Mountain's consumer-facing nursery and workshop model.

Emerging players

• Viva Farms: Pacific Northwest nonprofit providing beginning-farmer training, land access, and infrastructure support — directly comparable to Cloud Mountain's new farmer education and PADS-style farm incubation role.
• Puget Sound Food Hub: Northwest Washington cooperative food hub providing aggregation, distribution, and storage for small farms — the closest operating analog to Cloud Mountain's PADS service line.

Direct peers

• Raintree Nursery: Pacific Northwest bare-root fruit tree nursery with a similar catalog of edible and ornamental plants and comparable regional customer base of home orchardists and small farmers.
• One Green World: Oregon-based retail nursery specializing in edible plants, fruit trees, berries, and unusual edibles — directly overlapping Cloud Mountain's core nursery SKU mix and PNW customer audience.
• Burnt Ridge Nursery & Orchards: Washington-based fruit and nut tree nursery with on-site growing trials and variety evaluations — closely comparable to Cloud Mountain's fruit tree production, grafting, and variety trial activities.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/CloudMountainNursery
• Facebookfacebook.com/CloudMountainFarmCenter
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cloud-mountain-farm-center
• Instagraminstagram.com/cloudmountainfarmcenter

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cloud Mountain Farm Center