Whatcom Farmers Coop

What Whatcom Farmers Coop does

Whatcom Family Farmers is a non-profit agricultural advocacy organization headquartered in Lynden, Washington, serving family farmers across Whatcom County. Founded in 2015, the organization represents the interests of dairy, berry, seed potato, and beef cattle operations in policy, regulatory, and water rights matters — most prominently the ongoing WRIA 1 water rights adjudication in the Nooksack River basin. Its membership is community-based and its primary activities center on advocacy, coalition-building, and youth education rather than commercial operations.

Through its Whatcom Family Farmers - Education (WFF-E) division, the organization operates a portfolio of community education and outreach programs with no proprietary technology components. These include the Whatcom Farm Circle (annual field trips reaching approximately 1,100 third graders), the Snow to Sea Tour (watershed stewardship field trips for 7th graders, hosted with the Whatcom Conservation District and Appel Dairy Farm), a Virtual Farm Circle online program, the Whatcom Agriculture & Trades Career Fair, the $1,000 Harold Van Berkum Memorial Scholarship administered via Whatcom Dollars for Scholars, an annual Photo Contest, and the annual Farmer Rally held at the Northwest Washington Fairgrounds.

The organization is funded through donations, memberships, and event proceeds; it sells no products and has no pricing model. Its go-to-market is community-led: in-person events, social media outreach across six platforms, an email newsletter, and earned media via press releases. It is a founding member of the Water For Whatcom coalition and works alongside six Watershed Improvement Districts under the Ag Water Board of Whatcom County. The constituency it serves is sizeable — Whatcom County agricultural production has a market value of approximately $357 million, 70 dairy farms produce roughly 14 million gallons of milk monthly, and the county accounts for over 65% of U.S. frozen red raspberry production — providing the economic base that the organization's advocacy and education work addresses.

Name

Whatcom Farmers Coop

Legal name

Whatcom Family Farmers

Website

https://whatcomfamilyfarmers.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Whatcom Family Farmers is a non-profit advocacy organization in Lynden, Washington that represents Whatcom County family farmers on water rights, regulatory, and education matters through community programs, coalition partnerships, and youth outreach.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Advocacy Services

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (BPAGAGAI)

Keywords

• Agricultural advocacy
• Water rights protection
• Farm education programs
• Community organizing
• Family farm support

Headquarters

HQ city

Lynden

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Membership: The organization operates primarily through donations from supporters and members. The website mentions a donation portal and membership is open to anyone who has donated. The organization also receives proceeds from events like the Lynden Tractor Trot community fundraiser.
2. Event Proceeds and Fundraising: Revenue generated from annual events including the Farmer Rally, Photo Contest, and Auction fundraisers. The organization hosts educational events and career fairs that may generate some revenue.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Whatcom Family Farmers is a non-profit advocacy organization that represents family farmers in Whatcom County, Washington through water rights protection, salmon recovery, clean water, and farm worker protection initiatives. The organization delivers youth agricultural education programs including Whatcom Farm Circle (annual field trips for third graders), Snow to Sea Tour (watershed education for seventh graders), Virtual Farm Circle, and the Whatcom Agriculture & Trades Career Fair, along with the Harold Van Berkum Memorial Scholarship, annual Photo Contest, and Farmer Rally community event.

Product overview

Whatcom Family Farmers is an agricultural advocacy organization, not a technology product company. It operates a suite of community education programs including the Whatcom Farm Circle (annual field trips for 3rd graders), Snow to Sea Tour (watershed education for 7th graders), Virtual Farm Circle (online farm education), Whatcom Agriculture Career Fair (student career expo), Harold Van Berkum Memorial Scholarship (agriculture education scholarship), Photo Contest (agricultural photography celebration), and Farmer Rally (annual community gathering). These programs work together to preserve the legacy and future of family farming in Whatcom County by educating and connecting the community with farmers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Whatcom Farm Circle An annual field trip experience for Whatcom County third graders to learn where their food comes from and meet local farmers. The program has become increasingly popular, hosting over 1,100 students in recent years.
• Snow to Sea Tour A watershed education field trip program for seventh graders at Nooksack Valley Middle School, conducted in partnership with the Whatcom Conservation District and local farms such as Appel Dairy Farm, focusing on water quality and salmon habitat.
• Virtual Farm Circle An online transformation of the traditionally in-person Farm Circle event, using illustrated maps showing dairy, raspberry, and seed potato farms for virtual farm field trips for children.
• Whatcom Agriculture & Trades Career Fair A leadership and exploration expo for high school students showcasing careers in trades, agriculture, and adjacent pathways, hosted at Lynden High School in partnership with CHS Northwest.
• Harold Van Berkum Memorial Scholarship A $1,000 annual scholarship established in 2022 through Whatcom Dollars for Scholars for graduating seniors from Whatcom County high schools pursuing careers in agriculture, with preference given to 4-H or FFA participants.
• Whatcom Family Farmers Photo Contest Annual photo contest with four categories (Farmland Scenes, Farm Animals, Farm Crops, Farm Implements) celebrating Whatcom County agriculture, with submission and voting periods in May-June.
• Farmer Rally Annual community event at the Northwest Washington Fairgrounds bringing together the farming community and supporters to celebrate farms, held each November.

Quantifiable outcome

• Representing thousands of water users in WRIA 1 water rights adjudication protecting farmer access
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Whatcom Conservation DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026Whatcom Family Farmers - Education (WFF-E) partners with the Whatcom Conservation District to deliver the Snow to Sea Tour program for 7th graders. The Conservation District leads watershed education programming that aligns with WFF-E's goals of promoting community-food relationships. This is a multi-year partnership hosting annual field trips at local farms.
• Water For Whatcom CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 July 2025Whatcom Family Farmers is a founding member of the Water For Whatcom coalition, which includes farms, realtors, and environmental groups calling for collaborative water solutions. The organization describes this as imperative for achieving lasting water management solutions for Whatcom County.
• Western Washington Agriculture Association (WWAA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 July 2024Whatcom Family Farmers partnered with Western Washington Agriculture Association and Skagit County Fairgrounds to launch a new agriculture education program in Skagit County, expanding WFF's educational model beyond Whatcom County.
• Coalition to Save CREPcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 September 2023Whatcom Family Farmers joined a coalition of farmers and environmental advocates calling on Governor Inslee to save the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), which faced restructuring affecting up to 334 contracts with working landowners.
• Whatcom Dollars for Scholars (Whatcom Community Foundation)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 February 2022WFF established a permanent Harold Van Berkum Memorial Scholarship through Whatcom Dollars for Scholars, a program of the Whatcom Community Foundation, supporting Whatcom County students pursuing agriculture careers.
• Watershed Improvement Districts (WIDs) / Ag Water BoardcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 May 2021Whatcom Family Farmers works alongside six Watershed Improvement Districts united under the Ag Water Board of Whatcom County to represent farmers in water settlement and drainage management talks in the Nooksack River basin.
• Appel Dairy FarmminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Appel Dairy Farm hosts the Snow to Sea Tour field trips for 7th graders, showcasing dairy operations and salmon habitat restoration work including a floodgate system established in 2018.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Save Family Farming: Direct regional peer operating in the same Whatcom County agricultural advocacy space with overlapping farmer constituency and water-rights focus; closely comparable in mission and geography.
• Sustainable Connections: Northwest Washington food and agriculture systems nonprofit that overlaps with WFF on local food systems, farm-to-table education, and Whatcom-area community programming.
• Whatcom Land Trust: Regional conservation organization in the same Whatcom County geography; complementary mission on farmland preservation though operates from a conservation rather than farming-advocacy perspective.

Broad incumbents

• Washington Farm Bureau: Statewide farm advocacy organization with similar policy and lobbying focus but much broader geographic and commodity scope; represents the dominant incumbent voice that WFF engages alongside.
• American Farm Bureau Federation: National umbrella farm advocacy organization; comparable in advocacy mission and policy engagement but vastly larger in scale, scope, and political reach.
• National Farmers Union: National farm advocacy and policy organization representing family farmers and ranchers; comparable in constituency (family farms) and policy engagement style, though operating at national scale.

Direct peers

• Western Washington Agriculture Association (WWAA): Direct peer and existing WFF partner; regional agriculture association focused on Western Washington farm issues, including education, with highly comparable mission and member base.
• Skagit Farmers Supply / Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland: Adjacent-county farm advocacy and farmland preservation organization with highly comparable mission protecting family farms in Northwest Washington.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses2 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/WhatcomFarmers
• Facebookfacebook.com/whatcomfamilyfarmers
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/whatcom-family-farmers
• Instagraminstagram.com/whatcomfamilyfarmers

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

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 Whatcom Farmers Coop