Connecting New Farmers to Place, Agroecology, and Community through a Bilingual Organic Farm Incubator

Renewed public interest in the localized dimensions of food and farming systems offers opportunities for citizens to become more engaged in decision making about how their food is produced, distributed, and consumed, and, for all these actions, by whom. This paper explores an initiative designed to reinvigorate the production components of a place-based, regional food system through connecting diverse aspiring entrepreneurial farmers, nonprofit organizations, land grant university faculty, and food consumers around shared values. The characteristics that distinguish valuesbased food systems can be sets of values associated with environmentally sustainable production practices, the qualities of the food, the distribution of the food, and/or relationships with particular farmers and places (Ostrom, DeMaster, Noe, & Schermer, 2017). Based on interviews and participant observation, our participatory research with the Viva Farms bilingual farm incubator program a * Corresponding author: Katherine Selting Smith, School of Environment, Washington State University Skagit County Extension; 11768 Westar Lane; Burlington, WA 98223 USA; +1-360-428-4270; kate.smith@wsu.edu b Marcia Ostrom, School of Environment, Washington State University; 1100 North Western Avenue, Wenatchee, WA 98801 USA; +1-509-293-8799; mrostrom@wsu.edu c Donald McMoran, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Washington State University Skagit County Extension; 11768 Westar Lane; Burlington, WA 98223 USA; +1-360-428-4270; dmcmoran@wsu.edu d Lynne Carpenter-Boggs, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Washington State University; 247 Johnson Hall; Pullman, WA 99164 USA; +1-509-335-1553; lcboggs@wsu.edu