Co-Owner, Lenwood Farms
Brad Bailie is co-owner of Lenwood Farms in Connell, WA, along with his wife, Esther Daza. He is a member of the fifth generation of his family farming the land. Brad and Esther focus their work on developing the farm into a healthy and vibrant place to live and work. They hope to continue to experience economic and environmental sustainability. Both enjoy working with and in other cultures and are open to the possibility of working abroad in agricultural and community development. When Brad and Esther are not working on the farm or at the local high school, respectively, they love to be in Esther’s homeland, Colombia, visiting friends and family.
Lenwood Farms has been in the family since the early 1900s, first farming in 1915. In the mid-1980s the land was enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). In the late 1990s when the first CRP contracts began to expire, Brad and his father, Roger Bailie, began converting the land to organic production. Until 2002, the land was leased out to another farmer who grew organic vegetables, but in 2003 Brad began growing organic vegetables and grains in partnership with his father. He and his wife, Esther Daza, are now 100% owners of Lenwood Farms, Inc.
Lenwood Farms has raised heirloom wheat, emmer, spelt, einkorn, black barley, onions, potatoes, spearmint, catnip, peas, sweet corn, beans, camelina, butternut squash, spinach and lima beans. Cover cropping plays a vital role in the rotation. Brad strives to work in harmony with nature to produce high quality, nutritious crops. Several areas on the farm are solely designated as habitat for beneficial insects and other wildlife, and he offers tours designed to highlight the sustainable farming practices he is implementing.
