Living - Peninsula Daily News

The Clark family has a long history
on the Peninsula. Since 1853, the family
engaged in all manner of farming and
money-making ventures — from racehorses
to tulips and turkeys to timber —
on land north of Sequim.
Tom’s passion for farming began during
childhood while helping his Uncle
Elliott Clark, who owns his own farm in
Joyce where he raises beef cattle and
timber. Tom earned a Bachelor of Science
degree in animal science-meats management
from Washington State University
in 1988 and spent a year in Australia,
working on a 100-percent grass fed dairy
farm. That internship in Australia 20
years prior helped lay the groundwork
for the Clarks’ new farming operation.
“We had a mission and a goal but not
really a solid plan for our business,”
Holly says.
A family friend told the couple about
a 2009 EcoAgricultural Conference in St.
Louis — the Clarks attended and were
totally inspired.
They listened to speakers and found
an abundance of resources to help them
on their journey. They learned there
were a multitude of formulas that could
preserve Clark Farm’s pristine beauty,
make their family healthier and have
the potential to make money, too.
Holly and Tom returned from St.
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Louis, put their Port Angeles home on
the market and worked out a land lease
with Tom’s parents. They set out to
raise 100 percent grass-fed beef free of
antibiotics, hormones and steroids.
Their animal husbandry was and still
is centered on preventive care and a
stress-free environment where cattle are
grazing herbivores. Animals move over a
mile a day to keep them healthy, happy
and their hooves in shape.
Along with taking great care in the
diet and exercise of their animals, the
Clarks also make caring for the soil and
ecosystem a top priority.
They don’t use chemical fertilizers,
pesticides or herbicides, and the pastures
are diverse in plant species to ensure
animal and soil health.
Pigs help keep menacing plants in
check. Currently Clark Farm’s pigs are
working in fields that have too much
thistle and wild barley — the pigs eat it
down, aerate the soil and replenish the
soil with a more diverse fecal flora.
Tom and Holly also raise their own
hay and sell it to locals.
Their large, 113-acre parcel is home
to no more than 72 cows at a time — a
small number of animals by most farming
standards.
Because the animals get lots of exercise,
the result for consumers is a much
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leaner animal.
When it comes time to slaughter a cow,
Tom will move the rest of the herd into
the woods to prevent the stress they feel.
“They [the cows] are our livelihood,”
Holly says.
“And we respect them immensely.”
The Clarks lost $116 on the first animal
they harvested. Part of the problem,
Holly says, was that they didn’t realize
just how high-quality their meat was.
“We knew raising animals on pasture
was a good thing we just didn’t know
how good until we read the research,”
Holly says.
Grass-fed beef isn’t easy to come by,
and on the North Olympic Peninsula.
Tom and Holly were the first 100 percent
grass-fed beef growers to sell by the cut
in Clallam County.
After adjusting prices to reflect the
meat’s quality, and after a steep learning
curve, the farm is on its way to fiscal
health, the couple says.
The Clarks have found there is indeed
a market for top-quality, sustainably
raised meats in Port Angeles and the
surrounding areas.
“People are educated,” Holly says.
“And they are tired of the food system.”
Twenty years ago, the couple readily
admits that their farming venture would
have failed.
But documentaries like Food Inc.,
locavore movements and big increases in
food-related diseases and childhood obesity
have all contributed to a growing
awareness that it matters what people
put into their bodies. And it matters
maybe more than anything else.
“Currently we are in a food system
where food travels on average 1,500
miles to end up in the grocery store were
consumers can buy it,” Holly says.
She says that the number one foods
subsidized by the government are corn,
wheat, soybeans and dairy — foods that
in excess are linked with obesity and
heart disease.
“We are seeing the health of America
deteriorate from diseases caused by poor
nutrition,” Holly says.
“But, people are becoming more
aware of the problems we and our food
system have created,” Holly says.
She says that locally, there is a growing
niche for locally distributed food of
high quality that supports small farmers
like them who are working toward a sustainable
community, clean environment
and clean food.
Slower pace
Farming is a whole new way of life for
the Clark family.
“We now concentrate on what is
important to us now — better health,
our children, friends and our community,”
Holly says.
Ninety percent of the family’s meals
come from raw foods traded or grown
themselves.
Though she acknowledges that they
still have a long way to go, Holly says she
has personally lost more than 30 pounds.
Her main goal was to have more energy
and prevent inflammation flare ups. She
has accomplished both and has not been
on any medication in three years.
Jack, 18, went from being a 230
pound high school sophomore to a lean,
170-pound college freshman at the Washington
State University.
Maddie, 14, loves her role on the farm.
She can be found at the Port Angeles
Farmers Market helping her parents sell
the family farm’s meat.
Tom gets to do what he absolutely
loves to do — farm and raise animals.
Holly calls him the “cow whisperer.”
Thankfully, Holly and Tom feel they
weren’t too late to instill what they feel is
a better value system in their children.
“Material things come and go but
health and happiness are something you
need to work at every day for a long
quality life,” she says.
“I see my kids valuing this, too, and it
makes me feel like we made the right
choice to do what we are doing.”
One of the great joys for Tom and
Holly are hearing stories from their customers
who have met health challenges
with nutritional healing — Clark Farms’
meat being part of their healing diets.
After 21 years of teaching in Clallam
County, Holly says she knows it takes a
community to raise kids, and now as a
farmer she see it takes a community to
raise food as well.
“Local is where it’s at for the health of
us as individuals, the community and
the U.S. economy,” she says.
She and Tom feel blessed to be a part
of that local movement.
— STORY AND PHOTO
BY JENNIFER VENEKLASEN
where to find |
CLARK FARMS’ BEEF
In Port Angeles, buy Clark Farms beef at
Good To Go Grocery and Saturdays at the
Port Angeles Farmers Market.
In Sequim, find them at Hardy’s, The
Red Rooster Grocery and Nash’s Farm
Store. Meats are also available at Agnew
Grocery, Sunset West Co-op in Clallam Bay
and at the Joyce General Store.
If you’re eating out, try Alder Wood
Bistro in Sequim, Old Mill Cafe or Gabby’s
Gourmet in Carlsborg, Kokopelli Grill or
Bella Italia in Port Angeles.
Climate, soils, healthy grasses and
tender care create a bold flavor.
PENINSULADAILYNEWS.COM | HEALTHY LIVING | MARCH 2012 9