Real Life For A Local Farmer

Tough Decisions Facing Iconic Bainbridge Island Vintners

Without a doubt Gerard Bentryn of the Bainbridge Island Winery has been perhaps the most local of local Kitsap farmers. He produces his own grapes on the BI vineyard, crushes them and ferments the juice into wine that is by and large marketed locally as well. He has been a fiery voice for local food all of his life and a major force for helping Bainbridge Island growers get a start and prosper.

Despite his lifelong commitment and relative success it has not been a smooth road. He and his wife Jo Ann had to give up part of their vineyards several years ago in order to fund some family needs that were not met with the profitability of the farming and winery operations. Some of that land was taken out of production permanently.

Gerard Bentryn Taking Care of the Vines

This newspaper article from the Kitsap Sun tells the story that the Bentryns are faced with another decision at the age when they need to face the reality of how they will live in their later years and what might happen to all that they have built and the people that they have helped.

The Bentryn’s story illustrates a lot about local food that is so valuable about local food and our communities and highlights two of the highest hurdles to success in the effort to make growing and eating local food mainstream: farmland preservation and farmer succession.

The Kitsap Community and Agricultural Alliance is dedicated to this mission. Our task force includes working groups dealing with how to finance farmland acquisition and infrastructure development, how to build communities around individual farms, how to set the right price for local food and local products and how to support new farmers to gain the necessary skills and resources to continue profitable farming operations on existing farms. The Bentryns are not the only Kitsap farmers facing this problem. Anecdotally, I know of up to 20-30 farmland owners or farmers who are facing the same questions about what will happen to their farms when they are no longer able to continue on. Nationally, the average age of farmers is about 57.

This is why it is important that the KCAA grows its membership and capacities to be able to take direct and indirect action to help farmers like the Bentryns. We hope that the task force will evolve and become the seed for future local food networks and systems that will provide on-going work and energy to accomplish these tasks.

How would you help the Bentryns or any farmer get the resources needed for retirement and facilitate the continuance of their farm operations? You can comment below.