Moscow Food Co-op Producer Profile

Pat Vaughan

by Jen Stevens, from the November 2003 newsletter

Fall has come upon us, and with it, local apples and pears from Pat Vaughan’s orchard in the Co-op’s produce section. You may have seen and tasted his raspberries earlier in the summer as well.

I recently visited Pat on the farm where he and his family live near Moscow, Idaho. Spanning some six acres, it was originally part of a larger farm in the 1950s that included peas, wheat, and livestock. The surrounding land that used to belong to the original farm but isn’t part of Pat’s is now under the Conservation Reserve Program, which pays farmers to return their land to natural vegetation. The upshot is that there is no spraying on the lands surrounding Pat’s organic farm. Pat’s family includes his wife Cece who works in town, daughter Katie, and son Henry. Although Pat is the full-time farmer of the family, farming is very much part of their “whole family life,” especially at harvest time.

They’ve been out on the farm for about three and a half years now. Before that, they lived in town for a couple of years. And still prior to that, they had lived in various states and in Germany and Korea during Pat’s twenty years with the Army. Their last assignment was in Seattle, which they liked, but found too big. Pat is originally from Boise, and had wanted to go back. They had driven through Moscow a couple of times and had liked it very much, partly because it “seemed like a great place to raise a family.”

Pat had thought about becoming a teacher after retiring from the Army, but found another path. Shortly after moving to Moscow, Pat met Mary Jane Butters and became an apprentice at her farm. He served there for a year and decided that he wanted to farm on his own. The past few years on the farm have been busy ones and he’s been selling various items to the Co-op from the first year on, including eggs, fruit, and other crops. As a new farmer, Pat really appreciates the support of the Co-op. In addition to producing for the Co-op, Pat has also been involved as a member of the Board of Directors. He was initially appointed to a one-year term and then was elected for a subsequent three year term. He recently finished his second term but wanted to keep contributing, and so became a writer for the Moscow Food Co-op Community Newsletter.

In the past year, Pat has focused more on developing the farm’s infrastructure, including planting new berry bushes and more fruit and nut trees. Rather than growing rapidly and feeling overextended, he decided that he would prefer “growing gradually into the growing business.” Moreover, growing gradually has made it easier to balance the farm with their family life and Cece’s job. Although Pat and his family haven’t yet decided whether they will continue farming indefinitely, he feels that their experience on the farm will have been well worth it. Just living out where they do has allowed them to learn new skills. They’ve also enjoyed the community of their neighbors and the beauty of nature and the local wildlife, including moose, bears, deer, and turkeys. Although town living is easier in some ways, they’ve found that country living has its rewards.

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