ABOUT US
We are Suzanne Broetje and Roger Bairstow, co-founders of 4th Seed Farm. We moved to Orcas Island in 2022 with our 3 daughters, after working together in agriculture for over 20 years in Eastern Washington. Our decision to move was the culmination of many things. Roger is originally from Connecticut, worked for Rodale Institute, and spent time in rural communities of Central America. Suzanne grew up on her family's apple farm and studied women and rural development in East Africa. As graduate students, we lived together on a one-acre demonstration farm in Kenya, which trained subsistence farmers in sustainable practices of food and livestock production. We were inspired by the power of community connection and resilience as we gathered together to learn over warm cups of tea. These experiences planted a deep love in us for community-based agriculture, as well as a dream to grow tea.
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After returning to the US, we spent the next 20 years in senior management positions with our family farm at Broetje Orchards: Roger as the head of corporate social responsibility; and Suzanne as head of international grantmaking. It is there we practiced the art of doing business as ministry, directing profits from the apple farm to serve the needs of employees, their families, and vulnerable farming communities around the world.
In this next chapter, we seek to build on all we have learned, connecting with the small farm network on Orcas Island and opening up our farm as a resource and place of learning for others. In a climate stressed world, we hope to connect people more deeply to where they source their food and clothing and seek ways to support local farmers and producers that bring hope and healing to the land and all of creation.
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Live simply so that others may simply live - Mahatma Gandhi
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OUR NAME AND ITS MEANING
4th Seed is drawn from a parable in the Bible. A farmer went out to sow seeds. The seeds scattered in different places: on the path, on rocky ground, among thorns, and in good soil. The conditions under which the seeds fell determined whether they grew and how well.
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Our hearts are like soil, shaping the world around us. Are we like a quick moving path, rushing so fast that no seed takes root? Are we hardened like rocky ground, where shallow roots wither and fade? Are we consumed by too many distractions so that seeds get choked out by other desires and priorities? Or do we have open hearts and minds that enable seeds to take root and flourish for the betterment of us all?
We seek to nurture that 4th seed, rooted in love, reciprocity, responsibility, and community. We recognize our impact on others and are accountable to the land and all the life that she sustains, now and into the future.