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Ron and Shelly Muzzall are the fourth generation on the family farm on Whidbey Island.
In 2010 the farm will become a centennial Washington farm. They have three daughters.
That is where the 3 Sisters Family Farms name was derived from. The farm consists
of 600 acres mostly hay and pasture but they also raise Cabbage for seed and barley
for their layer flock and hogs They currently run about 150 mother cows using all
the offspring to supply grocery stores, internet and farm stand sales. They
belong to Island Grown Farmers Cooperative where they have their grass fed beef
and all natural hogs processed under USDA inspection.
The Muzzall family has long been recognized for their conservation and sustainable
practices. It is really just a way of life from what we eat to how we heat our home.
This has really not changed for many generations. The biggest problem on any farm
is really just cash, from generating it to keeping it. So conserving is a way of
life, from used wire to used equipment. We utilize the manure from our animals for fertilizer in the form of dry
manure and liquid manure from our lagoons. Most of our seed down consists of either
Alfalfa and grass or Clover and grass. The compliment of legumes and grass provide
for each other. With 95 percent of our land in sod or timber you can only imagine
the carbon sequestration that exists. We use a integrated pest management system
and realistically the 95 percent of our land that is in sod never sees any pesticides.
Our biggest weed control challenge is our fencerows and our timber and agricultural
land interface. Pesticides and commercial fetilizer cost cash and we use as little
as possible in order to remain sustainable. Ron and Shelly have been involved
with farmer cooperatives, their church and served on various county committees. Our
goal is to continue the family legacy of sustainable farming on Whidbey Island.
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