Ernst & Teuntje Zweegman came from the Netherlands in the late 1800's. They homesteaded their dairy north of Lynden. Their daughter Helena married Arnoldus Blankers in 1905, and in 1911 gave birth to Bertus, Shawn Langley's grandpa. Grandpa Blankers started farming on his own across the fields, and soon married Angeline. Their daughter Joyce married Ken Douma, who later passed away, and had Rachelle, Shawn, and Heidi. Shawn's mom Joyce remarried to Dave Langley, father of Lisa and Susan, and the rest is "history".
Shawn began spending every summer on his grandparent's farm after the sixth grade. "I loved working the land and farming with my grandpa," he says. Moving here full time after graduation, they worked side by side until Grandpa Blankers passed away in 2003, at the age of 91. Shawn and his wife, Clarissa, took over the management of the dairy 15 years ago.
Located near Lynden, our Washington dairy still harvests grass and corn off some of the same land as Shawn's great grandparents did in the late 19th century. As most of our farming practices were similar to organic, we decided to make the switch to operating a certified organic farm. Currently, we milk around 100 cows and raise our own young stock, which graze some of our 350 acres of pasture and cropland.
We also decided to bottle our own milk, after realizing that people in Washington had no other source for local, local, vat pasteurized, certified organic milk. Shawn brings the milk from the dairy to the plant, then separates, pasteurizes, and homogenizes the milk with Bill. Clarissa helps Bahram and Rene with the bottling, and Shawn's sister Shelli manages the office.