Andrew Stout – Owner (with wife Wendy Munroe)

When did you decide to become a farmer?
In 1995, I was 26 years old. Wendy and I were out of school and had traveled, skied, and adventured enough to feel like it was time to get a real job. Organic farming was starting to come into its own and appealed to us as a way to establish a meaningful career and lifestyle. So we headed back to my home state of Minnesota to learn more. Once there, I landed an apprenticeship at a local organic farm and started looking for farmland. Fortunately, as it turns out, after looking at some 40 properties in Minnesota and Wisconsin, none of which was just right, we decided to head west to Seattle and found 5 acres in North Bend.

Many people associate a certain set of values with organic farming – does Full Circle Farm have a mission that drives its work?
Yes, absolutely. We seek to grow healthy, high-quality food with integrity and passion, to take care of the land on which it grown, and to run our farm with good business practices that are an asset to the community we live in.

After 11 years of farming during which you’ve grown to more than 250 acres, what inspires you?
I’d have to say it’s when we have a school group out to the farm. It’s great to see everything through new, wonder-filled eyes as the kids are taking it all in. Often, they’ll ask where we keep our animals. Once, when answering that question (we don’t have any livestock), I started to recite a list of 20 or more types of wildlife we have on the farm and one of our resident bald eagles swooped down in front of the kids. Sheer poetry!

What’s your favorite food?
At the Stout-Munroe home, weekend breakfast is almost a religion. There is nothing I love better than a leisurely morning with farm-fresh eggs, bacon, homemade waffles and genuine maple syrup, and roasted potatoes.

When you are not working, how do you like to spend your time?
Well, it used to be cycling and snowboarding. But these days Wendy and I are busy raising a family. We have two boys, Clare – nearly 3 years old and Miles – almost 1 year old. Never a dull moment at our house . . . but I still find time to read a good book now and then.

Are you reading anything interesting right now?
Yes, a fascinating book by Alan Weisman called The World Without Us in which the author describes what would happen to the Earth if humans were to suddenly disappear.

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