Ben Craft and Gretchen Hoyt
Founding Farmers, Community Leaders, Benevolent Mentors

After farming together for four decades—through all the good times and all the hard times—Ben and Gretchen remain a fixture both at Alm Hill Gardens and in the farming community at large. They bring quite an impressive set of resumes to our team: Started in the 19070s as a raspberry patch, the farm is now one of the most diversified, top producing, year-round, direct-market organic farms in the state, one that enjoys top seniority at many farmers markets in Western Washington and has thousands of loyal customers throughout the region. Alm Hill, known by insiders as a farm that specializes in bringing quality items to market, is a model for other organic farms to emulate. Whether it be berries, vegetables, greens, wreaths, flowers, or value-added items, Alm Hill has set the pace for year-round farmers in our state.

Both semi-retired, they serve as mentors at Alm Hill, helping the new generation run the food production at the farm. They also maintain their winter and spring flower business, specializing in early season tulips and peonies. With his new found time off Ben enjoys riding his motorcycle in the country, having strong opinions, bragging about his lemon tree, and coming up with new farm and crop innovations. A life-time cultivator, Gretchen is as involved in growing her community as she is in growing food and flowers, organizing language classes for both Spanish and English speakers, heading up the effort to bring a Community Garden to Everson, and giving her time to several agriculture-related boards and committees.