As you walk around the Empyrean Farm, you can feel the connection where deep Whatcom County history meets modern farming practices. There’s a link between the old and new ways that creates a symbiotic relationship needed for progress. Located at 6338 Mount Baker Highway, this plot of land is known locally not by its numbers but by its storied past as the Zender family’s homestead.
When Eliza Steele and Jeremy Dehnert purchased the property, in 2020, they weren’t searching for anything historical; it just fit into the broader search for land where they could start a farm. The proximity to Mount Baker was a huge bonus. They were living on Vashon Island, running their home design business, Steele Design, and helping out on the farm where they lived. They initially planned to stay on Vashon, but when work moved to remote, they could expand their search. When they stepped foot on this piece of land, they knew it was the spot where they would start their farm.
“We’re really passionate about it,” says Steele. “We started growing our own food while living on a farm, and were growing more than enough for ourselves in a very small amount of space. We just kept wanting more space, so we decided to just go for this, and that’s when we started making the direction of owning our own farm and starting a business.”
With one growing season under their belt and another in full swing, Empyrean Farm now shares its food with the public and is working to expand those offerings. Their produce is available daily at their farm stand — which they share with neighboring Kulshan Roots Farm — from 10 a.m. to dusk, and at local stores and restaurants. They sell what’s in season outside and what can be grown in their greenhouse. They are expanding their produce growing area and have added some cows and sheep, which are being raised for meat.
While purchasing the property, Steel and Dehnert learned about the ties to the Zender family from its previous owner: their history as a logging family and the Deming Loggers’ baseball team. Still, not being from Whatcom County, they held no deeper connection with the family or the land’s past. That changed when the couple was approached by Jordan Zender, who was looking to rent a shop on the property. He started Zender and McNeilly Logging Corp. and needed a place to maintain his equipment. From his family’s history with the property, he knew there was a large enough building, and that it was set up for working on equipment.
“It has a lot of meaning for me because I used to spend a lot of weekends as a kid going to work with my dad at those shops while Zee Brothers Logging was still operating there,” says Zender. “I always enjoyed seeing my Grandpa Red there. There were also quite a few other family members working there at the time.”
Steele and Dehnert didn’t originally plan to rent the space, but when Zender reached out, it felt meant to be. They’ve also been contacted by other Zenders who appreciate that the property being used as a farm. “People say, ‘Our great-grandma and grandpa would be so proud that you’re doing this.’ It feels really awesome that we’re doing something that’s honoring that lineage to the descendants,” Steele says.
While the Empyrean Farm continues to take shape, Steele and Dehnert are moving forward with the previous and future generations in mind by being intentional with their farming practices. The couple is constantly learning and implementing both old and new techniques that will result in healthy land that can produce a supply of locally grown food. Steele is currently in a permaculture certification course. Once the water piece is figured out, they want to set up the property as a food forest where the plants work together naturally as they would in a forest.
In the short term, Steele and Dehnert are focused on getting more crops in the ground and harvesting this season. Finding distribution channels has been a challenge, so they’re exploring more avenues for getting their food on people’s plates. In the future, they’re considering starting a CSA.
As the farm becomes more established, the couple would also like to share the knowledge they’re learning and bring in experts to host workshops on everything from farming techniques to regenerative building practices. They see the property as a playground where people can gather for events and markets.
“We think it would be really fun to get more community to the farm by starting to host events that bring people to share the space,” says Steele.
They have plans to continue to build on the property while keeping the old buildings in place to honor the past. Their home, built in in 1920, was the second house on the property, and they’re still making use of the old barn. While most of their time is spread between farming and designing, the couple still finds time to update their happenings — and any future events — on Instagram.
