Heritage

Fresh Breeze Organic Farm has a heritage that is 114 years in the making!

In 1901, our great-great-grandparents never gave generational farming a second thought, working hard with the family was simply what they did. Truthfully, it is what our family has always done.  In fact, though there are longs days, early mornings, and late nights; running the dairy doesn’t feel like hard work. It’s our life’s work and our passion.

Ernst & Teuntje Zweegman came from the Netherlands in the late 1800’s. They homesteaded their dairy north of Lynden in 1901. 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 … well … 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 23 years ago.

Located near Lynden, our Washington dairy still harvests grass and corn off some of the same land as Shawn’s great grandparents farmed in the early 20th 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 323 cows and raise our own young stock.  Our animals enjoy free range grazing on our 900 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, vat pasteurized, certified organic milk. Shawn brings the milk from the dairy to the plant, where it is separated, pasteurized, some homogenized, and bottled. Clarissa manages the office and is the artisan behind the finest Dutch chocolate milk in the Northwest.  We are glad you found our dairy and we look forward to providing excellent products for you for many years to come.

Do you have questions? Please contact us at: julie@freshbreezeorganic.com

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