Building on a Family Legacy of Stewardship
At Small’s Family Farm in Washington’s Walla Walla Valley, farming is approached with “a philosophy, not a formula,” says farmer and owner Seth Small. That philosophy is rooted in building on the family’s four-generation legacy of careful land stewardship.
Seth grew up on the family farm, helping his parents sow and harvest responsibly grown commodity wheat. After a stint away at school, Seth returned to work with his father and began expanding on the family’s longstanding dedication to sustainable farming. Rather than continuing to focus on wheat varieties bred for yield and destined for the commodity market, Seth partnered with Washington State University to identify the best grains for producing high-quality baked goods. He assessed varieties for flavor, nutritional density, and baking performance rather than high output.
Harvest at the Small farm 1978. Left to right; Kalman Lonai, Ted Small, Mark Small, Chuck Beckley, Craig Wolfe, and “Hawk”.
In 2014, Seth began transitioning some of the farm’s fields to specific hard red wheats, and in 2016, Small’s launched a farm-to-table flour brand, selling to discerning commercial bakers and specialty markets in Walla Walla and greater Washington.
Small’s Family Farm now supplies premium baking flour to bakeries and restaurants across Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, and Arizona. The farm’s grain is grown using practices that leave the soil healthier with each harvest and produce nutritious, higher-performance baking flour with a complex flavor loved by bakers like Mel Darbyshire, head baker at Seattle’s Grand Central Bakery. “We can ferment (Seth’s) flour for a long time and it performs really well,” Mel has said. “Small’s in our ciabatta is amazing… As soon as you cut it open, you can smell the aroma.”
Seth and his family view farming as a long-term investment; the care they put into the land is reflected not only in the quality of their flour but in the land’s ability to continue supporting the family and their community into the future. They see short-term extraction as a choice and, Seth says, “We make a different choice.”
Small’s Family Farm is committed to practicing regenerative agriculture, which they view as a natural evolution of their historical approach to land health. While it can be harder work than conventional farming, it’s worth the effort: “For us, regenerative agriculture isn't a trending term or a marketing program. It's the unglamorous, daily work of farming in a way that builds soil health, restores biological diversity, and creates the conditions for the next generation to grow something even better than what came before.”
Regenerative practices at the farm include sowing cover crops that add nutrients back to the soil and prevent erosion, planting trees that build wildlife habitat, and avoiding tillage, field burning, and baling off of crop residue. The Smalls also protect their supply chain, ensuring their grain travels a transparent path from farm to mill to kitchen, with no brokers or traders in between. Bakers can trace their flour directly to the field in which it was grown.
Small’s Family Farm has been a Food Alliance Certified partner since 2024. And because Food Alliance partners with Salmon-Safe to incorporate Salmon-Safe water quality standards in Food Alliance grower certification criteria, Small’s Family Farm is also Salmon-Safe Certified. Both certification logos are proudly displayed on their flour bags, signaling to buyers a commitment to responsible farming choices and product quality. “Every bag carries the same care and pride we put into this farm every single day,” says Seth.
“Small’s Family Farm demonstrates what a responsible, whole-systems approach to growing looks like in practice,” says Food Alliance Executive Director Shaila Cook. “They make choices every season that prioritize the health of their land and community and result in a product customers love. Independently verified Food Alliance certification allows them to communicate that dedication to both commercial and home bakers.”
Get a taste of Small’s Family Farm flour at one of Grand Central Bakery’s multiple Pacific Northwest locations, Seattle’s Seawolf, Portland’s Good Dough, or Walla Walla’s own Big Cheese Pizza, and visit their website to learn more about their products and subscribe to their newsletter.