It’s with a grateful and heavy heart that we share news about changes at Cloud Mountain Farm Center. While we will still operate our nursery, agricultural education program, and processing facilities in 2025, our fruit program will be on hold. Learn more about this change here.
During the many decades we’ve been in production, it’s brought us so much joy to bring delicious, local fruit to the community. We want to express our deepest thanks to you – our customers, partners, and community – for all your support over the years.
The very first apple trees were planted at the farm in 1979.
History
The first trees were planted at Cloud Mountain in 1979 by Tom and Cheryl Thornton, local legends who ran the orchards and vineyards for many years. They grew everything from Jonagold apples to garlic to nursery stock to blueberries. From the very beginning, this farm was a community effort – friends and fellow farmers came out to help with those initial plantings, many of whom have also continued to live and farm in this community.
Our orchards and vineyards have been the site of innovation and collaboration since the first trees were planted. For years, we operated an internship program that invited folks to explore skill-building in agriculture. Our farm has also been honored to facilitate and participate in research trials and educational events throughout the years.
Tom & Cheryl Thornton, farmers and founders of Cloud Mountain Farm Center.
Our Partners
The longevity and success of Cloud Mountain’s fruit program has only been possible because of our incredible partners. Cloud Mountain was an original member of Puget Sound Food Hub (PSFH) and had a critical role in helping to get PSFH operational during its early days. We are – and will continue to be – an aggregation and processing site for PSFH today.
Cloud Mountain has been involved in the local farmers market since the 1980s and was part of the Bellingham Farmers Market (BFM) when it became the BFM Association in 1992. We’ve sold vegetables from our farm, nursery plants, and fresh fruit from our orchards at the market over the years. We’re so grateful for the support of the Bellingham Farmers Market and its many customers – growing fruit for you is what made our hard work out in the fields feel so worthwhile! We will continue to have a presence at the BFM in the spring, selling nursery plants, so please still drop by and come say hello to our awesome Nursery crew.
We’ve been a Bellingham Farmers Market vendor for decades, and it’s been such a rewarding experience.
Bellewood Farms has pressed our cider for many years.
We’ve been working with Mallard Ice Cream for over 10 years, producing fruit destined for their many imaginative ice cream flavors. Some might remember sampling Mallard’s ice cream at our annual Fall Fruit Festival over the years, too.
Our farm center remains an aggregation site for the Twin Sisters Farmers Markets, a food-access and farmer-support organization started by several local farmers, a few of whom have ties to Cloud Mountain as former interns and/or incubator farmers.
We’ve also been supported and championed by the Community Food Coops, the Rome Store, and Bellewood Farms – who pressed our cider for many years.
Events
It was a gift to connect with many of you over the years at our events. Cloud Mountain hosted the Fall Fruit Festival for thirty years, where folks tasted all manner of unique, delicious fruits in good company. More recently, it’s been a pleasure to welcome other farmers to our educational Field Days and our community-oriented Tasting Events.
The Fall Fruit Festival was a beloved community event for many years.
We look forward to continuing to serve our community in 2025 and beyond. Photo credit: Connor Harron
What’s Next
There are other perennial tree fruit producers in the area for you to purchase local fruit from, including Winding Road Farm, Bellewood Farms, and Sauk Farm.
Despite these changes, we remain excited to focus on other Cloud Mountain programs, and we encourage you to support our nursery (we open on February 1) by purchasing regionally-adapted plants for your own landscapes, attending educational workshops that build skills and community resilience, or simply stopping by the farm during our open hours to explore our unique selection of fruit trees and ornamentals. You can also stay up to date on our other programs, including Agricultural Career Education – Whatcom and our processing, aggregation, and distribution facilities by subscribing to our newsletter or following us on social media.
Cloud Mountain staff have continued to care for our orchards and vineyards during this transition. Our hope in the coming months is to collaborate with our community to ensure that this farm continues production that serves our regional food system. Stay tuned for this outreach.
Thank You
Thank you for supporting our farm and our fruit for 40+ years. We couldn’t have done any of it without you!
