About Flatirons Farmers Coalition
Flatirons Farmers Coalition
OUR MISSION AND VISION
FFC creates a thriving and inclusive local agricultural community rooted in regenerative agriculture, food security, and land stewardship.
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To do this, we connect and empower Boulder County growers and community members through peer-to-peer learning, community building, and advocacy.
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Our coalition is made up of farmers and ranchers of all ages and experience levels, as well as local food advocates. We welcome anyone committed to tending the land and cultivating community.
We support Boulder County farmers and ranchers
FFC supports beginning and established farmers in many ways. We provide educational and social opportunities for growers and community members to learn about agriculture and build inspiring connections. And we advocate for local, state, and national policy to ensure a sustainable and regenerative future for agriculture and land stewardship, and provide resources to our community to understand these policies.
Want to get involved? Read more about our committees and submit an interest form! ​
Policy
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Advocate for the immediate needs of beginning farmers and the resilience of our farming community on a local, state, and national level
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Create new systems of support for our members
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Host annual farm tours for state and federal representatives
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Past: Improved transparency in awarding process for Boulder County Open Space agricultural bids
Community
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Host social gatherings to build community and celebrate local agriculture, including monthly potlucks, hikes, and our annual Hoe Down
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Foster connections between farmers, ranchers, and community members who care about supporting local food
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Build awareness of the challenges facing our local food system
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Support our members' health and wellbeing
Education
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Host farm tours and workshops on a variety of topics chosen by members that are specific to farming in Boulder County
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Facilitate annual Farmer Forum roundtables
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Share resources to support food security, sustainable land stewardship, and holistic wellbeing
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Past: Created an educational curriculum focused on sustainability/ resiliency that engaged 360+ attendees across 30 events (2021-2023)
Development
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Support our Coalition's activities by applying for grants and organizing fundraisers
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Build relationships with individual donors, foundations, and other organizations
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Expand organizational capacity and community impact
Our organization and committees are dedicated to centering inclusion across our activities. Learn more
Our impact on local and sustainable agriculture
We create broad-reaching impact across Boulder County to embody our goal of creating a more inclusive and regenerative food system. Here's a snapshot:
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Our workshops support both beginning and regenerative farmers with topics like: driving trailers, diversifying on-farm income, growing season extension, cover cropping, machine maintenance, and more!
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We formed a growing relationship with the City of Boulder's Open Space and Mountain Parks and Boulder County's Parks and Open Space. We've also established a warm relationship with and hosted farm tours for Congresspeople Neguse (CO) and Armstrong (ND). Through these relationships, FFC helped to inspire the Study on Improving Our Lands (SOIL) Act.
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We host annual Hoe Downs that enable an average of 100-150 attendees to celebrate another successful season, build community, and contribute to our organization's fundraising.
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We recently launched the Boulder Valley Farming Families Support Fund which provides much-needed stipends and resources to new parents.
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FFC currently has 35 active members and growing, but our programming reaches close to 400 people annually.
The Leadership Team
Eric Knutson
President
Eric grew up around Louisville and studied crop and soil science at CSU. He works at Caribou Ranch with cattle and horses, has a transportation logistics company, and manages his own livestock. He is a connector and loves hearing people's stories.
Lauren Dunteman
Coalition Director
Lauren is passionate about supporting local ag, having grown up on a farm. She has a Masters of the Environment focused on Sustainable Food Systems. At FFC, she supports changes in her local community, and she's also a consultant for global regenerative ag.
Adam Wascholl
Treasurer
Adam runs Green Thumb Accounting. He loves Colorado in part because of the culture around local farms and food. He is excited to use his accounting skills to support farming through his involvement with FFC, and help us improve financial processes.
Lindsey Beatrice
Communications Assistant
Lindsey has a knack for sharing stories in a way that engages and inspires. She has a Master's of the Environment in Sustainable Food Systems, and ran a small flower farm for 2 seasons. She aims to transform systems by elevating those planting seeds of regeneration.
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Lauren Kelso
Policy Committee Chair
Lauren is the Site Director at Growing Gardens, managing the growing and propagation teams. Lauren also has 5 chickens, a 6 year old kiddo, and a husband. She likes helping keep her community informed about things that could impact them, and giving them a voice in those matters.
Wesley Vaughn
Community Committee Chair
Wes has called Boulder home since 2020, and is the CSA Manager at Growing Gardens. He's interested in regenerative farming and teaching others to create wellbeing for the community and planet. At FFC he brings folks together, encourages their passions, and connects them to food.
Erin Sullivan
Education Committee Chair
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Erin’s work with the State of Colorado Dept. of Ag, BCFM, and a variety of local farms gives her great appreciation for local producers. Her interests are in season extension, flower growing, farm business models, decentralizing meat production, and heirloom corn. She also has a small beeswax candle business.
Brian De Corte
Development Committee Chair
Brian is the owner of Ver De Terre Compost, is a freelance grant writer for sustainable agriculture nonprofits and farms, and is a food systems analyst at KK&P. Since 2020 he's worked with the Development Committee to grow FFC's capacity to support the needs of local food producers.