About Us
The Flatirons Farmers Coalition is a fiscally sponsored Chapter of the National Young Farmers Coalition
Our Mission
The Flatirons Farmers Coalition (FFC) is a growing group of farmers and ranchers: beginning, aspiring, established, young and old alike, committed to tending the land and cultivating community.
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FFC provides educational and social opportunities for growers and community members to learn and build community, and is a resource for understanding local, state, and national policy to ensure the future of agriculture and land stewardship.
Our Vision
FFC envisions a burgeoning and inclusive agricultural community and acts as a unifying body for those who wish to support local and regenerative agriculture, food security, and land stewardship.
The Flatirons:
If you can see them, you belong!
What We Do
Policy
Get Young Farmers on the Land
Development
Fundraising and Grants for Chapter Impact
Education
Farm Tours, Workshops, & More
Community
Pot-lucks, Parties, & Connection
Equity
Organizational Development and Inclusion
FFC's Policy Committee informs changes in policy at the city and county level to create a more equitable and burgeoning local food system
In previous seasons, the committee made a handbook to demystify and clarify the process by which local farmers access public land. The committee also surveyed members in 2020 to create a policy platform that can be used to help local policy makers understand the current opportunities and limitations in our food system.
All our committees are supported by the Development Committee, which builds partnerships with public and private donors, pursues grant opportunities, and helps ensure the chapter's success and financial well being.
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We depend on our community for financial support, so we can continue to offer services into the future. If you can support us today, get in touch or click to donate. We are a fiscally sponsored chapter of the National Young Farmers Coalition, a 501 (c) 3, so your donation is tax-deductible.
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FFC's Education Committee organizes multiple educational events per year, from workshops to farm tours to lectures. Subjects are chosen to meet our members' and community's expressed needs.
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The education committee is currently creating an educational curriculum for 2024, including a deep dive information around building regenerative systems and improving soil health practices
FFC's Community Committee organizes social events, like parties and pot-lucks, where farmers, aspiring farmers, and community members can gather to meet one another, share successes and hardships, and support one another.
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We believe that we should all have the chance to know our farmers, and that we have much to learn from each other.
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FFC's Equity Collective has worked to support inclusion within our chapter and the broader farming community. This group formed out of the chapter's desire to be more inclusive to all identities in our community, including gender, race, age, sexuality, socioeconomic status, and experience. Click below to learn about our Inclusion Framework!
Organization History and Top Accomplishments
Our chapter was founded in the fall of 2016. Since then, we have continued to grow and are increasingly impactful within the farming community of the Flatirons region.
Support Our Work
All our committees are supported by the Development Committee, which builds partnerships with public and private donors, pursues grant opportunities, and helps ensure the chapter's success and financial well being.
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We depend on our community for financial support, so we can continue to offer services into the future. If you can support us today, get in touch or click to donate. We are a fiscally sponsored chapter of the National Young Farmers Coalition, a 501 (c) 3, so your donation is tax-deductible.
The Leadership Board
Eric Knutson
President, 2024-2025
Eric grew up in sub-burbs of Louisville and lived in Hawaii shortly after high school where he helped start a community school garden. Since then, Eric graduated from CSU where he studied soil and crop science. Eric has been working at Caribou Ranch helping to run cattle and work with horses. This experience has really inspired and helped him to grow as a young farmer and rancher. Eric has also started his own transportation logistics company and manages his own livestock. Eric encourages connection. Please get in touch to “talk story.”
Andie Young
Education Chair, 2023-2024
Andie lives and farms in Boulder Colorado with his partner and baby. Andie has been farming for over 15 years raising rare heritage livestock and open pollinated veggies and bees. Most recently Andie was the farm manager and charcuterie director for a local 425 acre certified Organic Biodynamic farm in Boulder, raising pork and lamb for local customers, two downtown restaurants, and the Boulder farmers market. Andie loves teaching whole animal butchery and on farm slaughter classes, and is committed to soil fertility as well as adapting and strengthening systems of resiliency within our farming communities.
Adam Wascholl
Treasurer, 2024-2025
Adam Wascholl runs Green Thumb Accounting. One of the reasons he moved to Colorado was because he knew there was a culture around local farms and food, and he wanted to explore the possibilities. He is excited to use his accounting skills to support farming through his involvement with FFC. Over the past year, Adam has taken the time to learn more about nonprofit accounting and is excited to help FFC refine its financial processes.
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Lauren Kelso
Policy Chair, 2024-2025
Lauren is the Site Director at Growing Gardens, where she helps to manage their growing and propagation team. Lauren also has 5 chickens, 1 6 year old kiddo, and her husband. Prior to becoming the policy chair, Lauren participated on the Policy Committee and really enjoyed the focus of the work. She likes helping keep her community informed about things that could impact them, and giving them a voice in those matters.
Wesley Vaughn
Community Chair, 2024-2025
Wes has called Boulder CO home since 2020. He currently serves as the CSA Manager at Growing Gardens, where he explores his interest of growing food for the community, learning regenerative farming practices, as well as teaching the future generation of farmers how to care for the soil, their health, and the well being of our planet. He hopes to use this experience to support through his role as FFC's Community Chair. Wes aims to bring folks together to experience community, feed off each others passions, and work towards brining people closer to their food sources.
Lauren Dunteman
Chapter Coordinator, 2020-Present
Having grown up on a farm herself, Lauren is very passionate about supporting her local ag community. She completed her masters degree through the Masters of the Environment program at CU. Lauren chose to specialize in Sustainable Food Systems to lift up regeneration in agriculture and empower more farmers and brands to take care of themselves, their land, and their communities. Lauren now works as the coordinator to support systems level change in her local community, and she also works as a consultant connecting farmers with markets that will support their transition and commitment to ecological and social regeneration.
Brian De Corte
Development Chair, 2023-2024
Brian is the owner of Ver De Terre Compost, a local vermicompost business located at the Treehouse Farm Collective, and also a freelance grant writer for local and sustainable agriculture nonprofits and farms. He serves as the grant writer for GoFarm, a Golden-based nonprofit working to strengthen the local food system through farmer training, community food access, and local food distribution. Brian has been involved with FFC since joining the Development Committee as a volunteer in 2020 and is passionate about the organization’s work to support the needs of our community’s local food producers