Oh Yeah! Farms

A spotlight on Chris Petry’s organic farm in the foothills of the Cascades

True to it’s name, Oh Yeah! Farms in Leavenworth, Washington is the product of mountain-driven stoke redirected into sustainable, regenerative food-growing. 

The delicate balance between work and play for the farmer and climber — photo: Oh Yeah! Farms Collection

Chris Petry, owner of Oh Yeah! Farms, is quickly gaining fame in the Farm To Crag community for coining the phrase “GET RAD FOR FOOD,” and for good reason. 

Chris’s younger years revolved around getting rad, period. From college track athlete, to spending his seasons guiding and pursuing hard skiing and climbing objectives, Chris satisfied his need for physical exertion and adventure without lifting a shovel. During those years he came to believe in the power of healthy food in his own active body, so in 2008 when an unstable economy left him without guiding work, Chris decided to give farming a try. Working with the original organic farmer badass of Leavenworth, Grant Gibbs, Chris learned about small-scale, diverse, regenerative farming and about growing, reaping and milling grains. He discovered that he could use his own hands and some of his abundant energy to support something greater than himself. 

Getting farmy with an abundant Oh Yeah! eggplant harvest — photo: Alasdair Turner

In the years since, Chris started Oh Yeah! Farms and has become what he calls an “ambassador of an active lifestyle.” A short distance from epic climbing and skiing, farming in Leavenworth allows Chris to balance summer growing and winter mountain guiding. He uses his hard work ethic and mountain-mentality to give back: feeding people healthy, organic food, improving the health of the land using regenerative, sustainable practices, and mentoring the next generation of farmers through on-site education and housing.

Oh Yeah! Farms’ beet bounty — photo: Oh Yeah! Farms Collection

Composting, crop rotation and fallowing to keep soil healthy and plants strong without pesticides or synthetic fertilizers are among some of Oh Yeah! Farms ethos, along with promoting healthy wheat consumption. By bringing back traditional grain-growing, milling and sourdough bread-baking, Chris has reintroduced wheat as a health-food to his community; no small feat in a time when industrial wheat has, for good reason, gotten a bad rap, and many health-conscious athletes have excluded it from their diet entirely. Chris believes that when wheat is grown organically, milled fresh and eaten whole and fermented (think of sourdough bread as the grain-version of sauerkraut), that it is a completely different product than the stripped-down, highly processed, chemically-laden and poorly grown version that the majority of our nation’s grocery stores and bakeries carry. 

Wheat, like the other plants you consume, is more delicious and nutritious when local and fresh — photo: Oh Yeah! Farms Collection

As a new member to the Leavenworth Community myself, and the partner of a baker, I have enjoyed the benefits of eating fresh Oh Yeah! Farms flour, and feel grateful to have a local source for sustainably-grown wheat. I can say from experience that Chris can best be described as a true feeder of his people; he is a connector and supporter of his community and his generosity is contagious. With an “Oh Yeah!” mentality through and through, Chris has his hand in a million different pots, but he’s never too busy to help a stranger out, to fill a friend’s cup or do whatever else needs to be done. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from Chris Petry, it’s that the world would be a better place if we could all be a little more generous and giving with our radness.

Getting rad off the farm — photo: Oh Yeah! Farms Collection

Where you can find Oh Yeah! produce

Check out the Leavenworth Farmers Market: Thursday 4-7 May-October. Plan it into your rest day on a trip to the Enchantments, or stop by after a morning cragging or bouldering up Icicle Creek.

You can also find Oh Yeah! produce in Seattle: Saturdays 9-2 at the University District Farmers Market and Sundays 10-2 at the West Seattle Farmers Market.

For more about Oh Yeah! Farms and what Chris Petry and his crew are up to, check out their website and follow them on instagram @ohyeahfarms