> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.jeffcobeacon.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The Chimacum Workhorses: Making Fossil-Fuel-Reduced Farming Possible - URL: https://www.jeffcobeacon.com/the-chimacum-workhorses-making-fossil-fuel-reduced-farming-possible/ - Published: 2026-09-16T01:53:47.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-16T01:53:47.000Z - Description: John and Jim, two blond brothers, live in a world apart from the city rush. Together, they work most days in a tranquil field under a sky full of birdsong. - Author: Diane Urbani de la Paz - Tags: local-news, Farm tour, Chimacum Workhorse Project, Farm Tour of East Jefferson County, Chimacum Corner Farmstand, Washington State University Extension, Production Alliance, Diane Urbani de la Paz These horses’ partners are a couple of teamsters in the original sense: Karen and Dave Seabrook, formerly of Vancouver, Washington, looked for a house in Port Townsend upon retirement and, not finding one that was right for them, moved nine years ago to Chimacum. The Seabrooks are the two-legged crew of the Chimacum Workhorse Project, one of 25 participants on this weekend’s Farm Tour of East Jefferson County. The tour, a free public event, “is a rare chance to step beyond the farm gate and discover the people, passion and hard work behind the food we eat,” the Production Alliance proclaims. A map and a list of which farms are open on which days this weekend are found at [theproductionalliance.org/farmtour](http://theproductionalliance.org/farmtour?ref=jeffcobeacon.com). Farms will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, September 19 and 20, while half a dozen workshops on soil, herbs, hydroponics and other topics are offered during the weekend. Farm Tour Central at the Chimacum Corner store at 9122 Rhody Drive also has abundant information and merchandise. The nonprofit Production Alliance and Washington State University Extension are presenting this 24th annual Farm Tour. New this year is Chimalow Produce, which has secured a permanent home at 2581 West Valley Road in Chimacum. ![Karen Seabrook, left, pauses with John the workhorse.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c6/a2/c6a241c6-69f5-450c-9fd7-6b170730e448/content/images/2026/09/Karen-Seabrook.jpeg) **Karen Seabrook pauses with John, one of her two equine partners at the Chimacum Workhorse Project. Photo by Diane Urbani de la Paz* Also on the tour is Compass Rose Farms, a 40-acre haven with gardens, trails and a flock of Icelandic sheep at 1463 W. Uncas Road. This is the tour’s one farm in Quilcene, noted Production Alliance organizer Reilly Berkshire. “We want to encourage folks to visit Compass Rose because they are further away from the other farms on the tour, but a wonderful location. I can’t undersell the beauty of the place,” Berkshire said. At the Chimacum Workhorse Project, which is behind Finnriver Farm & Cidery at 124 Center Road in Chimacum, the heavy lifters are John and Jim, Belgian draft horses weighing close to 1 ton each. Their farm produces crops including onions, garlic, carrots, beets, Swiss chard, kohlrabi, cabbage, bok choy, rutabagas and three kinds of potatoes—raised without fossil-fueled implements. Dave, 67, and Karen, 64, are retired from careers in the fire service and nursing, respectively. They came across a workhorse-farming workshop in Oregon in 2018\. “Wouldn’t that be fun?” was their first response—and it turned out they loved the work. The couple went back to workshops several years in a row, and then traveled to Coolville, Ohio, where they bought John and Jim in 2022\. The horses, trained by Amish farmers, are showing what’s possible on 4 acres of land leased from Finnriver. During the Farm Tour, “we’ll show people what it’s like,” said Karen. “We’ll do some demos,” so visitors can see how John, Jim and the two humans cooperate. The Chimacum Workhorse Project seeks to help feed the local community—without trucks and tractors. Their farm “wagon,” Dave noted, is their Nissan Leaf, an electric car. ![Belgian draft horses John, left, and his brother Jim in their yokes in front of a green plow. ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c6/a2/c6a241c6-69f5-450c-9fd7-6b170730e448/content/images/2026/09/John-and-Jim.jpeg) **John, left, and his brother Jim are ready to host visitors during the Farm Tour this Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Photo by Diane Urbani de la Paz* Our food system is all too dependent on petroleum, from soil to plate, said Dave. He and Karen defy that system, focusing on crops that can be stored for many months without refrigeration. These include dry corn; pinto, black and Whipple beans; potatoes; garlic and winter squash. The Seabrooks sell their produce to the Chimacum Corner Farmstand and the local food banks. They also share with neighbors and friends. The farming life is hard, Karen acknowledges. Yet the horses make it possible. Not only do John and Jim know how to work the fields, but they are a calming presence, more so as Dave and Karen have gotten to know them. “It’s a whole different pace,” Dave said. Along with everything else, he, Karen and the horses cultivate patience. “This is an experiment, a trial to see how much two people can grow,” Dave said as he put the complex harness-bridle-yoke onto John and Jim. If you’re a relatively young person thinking about going into sustainable farming, Dave wholeheartedly encourages you. There are abundant resources out there, from books to the internet to YouTube—“and get some experience working alongside somebody,” Dave advised. Not so many generations ago, our forebears grew their own food, Dave noted. “We can do it again,” he believes.