Meet Our Farmers: Nature’s Last Stand

Pasture raised pigs foraging at Nature’s Last Stand Farm.

It's no exaggeration to say that Nature’s Last Stand has some of the most diehard followers at the farmers market. Beloved for their breakfast sandwiches, there are typically throngs of hungry market-goers surrounding their set-up; two griddles perpetually full of eggs and hand-made sausage from their farm, plus toasting buns from Tall Grass Bakery. The recent addition of a cold case full of delicious spiced and herbed sausages, chops, and brats for cooking at home rounds out the display. Seattleites have made this local-food sammie a weekend morning ritual, and Farmer John takes the crowds in good-humored stride.

While “Nature’s Last Stand” is synonymous for many with “the best breakfast sandwich you’ve ever had,” John has only been slinging these beauties for five of his twenty-five years at the University District Farmers Market. He grows a variety of produce and herbs on the farm, which are featured as menu ingredients. In the early aughts, Farmer John and his family primarily grew produce, which they delivered to Seattle homes. The business has gone through a few iterations since then, a testament to Farmer John’s ability to pivot and adapt. Or to his short attention span. As he told Zoe Luderman Miller in her article for UW’s The Daily, “‘I get bored easily […] So I like to try and make things within the farm.’”

The farm, where the magic happens, is nestled on 30 acres between Carnation and Fall City. John raises and breeds heritage pork on pasture, as well as tends flocks of chickens, ducks, and a small herd of sheep. Everything you find in his cold case is made using ingredients from the farm, and he sources locally for the sandwich ingredients he can’t make in-house. Buns are from Tall Grass Bakery, sharp cheddar cheese is from Samish Bay Cheese, and tangy pickled peppers are from Mama Lil’s.

Enjoy Nature’s Last Stand products throughout the week! You can purchase John’s globally-inspired hand-crafted sausages, like his takes on the Filipino loganisa sausage, the North African merguez lamb sausage, and his Spicy Thai sausage. Keep an eye out too for Carolina-style pulled pork and hearty bratwurst. You can support Nature’s Last Stand at the University District, West Seattle, and Capitol Hill farmers markets, or online via their website.