In 1984 Ben and Carol bought the Staswick dairy farm from Sid and Marguerite Staswick. The Farm had been in the Staswick family since the early 1900's, being operated as a dairy since the 1920's. Gentle Ben (as he is known around the valley) operated the dairy, renaming it Swans Trail Farms, and building upon what the Staswicks had established as a quality dairy with a fine herd of cows.

In 1997 Ben, Carol and family were named theSnohomish County Dairy Family of the Year. On Aug 19, 1997 they hosted an open house inviting the public to visit the farm and enjoy lunch, tours, music, and the Washington State Corn Maze. There were over 4,000 in attendance that day, it was really a grand event.

In November 1997 the Krause's sold the milking cows with the idea of concentrating on opening their farm to the public for all of the seasonal activities. This change has enabled them to have more time with their family which has been a very welcome and important change. When you visit the farm you will still see lots of farm animals. Although they no longer have dairy animals they keep goats, sheep, chickens, rabbits, and on occasion kittens and puppies for your farm enjoyment.

The Krause family members are Ben and Carol,  son Todd and  wife Kelley (grandsons Tucker, Caleb, and Peter); son Nate, daugter Beth and son Curt. In October of 2003 the Krauses welcomed their first grandchild Tucker Daniel Krause (a real pumpkin patch kid) into this happy group. Joining Tucker Daniel is his brother Caleb Matthew born June  2005, and right on schedule in Sept of 08 came Peter Whitman, Ben and Carol are members of The Bridge Church of Snohomish Co.and they are big Washington State University Cougar fans.

The Farm is owned and operated by Ben and Carol Krause and their family. It is our mission at The Farm to provide our visitors with a taste of farm life, a place where people can be together for fun and celebration in a beautiful outdoor setting.

Contact us at: thefarm1@verizon.net