Viva Farms Incubator Songbird Haven Farm launches to Thurston County 

April 25, 2025 | Woodinville, WA

Viva Farms celebrates King County incubator farm, Songbird Haven Farm, which will launch their 7th season of farming on a recently-purchased seven-acre “forever farm” in Thurston County, WA. Owned and operated by Noa Kay and Mark Albonizio, the sale ended a four-year search for land fueled by over 1,000 personal letters to landowners in King, Snohomish, Skagit and Thurston Counties. The farmers worked with the United States Department of Agriculture – Farm Services Agency (USDA-FSA), the landowner, and AgWest Farm Credit in order to secure the proper funding to purchase the farm, complete with housing and a pole barn. Kay and Albonizio will continue to pursue their goal of viability in order to exclusively farm full-time. 

  “On our closing day we brought a measuring tape and stakes to mark out our fields so that we’d be ready to open up the pasture and plant cover crop and garlic [in the fall of 2024]” shares owner Noa Kay. Songbird Haven Farm has developed sales channels via a twice-a-month CSA and with food access organizations. These markets will continue at their new location and will expand to include the Chehalis Farmers Market and Southwest Washington Food Hub. Songbird Haven Farm’s focus remains on supporting “habitat for creatures above and below the soil.” They use organic growing methods and support soil health by not tilling. 

Songbird Haven Farm would not have qualified for a conventional loan at the $650,000 purchase price using their projected farm income as a key part of the application. However, USDA-FSA is able to use their past farming experience and projected farm income to approve the application for a Direct Farm Ownership Down Payment Loan which is available for beginning and disadvantaged farmers. USDA-FSA and AgWest Farm Credit have partnered to fund the full loan amount. 

Although grateful for the opportunity to partner with funding sources, Albonizio and Kay warn that the process is still fraught for beginning farmers: “We knew our budget would go much further if we found a landowner who would accept a FSA loan. There is no pre-approval process for these loans. They require a seller who can work with uncertainty and a long timeframe. This is rare!” Because of the lengthy search process, Songbird Haven Farm farmers got a lot of practice doing extensive due diligence, which meant that they were prepared to respond quickly to the many detailed forms required by the FSA, once they found the right property. Thankfully the seller was willing to wait for a longer timeframe that allowed for the FSA financing to go through. “Without a patient seller, it’s nearly impossible for farmers to work with FSA,” says Anna Chotzen, Viva Farms’ Director of Farm Viability. “Unfortunately, the FSA requires a signed purchase and sale agreement before they will consider an application, so farmers get caught in a bind of not being able to line up financing until a property comes on the market, and then they can only hope that the sellers are willing to work with their longer timeline. In this real estate market, that often makes them less competitive than non-farmer buyers.”

Seeing Songbird Haven Farm off is a cause for celebration – and bittersweet. Viva Farms’ King County Farm Manager, Micah Anderson, shares, “As farmers at Viva, Noa and Mark showed a strong commitment to environmental sustainability and enhancing the soil they cultivated. They mentored other incubating farmers and students alike and graciously supported them in their development. Noa and Mark are model farmers that will be sorely missed, but we’re also very excited for their new farm venture in Thurston County, where they’re sure to make a positive impact.”

Viva Farms remains dedicated to reducing barriers to viability and the land ownership process for farmers. We hope local farmers and the public will continue to learn from these farmers, who will be an asset to the greater Puget Sound food system for years to come. Find out more and follow their journey at songbirdhavenfarm.com or Instagram @songbirdhaven. 

Noa Kay leads a skill-share for paper pot planters at Viva Farms King County.