Strait Family Farms Earns SBA SDVOSB and VOSB Certification
August 13, 2026 | West Richland, Washington
We’re proud to announce another important milestone in the development of Strait Family Farms and Desert Farms Apiary.
Effective August 13, 2026, Strait Family Farms, LLC has been officially certified by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) as both a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) and Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB).
The certification was awarded through the SBA's Veteran Small Business Certification, or VetCert, program and formally recognizes Strait Family Farms as a certified veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned business.
For us, however, the significance of this milestone goes well beyond the certification itself.
Building a Veteran-Owned Farm
Strait Family Farms — operating publicly as Desert Farms Apiary — is being developed on approximately 2.4 acres in West Richland, Washington.
The farm represents a new chapter following military and federal public service, centered around beekeeping, pollinator habitat, responsible land management, and creating a productive agricultural operation that can also demonstrate what accessible farming can look like.
Over the past several months, much of our work has been about building the foundation.
We've been clearing years of overgrown vegetation, restoring and improving irrigation, leveling and preparing portions of the property, developing the bee yard, planning pollinator forage, and investing in the equipment and infrastructure necessary to maintain the property and expand agricultural production.
There is still plenty to do.
But every project moves us closer to the long-term vision for Desert Farms Apiary.
Opening More Doors for the Farm
One of the most valuable parts of developing Strait Family Farms as a recognized veteran-owned agricultural business is gaining access to a larger network of programs and resources designed to help veterans and small agricultural operations succeed.
Our new SBA certification strengthens the farm's credentials as we continue exploring those opportunities.
That includes pursuing agricultural grants, veteran-farmer programs, technical assistance, training, government surplus property and equipment programs, and other federal, state, and nonprofit resources that may be available to support agricultural development.
For a small farm, those resources can make a meaningful difference.
A grant might help establish additional pollinator habitat or improve agricultural infrastructure. A surplus equipment program could provide access to tools or machinery that would otherwise be difficult for a small operation to justify purchasing. Technical assistance can help improve conservation, land management, business planning, and long-term sustainability.
Not every program is tied directly to SBA certification, and every grant or surplus program has its own eligibility requirements. But establishing and documenting Strait Family Farms as a certified veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned business is another important piece of the larger foundation we're building.
Accessible Agriculture Is Part of the Mission
Accessibility has been an important consideration in developing the farm from the beginning.
Farming can be physically demanding, but that doesn't mean agriculture has to be inaccessible to people with disabilities.
Equipment can replace physically intensive manual work. Thoughtful infrastructure can reduce unnecessary lifting and movement. Technology can automate repetitive tasks. Property layouts can be designed around accessibility rather than forcing the farmer to adapt to an inefficient layout.
For Strait Family Farms, investments in equipment and infrastructure aren't simply about doing more work faster.
They're about making the farm sustainable for the person operating it.
That's one reason programs supporting veteran farmers, adaptive agriculture, farm infrastructure, conservation, and surplus equipment are particularly important to what we're trying to build.
Growing Desert Farms Apiary
At the center of the farm is Desert Farms Apiary.
Our goal is to gradually develop the apiary while improving the surrounding property as productive pollinator habitat.
That means establishing and maintaining forage, improving the bee yard, expanding colonies responsibly, and eventually producing local honey, beeswax products, and other farm-produced goods.
The work we're doing today — clearing brush, leveling land, repairing irrigation, planting forage, purchasing equipment, and improving infrastructure — creates the foundation that makes those future goals possible.
Another Step Forward
The SBA's approval makes Strait Family Farms an officially certified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business and Veteran-Owned Small Business.
Our certification became effective August 13, 2026, with our first renewal due in August 2029.
It joins the growing list of milestones we've reached while turning an idea into an operating farm.
More importantly, it gives us another credential as we pursue the grants, agricultural programs, surplus equipment opportunities, technical assistance, and other resources that can help us continue developing Desert Farms Apiary responsibly.
Military service eventually became federal service.
Now, that experience is being carried into something entirely different: agriculture.
The tools may have changed. The mission may have changed. But the goal of continuing to serve, build, and contribute hasn't.
There is a lot more work ahead, and we're looking forward to sharing it.
Strait Family Farms, LLC
DBA Desert Farms Apiary
West Richland, Washington
SBA Certified SDVOSB & VOSB
Veteran Owned. Service-Disabled Veteran Owned. Washington Grown.