Family furthers farming

father which was common at that time.

ficult when Tiff’s father became quite ill, and eventually, passed in October 2020 from cancer, in Canada during a restricted border.

The Honcoops have refocused both her career closer to home and to being involved in a local church, North County Christ the King, where Tiff was recently on stage playing piano with the worship team.

On Jan. 10, 2023, the family experienced another passing. After 17 years with Parkinson’s disease, Ivan Likkel passed away.

According to his obituary, Likkel’s family had journeyed from South Dakota to farming on East Badger Road.

He attended Lynden Christian schools until the ninth grade and then worked full time on the farm with his

Likkel and wife Kay continued the farming tradition in several locations, settling to raise their girls on Northwood where Dillon and Tiff are now.

From Leslie, Erin and Megan being the fair little maidens on a Holstein farm, the little blonde girls running around the farm are now 7-year-old Emma, 4-year-old Allie and 2-year-old Olivia.

Visitors walking up immediately saw the girls at a small table showing the Early Girl tomato plants with a small decorative Easter egg poking up.

They planted 24 – and sold all 24, Tiff said.

Their mother has advertised via Facebook an open house for Maidenfair Floral Farm, where she is founder and CEO in a legal sense, but joining them to meet and greet customers with big smiles on their faces in a small outbuilding resurrected for this purpose.

In addition to selling some plants and many dahlia tubers, which they have been propagating, they are also running a subscription plan service (CSA-community supported agriculture) for 12 months of fresh-cut bouquets.

Most of the flowers involved are fresh from the farm during growing months but are supplemented during winter months, she said.

While Dillon is talking of farmers and food, Tiff is spreading joy with colorful flowers, and is thinking of other products and ways to invite other children to the farm.

“It’s my heart,” Tiff said. “Flowers make people happier.”

Tiff explained a good number of customers came from a friend, who had also been running a similar home floral farm, but needed to return to the workplace. She knew Tiff would treat them well, she said.

Tiff is organized and sets aside the second Tuesday and Wednesday of the month for delivering to the 50 CSA customers personally with the girls. They look forward to it.

“There are a lot of moving parts,” she said, “But we get it done.”

Another good part of this type of business? “A special part of starting a business has been getting to know the people and connect. Flowers are a small piece of this.”

“It’s such a blessing to grow from the same piece of land my grandfather farmed,” Dillon said.