05/18/2026
Yes! Well said🫶🏼 Support local when you can!
Moving into the produce season I wanted to give some perspective. Farming is more than backyard gardening and a hobby. As wonderful as those things are for our own families and personal use, this is a way of life for some. People see a farmers market or a produce stand and there's a disconnect on how exactly that food got there. I just wanted to take some time to talk about what we do here and all the things that interpret costs for things that not only we grow but for other farmers too.
Our season here begins in January and not a dollar is made until April and that labor and material cost for this months in between cannot be free to be sustainable. There's a lot more than putting a seed or a plant in the ground and we have to steward our land, our business, employees, and families well in that cost. These are just a few things that are factored into the cost of local food without grants and government subsidies
• seeds
• greenhouse costs
• soil amendments
• irrigation materials and repairs
• water
• fertilizer
• equipment repairs
• fuel
• insurance
• harvesting
• washing produce
• refrigeration
• packaging
• labels
• bags
• ice
• coolers
• loading and unloading
• payroll or labor
• taxes
• store utility bills
• Square fees
• crop failures
• weather losses
• unsold produce
• and months of physical labor before a single dollar is ever made
Then after that we're competing with every chain grocery store that's passed on the way to us. We can never be the same price wise because we are not the same.
We grow with integrity and full transparency the way we want our food to be grown. No-till, no spray, and only amendments and fertilizers that the good Lord made. That's fighting off a lot of pests by hand or with fostering wildlife such as purple martins and other birds and predatory wasps, long hot summer days that start before the sun comes up, hauling, washing, cooling, packing, and finally bringing it to market. Rising food costs directly reflect rising material and fuel costs not greed. If our seeds cost more we have to adjust accordingly. If we have to pay triple shipping costs now on pots and irrigation materials we can't just take the hit for it. It's so terribly hard but we have to keep moving forward or we lose our crops. We also don't want to lose customers so I wanted to share what all goes into not just our farm but all of the other farmers and makers in our store.
Nobody gets rich farming for sure and it's something you only do if you love what you do and love people. Pray for us this year that we can do the work well and that our harvests will be abundant and that our communities value local healthy foods. We love y'all and just know we're all doing our best 💚.