06/16/2026
I came across this post the other day and couldn't agree more. No we don't grow peas, but this could apply to anything grown in agriculture. The prices we charge are what we need to charge in order to keep going.
Everyone has their own prioties of where they spend their hard earned money. We all know now a days, that money is getting harder and harder to hold on to once you get your paycheck 💰 If, like us, you live in windham and have been paying attention to the budgets, you know what I'm talking about 🤑🤢
Farmers everywhere are breaking their backs to nourish the people around them. If you'd like to support us, fantastic. If you don't have the budget? That's fine too. Or buy wholesale and save a buck and split it with a friend. The grocery store may not always be there. And when 💩 hits the fan and the shelves are bare, guess who is going to be happy to have a farmer friend 🧡 🚜 🐖 🐮🐑
*****Not my post, but my thoughts 💯 ******
Yesterday at the farmers market I overheard a shopper complain about the price of fresh peas. Later a comment was made on the farmers market page stating, “I would like to know what justifies charging that much a pound?”
Initially, I was really offended by that comment. Having grown up 40 years ago my siblings and I worked side by side with my mother growing acres of peas.
We spent hours in the cold wet spring planting and weeding and hours in the hot sun harvesting them. Our hands would crack from the waxy protective coating of the pea pods and the constant sunburn.
She would pay us $0.30 a pound for picking peas. She charged $1.50 a pound at the market. It takes a lot of peas to make a pound! I can guarantee no one would pick peas now for $0.30/lb! We were happy with our cut and I was so excited in 1987 when I had saved up enough money to buy a Walkman, only to realize I would have to keep picking peas the following year to afford the batteries. I definitely couldn’t afford the cassette tapes I had day dreamed about!
I realize now, our “cut” came without any expense to us. My mother withered all the costs of the seed, trellis lines, planter, fertilizer, tilling machine, transportation costs and not to mention her own labor and time. Hmmm… a price increase of $5.50 a pound in 40 years, google the price of a gallon of gas back then, or a bottle of soda.
Everything comes with a cost. For years the expectation was that farmers should just be grateful for anyone to buy their produce because the grocery stores could bring it in from all over the world much cheaper than we could produce it.
The past month has always been a month of chaos trying to get all the crops planted and tending to the delicate fruit that is forming. 18hr days become 20, meals are skipped, showers are infrequent and emails add up in the inbox simply because every second counts in your day. It always makes me question if it’s worth it, do my customers understand what it takes to produce a crop.
I call it chaos not only because of the long hours, but because of the unexpected. The weather, did you go outside this past week? Daily downpours, 35mph winds, storms and even hail for some. I’m wearing my winter coat, hat and gloves today!
Then you have the breakdowns. Mark works hard maintaining our equipment, yet, things break. The past 3 days have kept him busy with emergent repairs. This is Wisconsin, our growing season is only so long and if you don’t get your crops in during that time, you don’t have crops!
Again, everything has a cost associated with it!
This is the reason why peas cost $7.00/lb. The price isn’t a made up number, inflated by greed or an agreed upon set price amongst farmers to make a quick buck. It’s the price they need to grow peas for customers to enjoy. It’s as simple as that.
