December 2015

First off, I must thank everyone who has given so much positive feedback these last 2 weeks. I am a firm believer that, for the most part, no news from our members is good news. Meaning that if we do not hear from you, I assume that you have your mouth full of healthy goodies and you are happy. Plus, it’s not good to talk with your mouth full.

But these last two weeks have opened up a flood of responses. When any change comes, I brace for it by wearing an athletic cup and Styrofoam helmet. I hope for the best but prepare for the worst. But this change was truly amazing. The outpouring of positive support has been more than I have honestly ever seen. And it reaffirmed what I already knew to be true, that we have an incredible thing going on here at the farm with incredible members.

One of the common themes that I kept hearing was an overall appreciation for the transparency that we run this business with on a weekly basis. And folks, I have to tell you that I would not (and will not) have it any other way. The worst feeling as a consumer is feeling like you are being fed a bunch of bull manure from a business. We are all adults (for the most part) and can handle honest talk.

It may not always seem like it, but I do not do things on a whim. I think about this farm all the time and want you to know that we are always trying to make things better. Moving forward. Finding cool ways to make your lifestyle healthier, richer, and more enjoyable. When you break it down, enjoyment is the most sustainable emotion that we have as humans. Just ask any grandparent as they shove sugar cookies into their grand-kids’ pie holes. As my dad always says, “Sure is fun to have fun.” Remember that.

I have to tell you too that all of these changes we have seen this year in the business have been mirrored in my personal life. This weekend marks my 40th birthday and the end of a self-imposed very challenging year. Just over a year ago I took some honest personal stock on my life and knew that I needed to make some changes in order for me to lead a happier life. That is not easy admitting that to yourself.

I was running a business that I loved so dearly, but for the amount of time that I was putting into it, there was not a lot to show for it at the end of the day. Now that is fine when you are an idealistic 27 year old kid armed with a dream, a handful of seeds and an old pick-up truck. But as my little Viking, Soren, started to get older, I realized that this business had to move from being a philanthropy to a viable business. You can’t pay health care costs and bills with bunches of beets you know. So this year was The year to focus and see if this farm had the legs to stand on its own.

I am beyond happy to say that it has been an incredible year for the farm. We have made necessary changes over the year and I can say that I think we have a poster-child company that exemplifies the triple bottom line taking care of people, planet, and profits. We are ready for 2016.

The last aspect of this personal transformation year came in a two-sided coin—strengthen the body and quiet the mind. I have played sports my entire life. I considered myself in pretty good shape, but I was feeling my age after playing soccer or swearing at my brothers on the racquetball court. Then a year ago, I was invited over to a personal training center, Elevate. One of our long-time members, Jay English, has truly shown me the synergies that can happen in a person when you combine healthy food with a training. I used to be so stubborn and think that I could just train myself. I couldn’t. We need coaches and support structures throughout our lives. To ask for help and assistance should be seen as a strength, not a weakness.

Lastly, I have cut out so much noise from my life. I don’t watch the news, am not glued to up-to-date web sites, don’t read the paper. And you know what…it feels great. I know more about what my son’s teacher says than what the Donald says and that feels good. I encourage everyone to find even small ways to quiet the noise in your life. You’ll be amazed at the positive things that will fill the space.

Thank you for your continued support amigos. I am a very grateful and lucky dude. Happy holidays, Farmer Monte

As I mentioned last week, Thanksgiving really marks the end of our season. So now, in December, comes the report card. This year is different though. Why? Because we have brought in some outside eyeballs to help write the report card. We contracted a CFO, Michelle, to help examine and share her thoughts with the state of the farm.

The farm operation as a stand-alone business is in the black. It doesn’t make a ton of money, but honestly no farm does. There is a saying in the farm world, “How do you make a small fortune farming? Start with a big fortune.” So the fact that the farm makes money at all is a huge win. I doubt many growers at the farmers’ markets have quit their “day job” and we are able to employee 5 farmers on a year-round basis. Plus a dozen interns. So all that is great.

Next Michelle took the calculator and red pen to the home delivery model. Density of routes. Number of customers per driver. Cost of vehicles. Cost of fuel. Everything looked great until she circled one number—the minimum sale for free delivery, $35.

On average, it costs us $5 per delivery to drop off an order at your home. And so when you divide $5 into a $35 dollar order, the delivery cost alone is over 14% of the total sale. When you couple that with the fact that our prices are below market, you are left with an accounting conundrum of where do we make up that lost 14% in sales?? The short answer is that we do not make it up and we eat it.

And in all honesty, I have known this in the past, but I was reluctant to do anything about it because I did not feel that we had an offering that warranted folks spending more money with us. We did not have half of the amazing products that we currently offer you. With that, it was hard for me to ask you to spend more money.

But this year something incredible has begun to transpire—our food is becoming a bigger part of your kitchen. We have added so many great items this year. Local beef, more farm pork, sustainable seafood, tasty sauces, and freshly baked goods straight out of the oven. We are getting you the best of local foods and you are supporting more local businesses. This is the perfect win-win situation.

This leads us to the proverbial fork in the road. Financially we cannot stay where we are and expect good results. We have to either a) raise the price of the products so that we can make up what we lose on the delivery. Or b) increase the minimum order amount for free delivery to make that cost a smaller percentage of your order.

I do not like playing games with you on prices. We do not have any clever tricks that we use or smoke and mirrors. We work hard with our farm and suppliers to give you the best value for your buck that we can. And so I do not want and will not raise the price of our food in order to fill a gap that is caused by delivery costs. Additionally, I do not want larger orders to subsidize smaller orders. That’s not fair.

So here is what we are going to do, beginning the week of December 14th, the new minimum for Free Delivery will be $45. Any order under that will have a $4 delivery fee added to it. This will be for all delivery orders and pick-up locations. One exception will be pick ups at our warehouse.

I know this will not feel like a positive change for many. But please know that we need to do this. I am not doing this on some willy-nilly whim. The sustainability of the farm demands financial sustainability. This move will help ensure that we stay on that track.

We have succeeded in so many ways this year. Prices our members (you) pay are below grocers. Home delivery is available when no one else offers it. Employees are paid well and eat well. Open space in our community is kept green and free of chemicals. We connect more local farms to more local mouths. The list goes on and on of things we do well. We just need the financial aspect to look as good.

As always, if you have any thoughts, comments, concerns, please email me monte@skarsgardfarms.com

Thanks for your understanding and support, Farmer Monte

Archives for December 2015