Archives for December 2017

Take Me To the Web Site

I know I am not the only one who feels like it is crazy to be writing 2018 on something. Where the heck did 2017 go? And why was it such an insane year? I caught myself so many times throughout 2017 asking why our world seemed so chaotic? It was a year with much more protests than peace. I know that we need some fiery years in our society to catalyze change, but let me be the first to say that I hope 2018 is a little more tranquil and a little less fire. I am ready to start drinking from a more optimistic half-full glass of cider this new year.

But before we are able to plan for prosperity in the new year, we must take a moment and see what lessons we learned from 2017. And I can tell you that 2017 was full of lessons.

The root of these lessons was really the fact that we are in a changing landscape for food and local food producers. When Amazon bought Whole Foods, the champion for “Buying Local” got assimilated into the faceless brown box that we call Amazon. The advocate (on a large scale) for supporting local farmers was now gone. And it was time for the local food movement to stand on its own.

You see, for so long the local food movement had been out of balance; beginning at the turn of the century (2000) there were tons of buttons and bumper stickers asking us to “Buy Local” but the fact of the matter was that there wasn’t enough local product to fill the demand. So we ended up with huge demand for local, but very little supply. A lopsided situation.

Fast forward to now. It is almost impossible to find those cute little Buy Local buttons, but the supply of local items is huge. Meats, dairy, eggs, baked goods, produce, pastas, coffees and pickles (to name a few). Hardly any of these companies who supply/make/grow these products now date back to before Y2K. These artisan producers (us included) saw this demand for local products and have tried to fill it. Classic economic scenario if there is a need, someone will try and fill it.

So there is a part of me that is/was sad to see a pioneer in the Organic movement like Whole Foods get bought out. But the real story I think comes from the ashes of their downfall. The forest is most fertile after a fire. And I honestly think that we/you will see some great models come from the groundwork that Whole Foods laid.

I know for us that opportunity looks like incredible new partnerships. We recently added Dion’s, Einstein Bagels, Burque Bakehouse, Verde Juice Company, and an expanded line from Ñocco Pasta. These partnerships alone would make for a solid team of local suppliers. But we have added them to the existing bread, meat, produce and dairy providers who make our offering so unique and special.

I was talking to one of our longtime members (like 10 years!) and while she was explaining to me how our food helps her cook better, she used the word “curated.” I found it to be such an incredible word to use with food. I think about that word with fine collections in a museum, but I had not really thought about it in terms of food I have to admit.

But maybe she was able to distill the mission of the farm down into a word, curated. Our goal has never been to bring folks everything under the sun. We go about our lives and along the path I have to say that I run into some pretty amazing people with tasty food. We have then woven these people into the fabric of our offering. We become dependent on them and them on us. Symbiotic partnerships that make us all stronger together than we could ever be alone.

These types of partnerships are what we will be focusing on this new year and for many years to come. I want to bring you quirky companies with extraordinary flavors. I have to say that I rarely have tried something from a grocery store and been blown away. I want to bring you something memorable.

Lastly this week, the Rise of the Scratch n Dent Box. No that is not a B Grade 1980s horror flick, it is our tribute to Ugly Produce. 3 weeks ago we launched the Scratch n Dent box ($15) with very few expectations. Since then though, I have been floored by the reception. It has grown to almost 1,000 lbs of produce a week right now. New customers signing up. Former customers coming back to the table. And calling growers to let them know that we have found a home for their Ugly Beauties. What a win-win situation. Happy New Year!

Farmer Monte

Take me to the web site

Regional food update. Thanksgiving always marks the beginning of the harvest season for our growers in Arizona. Citrus trees start to ripen as the cooler nights help increase sugar production of the fruit. Warm days and cool nights are a perfect recipe for growing greens, broccoli, and cauliflower. Among others. So although I am wearing a toasty winter jacket, Arizona growers are just coming into their peak season right now. Our network of Arizona growers is a pretty unique situation that allows us to bring you some incredible produce, at a great value, and within 400 miles of your front door during the coldest part of winter. Let’s look at this a bit.

One of my favorite things to do is search our region to see what cool business models are out there and who is doing what. It was during one of these searches when I met my buddy Philip. Philip owns/runs Patagonia Orchards south of Tucson. I feel like we are a lot alike as we both like to grow food but also try and help fellow growers find homes for their produce. Give growers a louder voice at the table.

Talking to Philip almost 7 years ago, he introduced me to a whole other world of winter food in Arizona. Only 400 miles away, but growers there live in a different climate. Their “off-season” runs from June until September when it is too hot to make produce happy. But from November until late May, the growers enjoy some of the best growing weather anywhere.

And by aggregating these smaller growers we get access to some incredible varieties of produce that you will never see in the grocery store. It is not uncommon for Philip to call me up and say, “Hey, I have a guy here who has one old tree of Leopard heirloom lemons, you want them?” Next thing you know we get boxes of some obscure weird looking fruit to try. These are the kind of partnerships that make me really love what we do and proud of what we are able to bring you.

So I will leave it there for now knowing that there is a lot more to talk about when it comes to our fantastic partners that we cultivate in Arizona. So stay tuned for some crazy tastes and fresh flavors coming your way.

Next up this week, a new direction to help end food waste. A good friend of mine, Michael Jackson, once gave me some pearls of wisdom. He said to me, “Farmer M, you need to start with the man in the mirror. You need to ask him to change his ways.” And I have been thinking about that recently as I grapple with the idea of food waste in our society. Are there sound ways for us to help prevent or eliminate it on the farm?

It is no secret that food waste is The hot topic in the food world right now. As I have mentioned before, many growers will lose half of their harvest because the bell pepper or cucumber is not perfect enough to sit on a grocery shelf. This need for aesthetically pleasing food increases the cost of all of our food as well as straps growers with huge inefficiencies. So I had a light bulb with something that we can do on our small scale and we will see how it goes…

I introduce to you the Scratch n Dent Harvest Box (if you have a better name, please let me know!) The idea is simple and we have launched it already. Basically we now have a Harvest Box that is 12 lbs of fresh fruits and veggies. It will always be a variety of produce, but you cannot make substitutions. The items in the box will be things that we cannot otherwise sell because the tomato has a small spot on it or the apple has a little hole. This is NOT a slimy box of compost. The idea is that if you are willing to cut out a little bad piece of the fruit, you can save that food and save your wallet a ton. The price for this 12 lb box is only $15!

My hope is that we can find a loving home for every single piece of food that comes through our door. Food waste is terrible for the environment and is a huge cost burden that gets shouldered by the consumer. Did you know that most grocery stores will throw out close to 10% of their food? Consumers pay for that additional 10% with every purchase. So let’s start with our farm and our food, and see if we can get our food waste down to zero. We are close already with the CSA model that we run, but I am willing to bet that we can get it to zero. Let’s do this.

Enjoy, Farmer Monte

The Scapegoat. We all know the story; find something that is seemingly unrelated to the problem and then blame everything on them. I mean pile it deep. The more absurd the accusations the more believable they are. I mean take the humble cow for example; Ole Bessie has been blamed for everything from deforestation to heart attacks to ruining the ozone.

But trying to pin so many woes on the unassuming cow really makes you wonder if it really is the cows’ fault or if other factors are at play here. And I have to tell you I think that cows get a bad rap. I mean can an animal really be intrinsically bad? It actually does not take all that much research before you realize that the cow gets some pretty bad press against them. So for this week’s newsletter, I will be a spokesperson for a group that has no voice.

Cows are pretty simple; give them some green grass to chew, open spaces to roam, and some clean water to sip and they are generally happy/healthy dudes. They take care of their young and hang around in herds for community protection. So how is it that they get blamed for so much?

Well, and I know that you will find this hard to believe, but as soon as you take a free-ranging animal and place them in confinement, you start to see problems. When you take a grass eating animal and make them eat nothing but grains, you disrupt the natural balance. Then by perpetuating this disruption to the natural flow, we end up with unhealthy meat and over-grazed lands. So our system for raising animals is the issue and not the cows. But can you do things differently and be a viable rancher?

Fortunately for us (and the cows) the answer is yes. I would like to share with you the story of the Ranney Ranch here in Corona, NM. Nancy Ranney is/has been a pioneer and vocal champion for Conservation Ranching. At the root of this philosophy is the idea that there is a system in which animals and the land can work in a mutually beneficial way? The animals help support the land that in turn helps support the animals. It may sound simplistic, but much of the ranching today sees the animals and the land as just commodities rather than a living ecosystem that can actually help each other be more resilient as a partnership.

For Nancy and her crew on the ranch, designing a conservation approach to ranching begins by looking at what the land and the cows need to be healthy. As I mentioned, cows just need space, grass, and water (if you could distill someone’s needs into a fortune cookie). The healthiest land you will find is home to a diversity of plant species and has as little “dirt” as possible. Meaning that a healthy soil has living plants covering it.

So how do cows help create a healthier land around them? a) Spreading grass seeds. As grasses grow they send up seed heads. Cows eat those seeds and then move/plant them as they walk around pooping. So a cow’s manure not only adds fertility to the land, but helps spread seeds to regenerate a healthy pasture. b) As cows eat, they tug on the grass. This tugging on the roots breaks some roots and fosters a deeper more fibrous root system. A deep root system will help heavy rains soak into the soil quicker avoiding run-off and helps find deeper water in times of drought.

Grazing is actually one of the best practices that you can do for a pasture or a hillside. It is when you do not move the cows and they are forced to eat in the same spot for long periods of time that you see the negative impacts of over-grazing. So Nancy and her crew have developed a rotational grazing system where the cows are in one large area for a few weeks and then they move to a new range that has been allowed to rest/regrow. A system like this actually gives you a more diverse and abundant ecosystem than if you left the land alone and did nothing.

Dining on a mix of grasses and having no grains in the diet, the cows are healthier. Lower saturated fats, more Omega-3 fats, lower cholesterol. And when we eat grass-fed cows, we are healthier. The embodiment of the old saying that “You are what you eat.” I feel like there is so much red meat guilt in our society that it really skews the conversation. If you choose to eat meat in your diet (which I do), the meat should be raised like this; local cows, 19,000 acres of space, fresh grasses, clean air, and living within the herd community. I am happy and proud to be able to offer such a high quality beef program to our members.

Additionally, the Ranney Ranch system of conservation is so innovative that Nancy caught the eyes of the National Audubon Society. Audubon saw that this rotational management is not only good for the land and the cattle, but also cultivates amazing habitat for birds as well. So Nancy is the only ranch in NM certified Bird Friendly by the Audubon Society. Cool stuff.

Enjoy, Farmer Monte