July 2019

Goals. We all have them. They are what wake us up and get our tushies out of bed in the morning. Some goals focus on trying to change the world, while others strive to simply understand our place in it. No matter the shape or size they take, goals are a very powerful motivator in our human experience. Maybe most importantly, goals are fluid. The vision that we have when we are in our 20s can be polar opposite from what we strive for in our 40s or beyond. Life is a dance, so lace up those shoes.

Recently, however, I came to a stark realization regarding my own goals; the structure of our business is actually hindering us from reaching our goals and potential. Let me explain.

My goal is to bring something to your life (and lifestyle) that you cannot get elsewhere. And this is not easy in the food world because we are surrounded by folks selling food. I do not want to sell you the same mousetrap that everyone else is selling and try to use some cute marketing to get your business. I have made it my life’s work to try and bring you something unique.

With that, we have been adding many new products to our web site. I want you to be able to plan meals, make dinners (and breakfasts/lunches), enjoy health snacks, and browse items for any dietary needs. We began this journey just offering limited produce. Since then, our feet are still rooted in fresh Organic produce, but our flavor portfolio has grown exponentially. And I have to tell you that I love the progression. I love our food now more than ever. It is a challenging journey, but a tasty one.

Additionally, we are on the tip of the iceberg of great things to come. We have some incredible things lined up for you that we will be launching this fall and winter. Spoiler alert…it is a concept focused on Farm to Table and it is a food model that is not happening anywhere in New Mexico currently.

But with all these amazing moves forward, our delivery model is still stuck in the past. Our delivery/pricing structure has not changed in years. And honestly, it is holding us back from investing energy into the face of tomorrow. We must Innovate and be The Cutting-edge of what a local food industry should look like. I don’t want to sit around singing Bruce Springsteen’s “Glory Days” wearing my high school letter jacket.

So let me introduce our new home delivery structure. And this will Not affect our Pick-Up location customers.

Orders $20-$34.99, we’ll add a $6.95 delivery fee
Orders $35-$49.99 add a $4.95 delivery fee
Orders $50-$74.99 add a $2.95 delivery fee
Any Order $75 and over, Free Delivery
Orders of $100, Free Delivery and 5% Discount on Total
Orders of $150 or more, Free Delivery and 10% Discount

Why do this? First, operating a Home Delivery business is very expensive, as you can imagine with the headaches from your own car. And $36 just sets the bar too low for free delivery. It is an unsustainable business model unless you inflate prices.

Second, I want the delivery and the food to be priced separately and individually. Meaning that I do not want to just mark-up our food to cover delivery costs. If we were to do that, it would punish customers with larger orders because every item would be marked up. We need to incentivize larger orders so that we can better support local growers, ranchers, dairies, etc. We bring you great value from our partners, so I do not want to inflate their prices just to cover delivery expenses.

Third, there is not a Delivery Service around who offers free delivery. Instacart charges $15 for a $34 order and $10 for a $50 order. So our new delivery structure is still half the cost of a large national delivery company. Being a local Mom n Pop company, we run a more efficient delivery model than the Big Stores, but we still cannot do it for free.

Lastly, I want to be crystal clear on one thing, I want to feed you and not charge a delivery fee. I would be so much happier filling your kitchen with incredible local foods rather than charging you fees. The delivery fee structure is simply an insurance policy that guarantees we will not lose money on a delivery. But believe me, I would much rather stock your pantry and fridge with healthy eats than charge a fee. So enjoy more flavors and help us continue to shape our yummy future.

If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or love notes please email me at Monte@SkarsgardFarms.com

Thank you for all the support. Both past and future, Farmer Monte

There are times in one’s life where you just happen to be at the right place at the right time. Like my first goal that I ever scored in soccer. I was a studly 5-year-old and wondering around the soccer field aimlessly when the opponent’s goalie took the ball and punted it right off my head into his own net. And like any tough little Norwegian kid would do, I began to cheer and cry at the same time. I’ve loved soccer ever since.

In the farming world, I feel like I was at the right place at the right time when I met Paul and his wife, Elane, from Excelsior Orchards. The fruit that they were growing was the best that I had ever sunk a tooth into. Unparalleled freshness and flavors, all while holding a strong belief that our food system is better without the use of chemicals and poisons.

That first meeting was 14 years ago, and we have been supporting each other ever since.

The Excelsior Orchard harvest usually begins around the 4th of July and it is not uncommon to have their apples all the way into February of the following year. And this year is looking to be a phenomenal year from the Excelsior trees. The trees have made it through all the winter snow and spring freezes. So by this time in the season, Paul has a really good idea of what will produce this year and what won’t.

The good news for all of us is that the harvest is shaping up to be one of the strongest on record. We should have a steady stream of fruit coming from the trees this year. This will take the shape of cherries, apricots, plums, nectarines, peaches, pears, and apples. Fortunately for Paul’s harvest crew and for us, these all come in a stream of successive pickings. We will not get all the fruit over one month. They get in line and one after another come pouring into our warehouse.

For you (and me), this means that we can enjoy each harvest independently. Taste the nuances among the varieties and learn about the crops as they come in. This week, for example, we have the Benton Cherries. They are the first off the trees and do not like to be fashionably late. Being first to the party usually brings classic features with them. Here are some notes to keep in mind while munching on a Benton.

Temperature. First off, before we dive into some tasting notes of these cherries, please remember to try and eat your cherries at room temperature. If you want to store them for a while, sure refrigerate them. But ideally, you want to enjoy cherries at room temp so your mouth tastes flavors and not just temperatures. It basically is the same reason you do not want to drink a big bold red wine cold. Cold temps lock up flavors. So with that foundation, let’s dive into the bowl of cherries. And, by the way, this is a fun tasting exercise for the whole family.

Acid/sweet ratio. All cherries express their flavors in this balance between being super sweet/sugary all the way to being acidic or what our mouth calls “Tart.” So what happens on the tree is the cherries start out very starchy without any sugars and full of acids. Acids are great on the tree because acids will not compost or breakdown. They have a terrible flavor at this stage, but they are stable. Then add our magical sunshine.

As the cherries sit sunbathing on the trees, the starches will transform into sugars. Our mouths love sugars, But the more sugar a piece of fruit has, the less stable it becomes. Why? Because sugars breakdown very quickly and fruit will take on the appearance of being over-ripe. So commercially, this is the grower and the grocery stores’ greatest dilemma; how can you bring customers flavor while keeping a long shelf-life?

This one question is responsible for the poor state of our food industry. Stores try to bring customers flavors year-round, but cherry harvest is a month long. You can obviously have cherries outside that window, but the quality will suffer. Our cherries don’t have to sit on a grocery shelf hoping for someone to buy them. They go straight from the tree to you. How awesome!

So back to our Benton Cherries for this week. This variety is such a great one to launch the cherry season I feel like. Big fruit, yummy sugars, and a refreshing acid bite to them. Super tasty and not a complex fruit. Remember this fruit compared to some of the rich flavors that we have in store for you. If we were at a wine tasting, the Bentons are the fresh rose that you might start tasting. We have the dark cabs still coming your way. Buckle up for a fun month here. Farmer Monte

Archives for July 2019