First off, an apology. If you have had any issues with strawberries recently, I am Sorry. Strawberries are one of my favorite fruits, but they are not easy to get to the middle of New Mexico looking good. We have a new grower coming online and I think the quality will be much stronger. Thanks for your patience. And as they say in the produce world, “When life gives you over-ripe strawberries, make strawberry lemonade.”

So that brings me to my next point this week, our Juice Bar. If you have been around our business for longer than the lifespan of a moth, you know that we try a lot of stuff in our business model. I have been accused of “shooting first, aiming second.” It might not be the best business approach, but when I get ex-cited about something, I like to launch a test balloon and then see how our customers dig it. If you like it, then we expand. If it flops, then we crumble it up and throw in the (ever-growing) compost heap of Manure Ideas.

So we started a juice test market in late 2019. The idea was keep it simple. No added water, flavors, or sugar. Just have fun with some juice and allow folks to not only eat their fruits & veggies but drink them too. We bought a small commercial juicer to give it a go. I loved the juice. Crazy thing is a lot of people loved the juice. Fresh, unpasteurized, Organic. And since we are getting the fruits/veggies directly from the farm, you will not find a better value anywhere in the country.

As the demand for these juices went nuts, we started to realize the limitations in our starter kit juice bar. So for the past few weeks we have limited our juices as we “tooled up” our juice barn. Our citrus juicer is still at the spa getting a makeover, but our new cold press juicer is online and squeezing to pleasing. Look for more juices and nectar online now.

Here is the full circle part of the strawberry story. Instead of cutting ties with the strawberry grower who kept sending over-ripe berries, we decided to cut tops instead. So we are still working with them but you will just see/taste their strawberries in our pies and juices and not as fresh strawberries in your order. And I am willing to bet that we are the only place in the state who offers freshly pressed straw-berry juice. Try them out this week. So good. And they will be gone when the strawberry harvest wraps up in a month.

Moving on from juices…Meal Kits. You know when you watch You Tube and see someone on a soar off the high dive only to do an insane belly-flop. It looks so painful, but you can’t help but laugh. I consider our Meal Kit expansion of 2020 kinda like that belly-flop; so painful, but you just can’t help but laugh.

Here is the quick backstory. We launched a small meal kit test at the same time we began the juice bar. Again testing the waters, sticking a toe in the deep end. It did well. Way better than expected. So we hired a chef, tripled the offerings, created an in-house kitchen space in our warehouse and were ready for the best.

Then the Corona craziness hit and our sales of Meal Kits exploded 1000% as folks were not going to restaurants. Sourcing product was hard, our chef left, and we could not fill all of the meal kits we had sold. Insert visual of a belly flop off Olympic plat-form. Ouch.

But we rubbed some Organic aloe vera on our burns and are back on the board. This time from the low dive. The 1-meter board… where hairy Norwegians are meant to jump from. So my goal for the meal kits (now) is the same as our juice bar; keep it simple, keep it fresh and tasty. Limited offering to begin with and the menu will expand as we streamline the process.

Other than that, everything else is looking great. All of our local suppliers have caught up to the new “norm” in the pandemic and are doing great. Thank you for supporting us and all of our New Mexican partner companies. We are staffed up and ready for whatever comes our way. Let’s open the state back up in a safe and thoughtful way. And as always, stay safe amigos.

Farmer Monte

New routes. We have added Belen, Los Lunas, and Ruidoso to the communities that we feed in New Mexico. Happy to have them on board and so if you know anyone in those areas who like to eat yummy foods, please share this with them. They will be so happy you turned them on to us, that they might send you an allergy-sensitive fruit cake for the holidays.

These new routes continue to help us reach our goal; I want our local food model to cover the entire state of New Mexico. I am unapologetic about my desire to give every New Mexican access to our food. Will they all choose us as an option? No. But our plan is to give New Mexicans better food choices. What you do with those choices is up to you. Yay free will.

Besides healthy food choices, expanding throughout NM strengthens our local food economy and adds diversity. The longer this pandemic grinds on, only the companies with the deep cash reserves will be able to stay in business. And small local businesses are not typically in cash rich reserve situations. So it is quite conceivable that we might see small businesses failing, leaving more faces of big national retailers.

Big retailers will survive (many of them, not all), but for me, the Mom n Pop businesses are what give our towns character. They are what make our towns unique. If you could go to the Frontier Restaurant in 5 states, then it would not be the gem it is for our state. It would be Applebee’s.

So aside from trying to feed more New Mexicans, I want to highlight more New Mexican companies. Give them a louder voice in the sense that a small shop can bring their goods to families throughout the state. What a Win-Win for NM. Thank you for supporting all our partners. Every bit of sup-port could mean the difference between keeping doors open or closed.

What else is happening this week??? Oh yes, insulated liners for our boxes. With the weather getting warmer, we had some custom insulated liners made for our cardboard boxes. I realize that many of our customers are home right now and bring the delivery inside as soon as our drivers are socially distant from your doorknob. But, if you are not home and want a little extra protection from the elements, I suggest adding these liners.

These liners are on our website now. If you would like your order packed using a liner, simply add 1 liner to your order and our thoughtful packers will see that and pack accordingly. We will Not be recycling these at the moment, but I en-courage you to hang on to the liners so that we can sanitize and reuse them after the covid craziness wanes.

Cherries. The cherries that we are highlighting this week were literally homeless. Some of them grew a pit on the out-side of the skin. Others grew 2 cherries around 1 pit. Some not shaped the way a cherry looks on the internet. All in all, a crazy looking bunch of cherries that taste amazing and just look different. Because of this, no store would take them. So we took on the (easy) task of finding homes for them. Your home! You will save money and help alleviate food waste. What a great combo.

This also reminds me of an article I read this week outlining how food costs have jumped more recently than over the last 5 decades! As I sipped my Organically roasted asphalt that I call coffee, I thought what a strange article because we are sheltered from that. Our food costs are the same (or lower) now than they were 2 months ago and even 2 years ago.

I point this out because it shows the importance of a local food supply. Local food is Food Security. When massive processing plants are shut down affecting millions of people, we are still secure by using our butcher, Mickey, in Moriarty. The same dude we have been working with for 15 years. And working with many of the same ranchers and growers as al-ways.

Again, local food is food security All of the time. But especially in times of uncertainty. We have a consistent and reliable food offering for you and your familia not because of what we have done in the last 2 months, but because of what we have built over the last 17 years. I cannot stress this notion enough.

The people who have been chasing the cheapest food are the most at risk and anxious right now. I want you to know we have you covered, relax, and be as healthy (and happy) as you can right now. Your family needs you healthy and so does our community.

Protect Yourself, Protect the Herd. Farmer Monte

Here is a great news clip that KOAT 7 did on Skarsgard Farms

Folks, with so many new faces at our table, I want to take a moment to highlight a few things from our systems and from our business model. So make sure to have a coffee handy if you plan on staying awake through the logistical efficiency part.

Our mission can be distilled down to one fragment (because I don’t think technically it is even a sentence), Support Mom n Pops, Help thy Neighbors, and Eat Yummy Foods that are Healthy for both You and the Environment.

Being a Mom n Pop business, we know firsthand how in-sanely hard it is to play in the same sandbox with huge corporate food retailers. So instead of wasting time complaining about the Big Box stores, we choose to spend our time finding local producers we can support, and they can support us. Find synergies.

Quick note on Quality. We are not a grocery store. I find grocery stores sterile and boring. We are working directly with the farmers and producers, so when you see a bent zucchini or cucumber, I want your reaction to be “How does it taste?” rather than “That doesn’t look right?”

Fruits and veggies are like us; they come in all shapes and sizes. In the U.S., the desire to have perfect looking produce has created a scenario where 50%! of the farmers’ harvest is not suitable for the grocery store shelves. This “imperfect” produce must either go to a restaurant to be cut up or com-posted. This is a terrible scenario and a complete waste of food.

When we work with farmers we buy “field run” produce. Meaning that we buy their whole harvest. This means that we get some things that look like they might make it to the grocery store. Other stuff might have a face only a mother could love…But they are fresh and crisp. So I invite you to come on this journey as we listen more to our taste buds, not our eyes.

Help thy Neighbor. I learned (very) early on the farm that you cannot be everything to everyone. Our business is more fun and stronger partnering with incredible people than it is trying to make/grow/milk/bake everything ourselves. We are better as a team than individuals. Period. We have built our business model around this notion and I can tell you that it is the only reason why we are thriving during this challenging time. You have a dedicated team of suppliers working for you.

I am a firm believer that our food is our medicine. For me this looks like produce grown without chemicals, Animals humanely raised on pastures and not loaded with antibiotics, and Baked Goods/grocery items that do not have preservatives in the ingredients. If you need a dictionary to read a label, I don’t want it on our website. Keep it simple.

I also might add to not listen to your Mom (sorry moms) and “Start playing with your food.” One of the things that I am most grateful for in my life is my relationship with food. Food makes me happy, fills my belly/soul, and is always changing. You can zone-out and relax by yourself or grab your family and create stuff together. Food has been here since the beginning of time and will be here until the end. Let food move you out of your comfort zone, embrace it, and grow as a person.

Quick housekeeping tip to note. We post the upcoming week’s offering every Thursday around 5 pm. At that time, all of the Harvest Boxes are set, all of the inventories are re-stocked, any new items added to the party, and any discontinued items removed. So if you get on the website prior to Thursday for the upcoming week, things might look bare and a bit awkward. Give us until Thursday evening to launch the following week.

With that…Inventory. We have a very different inventory control than a grocery store that offers curbside pick-up. No one “shops our shelves” and changes the inventory. When we bring in 1,400 blueberries, for example, those are ONLY for the website. When you order a blueberry, it is taken out of inventory when you order it Not when it is delivered. There-fore, the sooner you place your order to Thursday evening, the more products you will see if we have limited numbers on an item. And you can always edit your order up until the cut-off time.

Finally, I cannot thank you enough for your trust and support during these uncertain times. We understand the responsibility that we have with your food choices and that is not taken lightly. You have a truly dedicated and hard-working team on your side right now. Rest easy, food is on the way.

Salud, Farmer Monte

I am grateful for many things in my life. One of the things that I am most thankful for is a long list of influential teachers and mentors that I have had throughout my time on this rock. A good teacher is hard to find and even harder to forget. So I salute each of you who have made it your life’s work to inspire minds in our communities both young and old.

And as I was drinking my coffee this fine Saturday morning, my mind drifted back to my high school history teacher, Rob Williams. Besides being a history buff, Rob was a very talented guitar player. One of his songs that always used to make me laugh (and think) was about a herd of cows taking over the farm. He called it Bovine Revolution.

I honestly had not thought about that song in a long time, but today the Bovine Revolution made perfect sense. Why? Well because cows are pretty amazing creatures, but they get a bad rap in the food and environmental world. Let me explain.

Cows are happy out on the range. They are not finicky barn dwellers like some other animals. They are great at being mothers to their young as the feed and protect them. This is not common with all animals. Pigs for example are terrible parents and the piglet mortality rate is high. Just remember that if you every find yourself on Jeopardy. “I’ll take Farm Animals for $400 please Alex.”

Furthermore, cows actually do an incredible job of building a grassland ecosystem that can turn high desert hill country into the Serengeti of grasslands. Think about what cows do as they graze…eat seed heads off of numerous grasses and then “plant” those seeds in compost with a huge cow pie. So when cows are not over-grazed in a spot, they will help a ranch flourish and plant more grasses not destroying them.

Lastly, and I have written about this before so stick with me, grass-fed beef is actually healthy for you. It is full of protein, nutrients (from the grasses), and Omega-3 fatty acids. But now you’re like, “Farmer Mont, if cows are so healthy, then why isn’t McDonald’s a health retreat? Huh Mr. Smarty Pants??”

That is a great question. And the answer you might remember from your First-Grade teacher telling you that “You are what you eat.” I think I was eating glue though when she told me that.

But folks, it is true. Cows do not produce saturated fats. Grasses do not produce saturated fats. Corn does. So when we raise our animals on corn, we get animals full of saturated fats. The meat from those animals are full of saturated fats. But when cows are allowed to graze and be raised the way Mother Nature intended, they are leaner and have a healthier fat content that is similar to a salmon and not a potato chip.

We are what we eat; Our animals are what they eat. There is no magic that goes on here folks, healthy diets lead to health.

The poor cattle in our country get this bad rap not from anything that they do, but rather how our industrial agriculture raises them. Corn gets animals big and strong quickly, but the downside is you have unhealthy meat. Grass-fed animals take longer to raise, but you have a healthy meat. Again, no magic.

So about a year ago I made a promise to you. 2019 was going to be a year that we devoted to helping New Mexican ranchers. To help a local rancher the best you need to find a home for their meats locally. Connect the dots between rancher and consumer so that all the ranchers hard work does not leave the state. Local families feeding local families. A dream come true.

Not to brag, but we did a really great job making this happen in 2019. So much so that my phone started to ring with ranchers looking for us, rather than me cold-calling ranchers telling them about our food model. It is awesome. This is what I had hoped would happen. What does this mean for you?

You will see the variety of the Local Meats increase and the price decrease. As we can offer the ranchers more support, they can lower the price to you. Simple economics. This week, for example, look for a New Mexico Rancher Pack with 2 lbs of Ground and 2 lbs of Steaks. Save $10 on this pack! And thank you for all your support of our ranching families.

Enjoy, Farmer Monte

In our continued efforts to be innovators in the local food world, I am happy to share with you a new packaging offer that we have available. We have been working with several of our members to build a packaging system that will maintain the highest quality while trying to minimize the amount of plastic we use. We have added a way for you to opt for fewer plastic bags in your order. For those of you who are happy, nothing will change. This will be a new option for folks to choose.

Minimize my plastic footprint. This “product” will be very similar to how our “Pack my order in cardboard” option works currently. You will now be able to select a minimal plastic membership as a product. When we see that product in your order, we will pack your items using only the ultra-necessary plastic bags. Meaning that if you order a salad mix, I am not going to throw handfuls of salad into your cooler.

How this will look for you as a customer is items like baby spinach and salad mix will continue to be placed into plastic bags. But heads of lettuce, bunches of greens, herbs, and all roots will no longer be placed into plastic bags for you. If you select this option, you will be responsible to make sure that all produce is properly taken care of once the order arrives to you.

With that said, let me stress that we do not use plastic frivolously. Every item that we put into plastic bags right now is done so we maintain the highest quality of our/your produce. Greens, tender herbs, and roots are all very susceptible to dehydration in your refrigerator. So I am happy to offer this option to minimize plastic…But, this is not for everyone.

If you like to cut, chop, and prep all of your produce as soon as you get it home, this is perfect for you. If you are like me and a little lazy at prepping all your veggies the minute they hit your kitchen counter, please please do not select this option. I want to save the world, but I also want a very crisp and fresh salad.

Look for this new option under our Harvest Box tab. And I really thank you for all the feedback. Despite what my high school Math teacher, Ms. Wrenn, might tell you, I actually listen to constructive ways to do things better.

Well, what else is happening this fine February? Oh yes, New Products. I have to tell you that I am loving the new products that we have been bringing in for you. Quick highlights…

Breads. Ciabatta and Focaccia rolls. Holy guacamole are these dudes yummy. Toast them for a few minutes and enjoy.

Pastas. If you want to feel like you are dining at a 5-star restaurant in your underwear, then stay home and fix up some of our fresh pastas. Olive oil, salt/pepper and you are in for a treat. I don’t think I have had better.

Local Meats. Our roots are in produce, no one loves produce more than I do…but we have one of the best pasture-raised meat offerings that you will see anywhere in the country. I am not exaggerating. With the help of our dedicated ranchers and our local USDA butcher (Mickey), we have built a meat program that I love and completely stand behind.

In my past, I have been a Vegetarian because I hated the industry that was raising animals. I told myself that I would eat meat when it was a system that I believed in. And we have put together a fantastic partnership of local lamb, pork, and beef. All animals born on the land (not on a concrete floor in a barn). Raised With their mothers. Space to roam. Healthy grass and grains to eat. Clean water and plenty of New Mexican sunshine.

This is The Way that animals are supposed to be raised. No corners cut. No exceptions. You all give us and our ranchers tremendous support through this program and I cannot thank you enough. We have not eradicated factory farms, but we now have access to healthy and humane meats on a year-round basis.

I have said it many times, I am a realistic hombre. The Local food model that we have built (are building) will not appeal to all New Mexicans. Yes, the Big Mac will survive. But throughout my life, my dad always reminds me that “happiness is about having options.” Knowing you have Choices inspires happiness. We create the lives we lead. So my goal is simply to bring you and your family local, healthy, and yummy food Options. What you do with those options is up to you amigos!

Enjoy the journey, Farmer Monte