I have to be honest that I am not one who likes to use Customer Surveys when it comes to launching a new product. You probably know that about me. I love surveys after the fact to see how we are doing. I mean everyone needs a report card right? But proactive surveys don’t tell you much. Instead, I like to launch something, throw the spaghetti against the wall, learn from what the demand tells us. Then either ditch it if it’s not working or tweak it to make it a winner at our table.

Let’s take our many iterations of the Meal Kits for example. I think I have lost track of how many different ways that we have tried to make Meal Kits work for our customers. Maybe a dozen different tweaks to the idea. Fortunately, I think that we have finally found our sweet spot. As my sage father, Skip, says, “Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while.” Sales of our meal kits have been solid and logistically they are not a complete pain in the rump roast for us to do well. So now comes the fun part, expanding the scope of the Meal Kits.

Let me lay out how we hope to diversify and expand the Meal Kit line-up to serve you and your family better. First off, you will notice 6 categories of meal ideas that we will highlight weekly. We found that Pastas, Tacos, Salads, Pizzas, Protein Bowls, and Seasonal Recipes have all been popular. So what you will see on the web site now is each of those effectively being their own category. Those categories will remain fairly consistent for the short term and we will change the recipes within those categories weekly.

For example, we will celebrate the category Taco Tuesday every week, but the tacos we offer will change from week to week. Chicken fajita tacos one week, calabacitas tacos the next, and good ole ground beef. You get the idea, same category but different flavors each week to enjoy.

All of these recipes will be quick to prepare, healthy to eat, and insane value for your wallet/purse or Fanny Pack. Working directly with the grower, dairy, rancher etc., we are in a unique position to bring you the highest quality foods for the lowest price. Great deal for you and our producers alike.

Second piece of wonderful news that I want to share with you is that we have launched our farm-fresh Juice Bar. Again, with our access to the best fruits and veggies in the state, it is a no-brainer for us to expand the ways that we bring you Organic fruits and veggies. I am happy to eat oranges, but I also am in love with fresh squeezed orange juice. Every time I sip fresh squeezed juice, I immediately feel like I am having brunch on Mexican beach with my hairy toes dug into the warm sand. And I want to feel like that more often. So we bought a juicer!

This week we will launch this new (ad)venture with 3 juices and then begin to flesh out the offering in the upcoming weeks. This week look for Apple Cider, Orange Juice, and a custom blend with Celery-Apple-Cucumber-Carrot and Lemon. Yes these are all Organic and No will never have any fillers in them.

Why will these be so special? Well besides using the freshest fruits and veggies, we will not make the juice until someone orders them. Our goal is not to make juice and then let it sit on the shelf hoping someone will buy them. That’s a good way for you to drink old juice and for us to have to throw out product.

We want to do the Juice Bar differently. I don’t want to guess how many juices we will sell. It is a heck of a lot easier to just make the juice when you order it rather than play a guessing game. So you order them, we juice them, and you get super fresh juices delivered to you door. Simple. And we have found that the simple systems are usually our best systems.

Quick recap, look for the 6 new rotating weekly meal kit offerings in both the Harvest Boxes as well as the Meal Kit tab on the web site. All of those meals are less than $4 per serving. You could not beat that if you were subsisting on Nacho Bell Grandes.

And check out the Organic freshly squeezed juice bar that we have launched for you to help ensure that you will not get scurvy this fall and winter.

Have a tasty week amigos, Farmer Monte

To begin with this most amazing September week, a huge Thank You! to you all. And you’re probably saying “A thank you…for what? Did my holiday fruit cake arrive early this year?” No, this is a thank you for you understanding on our need to change our delivery fee structure. Let me explain.

Over the past 16 years that we have been feeding you, your amigos and your family, we have had to raise the delivery fees at various points. Every time (without exception) we have gotten absolutely run over by loss in sales, upset phone calls, and emails criticizing my mom’s ability to raise a son. All in all, not a pleasant experience I can assure you.

This time I braced for the worst when we changed our delivery structure. We needed to do it, but I honestly was thinking that it might be the end of the business if we did not keep the support of the community. I even called my old dance troupe, Thunder From Down Under, to see if they would hire me back if things did not go well with the delivery fee change.

(Very) Fortunately, we did not lose anyone to the change. We actually increased our membership through it. Never saw that coming but I am so thankful for you and all of the support to help us make these necessary changes in our business model.

I have mentioned this before but will reiterate it again now. The mom n’ pop home delivery model has been absolutely decimated over the last several years. Companies who mentored me, helping shape the direction of our business have lost support from their communities and had to fold up the tent. Throughout California, Colorado, Arizona, Texas and other parts of our region, home delivery models have shut down.

This is sad to see because in the ashes of those companies closing their doors you find less economic diversity, less support for small growers, and fewer choices in the marketplace. You are left with big companies who will not even return a grower’s phone call let alone buy food from them.

Our community support keeps the local food landscape growing and evolving to meet the challenges and opportunities that face all our local producers. The food world is unforgiving so your support cannot be overstated. We need you.

Here is one email that I received that I thought summed up the new move very well… “I just wanted to say that I think your decision to charge a delivery fee is right on. It makes sense business-wise and It made me stay on your site and shop a little longer to get to over $75 for stuff I actually eat but usually buy elsewhere. I was always just too rushed to take the time to shop online. So thanks for slowing me down and for all that you do to bring food to our table. -JP”

On to the next part of housekeeping this morning, the use of Plastics in Grocery & Produce. For those of you keeping score at home, plastics have become the new public enemy #1 in the sustainability world. Plastics are a very hot button issue. And recently we have had some members say that they are going to quit our service unless we stop using plastics. So this is probably a good time to communicate our view on plastics.

First off, our use of plastic is very thoughtful. It is not by accident that we use plastic for the things we do. Greens wilt without protection from the refrigerator. Refrigerators are great at keeping things cold, but they dehydrate the air and therefore kill greens that are not protected. So I will Never compromise the quality of our food to save a plastic bag.

Secondly, we do not use a lot of plastics compared to much of the produce world. Because we buy directly from the growers, they bring their harvest to us in reusable totes or cardboard. We recycle 100% of our cardboard and compost 100% of any unusable food. There is not a retailer who is as environmentally friendly as we are. I can promise you that.

Lastly, folks we just do not use a lot of plastic. Look at the size of your cooler. That is the size box that we get 2,000 plastic bags! If our average customer receives 4 bags a week, one box (the size of your cooler) will be enough plastics bags for 9 years! I can guarantee you that you are producing more waste in your house than 1 cooler of plastic every 9 years.

These also are not one-use bags. We have the useful little zip on them so that after you use the greens in them, pack a sandwich and take it to work. Store opened cheese in them. Make them last. So we will not be getting rid of our plastic bags but we will continue to use them sparingly as we always have.

Thanks for your understanding. Please let me know if you have any questions, 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

Take Me To The Website

OK, so this is probably as good a time as any to reaffirm with you that I have a few bolts loose in my brain. I think about some weird things and then try to see how we can make them a reality. Most recently I have been wondering what it would look like if our Scratch n Dent Harvest Box had a cute little baby with our Weekly Meal Plan. And spoiler alert, let me tell you that this little new-born is freaking adorable. So let me introduce you to this new addition to our family…

$10 Family Meal Deal with our push to bring you more easy meal plans along with the desire to find a good home for slightly blemished food, a light bulb went off—why not combine the two? That is what we have done and this is how it will look/act on your side of things.

Every week at the top of the Customization page in the Harvest Boxes, we will highlight a meal that will feed a family of 4 and only cost $10. Yes, we can bring you and your familia a healthy and tasty meal for only $2.50 a person. You will not find a better deal anywhere. I promise.

Along with this phenomenal meal kit, I want to let you know that our members have helped me “see the light” in regards to our adolescent offering, the Scratch n Dent Box. Folks love it, love the idea, and are so-so on the execution of it. “Farmer M., can you please let us know what is in it? I don’t know if I should order oranges or not because I don’t know what’s in the Scratch.” Totally fair frustration that I know people have had.

The solution is easy…letting you preview the Scratch Box before ordering everything else you will need for the week. Beginning this week I will post the contents of the Scratch Box in 2 places. First, it will be added to the weekly Saturday preview that we send out. And second, on the website under the Harvest Box tab I will add the preview to the Scratch description. Look for it in either of those place and that should help you plan your food needs for the week.

We will Not be allowing Substitutions to these boxes. The luxury of Customizing a Harvest Box is kept exclusively for our traditional Harvest Boxes. Again the goals of our Scratch Boxes are to eliminate food waste and to bring you insane value on food that is slightly blemished.

Chicken. I think building the pyramids in Egypt may have been easier than finding a sustainable chicken program that we feel good about. Well amigos, the chicken has finally found a reason to cross the road (sorry, that is the best cheesy pun I could come up with on only 2 cups of coffee).

I am proud/thrilled to (finally) bring back a truly amazing chicken offering. Taste. Pasture-raised. Non-GMO. Humanely processed. Everything I was looking for we were able to source and without cutting any corners on quality or animal welfare. We needed the perfect offering before launching. So look for all of our new chicken options on the website now.

Lastly this week, let me touch on the new face of our Meal Kits. We have tried many variations of how the meal kits should look over the past few months. With our new certified food space, I think that the easiest way to handle the meal kits is to have everything that you will need inside the order. Basically a 1-Click meal planning. No guess work.

So as we build this feature out, look for these 1-Click Meals inside the Harvest Boxes. We will have them on the top of the customization page and know that if you add these babies to your order, everything you need for the recipe will come in the order. With the exception of oil, salt and pepper. I am going to go out on a limb and say that if you are ordering from us, you probably have oil, salt and pepper in your kitchen. Everything else will be in there with a recipe card.

As I have written about so many times, I want you to have fun and play with your food. Good food has made my life better. I am not ashamed to say that. I have simple needs/wants in this life and one of them is freakin’ tasty food.

If I can help you in your journey to love your food, I want to do that. That will take many shapes over the years. It might be a raw carrot, carrot soup, carrot juice, carrot salad, or even a carrot cake (coming up). There are so many fun ways to enjoy the flavors that we have at our finger tips.

So let’s buckle up and see where this wild culinary ride takes us. And smile knowing that the best is yet to come my friends.

Enjoy, Farmer Monte

Take Me to the Website

So a vision for change can be a curse as much as it brings happiness and motivation. As we all know, change cannot (and does not) happen overnight. It is a long journey filled with distractions, failures, and the occasional victory. And in order to stay on course, you have to love the process more than some arbitrary destination. There is no place that our local food system will arrive where we can declare Mission Accomplished. All I know is that this year our local food landscape is better than it was last year. Every year we keep progressing and making positive changes. That makes me happy and keeps me chugging along every morning.

But throughout this slow churning journey, you get watershed moments when we reaffirm that we are on the right path. This week was one of those moments for us. Let me share some things that we got cooking around here. I prefer a transparent business model so that everyone is on the same page.

This week I sold part of the business to our long-time partner and friend, Paul, from Excelsior Orchards. I have known Paul and his wife, Elane, since 2004 when they were ramping up production on their 85 acre Orchard in Paonia, CO. Over the last 15 years, we have tried to support Paul and Excelsior as much as possible. In return they have supported us.

About 5 years ago over a cup of coffee and a handshake, Paul and I made a deal that if he could grow it, then we would find a home for his amazing fruit. NM just does not have growing climates for tree fruit like Paul and his neighbors have on the western slopes of CO. So we are truly fortunate to have access to the high quality fruit Paul brings us.

With all of the support that the two farms have offered to one another, bringing Paul in as an owner of the business was a no-brainer. We are happy to have him on board and excited about where the collaboration will take us from here.

This new addition to our ownership structure also marks a philosophical move that I have been chewing on for some time now. And that is if we are to truly have a local food model that serves the community, then the community should be able to have ownership in the model. Skin in the game.

As I have written numerous times and honestly believe, trying to shift the paradigm of the local food system will take many hands on deck. So the more people and suppliers that we have vested in growing the model, the better it will be for everyone who eats the food. I really foresee the role of Skarsgard Farms expanding not as a retailer, but as a centralized hub for suppliers, growers, and ranchers to access as many mouths as possible. Local and regional farmers/producers changing the food landscape for our communities one meal at a time.

Lastly this week, I want to touch on a few common threads that we noticed in our survey from a few weeks ago.

More Meal Plans. This was probably the loudest reverberation among the responses. If the survey was a mob with pitchforks, they would have been yelling “Give us Quality…but make it Convenient!” I get it. My life is busy and there are times when Convenience rules. We need better options for chaotic times.

Let me say that we are working on it. We have a certified kitchen about to launch and are working on a pretty amazing partnership deal with a local restaurant that will take shape this late summer/fall. We are moving intently in this direction with lots of new products on the horizon. Stay tuned.

Meats. We had several members say that they do not like the fact that we offer/advertise our meat program. I understand that this is a very sensitive subject and I will tell you that I was a vegetarian for a number of years. So I get it. I could not stand the industrial meat model and so I did not support it.

But running the farm I got to meet local ranchers and see how they were raising animals in a different way. Their systems not only respected the animals but also the land that the animals call home. Seeing such healthy and sustainable ranches, I felt/feel proud to be able to bring you their meats. If you are going to eat meat, this is the way the animals should be raised. You will not find a better system. Anywhere.

If you do not want to eat meats, I respect that. But for our members who choose to eat meats, I will make sure that you have the healthiest and highest quality meats for you and your family. That is my promise to you.

Thank you for all of the support, Farmer Monte

Take Me to the Website

So spring has most definitely sprung around here in the Land of Entrapment. And what a welcomed change I have to say. I know that as a grower you are supposed to love every season, but I will take flip-flops over heavy coats any day. Plus seeing plants began to wake up is just healthy for your soul. So enjoy this time of year amigos. Just don’t get blown away.

This has been a super chaotic late winter. Not going to lie about that. Moving warehouses while not taking a day off of deliveries was let’s just say challenging. But with an amazing crew and a fantastic new space, we rocked it out in style. A few more gray hairs, but what the heck, I got some to spare.

With any new space comes new opportunities. New ideas. So let me share a few of these with you. The biggest one is Certified Food Processing center. You see when it comes to the Health Department, you can get several certifications. At our old location we were considered a Food Handler. That meant that you can place a pint of strawberries in a cooler, but you cannot run a knife into them. As soon as a knife cuts a fruit or veg, you have to be a Processor. Makes sense. But we just didn’t have the infrastructure to pull it off over there.

Fast forward to our new digs (that we were able to buy fortunately, adios rent). Our new space has a walk-in cooler with floor drains, a 3-compartment sink, a hand-wash sink, washable walls, and a partridge in a pear tree. All of which the City of ABQ requires in order to be able to Process food for retail consumption (aka feed your family). This is honestly one of the cleanest and nicest food facilities that I have seen. And it makes my gerbil brainstorm insane possibilities.

When our application gets approved (2 weeks), we will be expanding our offerings in some seriously fun ways. So following the example of our strawberry, we will be able to bring you a fresh strawberry, a jam, juice, smoothie, dehydrated, or cut up berries on a tossed salad. The processor certification opens so many doors of possibilities for us and you. It also will allow us to buy more products from our suppliers and to help them grow their businesses.

This next stage of our business will be an exciting one. Look for these new faces to join the party this Spring.

I also wanted to point out some really cool things that are Not new to the table but deserve to mention again. Our Scratch and Dent Box. This Harvest Box is the solution to 2 major obstacles that we see in the food world. First is that not all produce that makes it out of the field is able to be sold as premium standards. Only about half a grower’s harvest can be considered “grocery store grade.” So that means that half of what is grown goes unused. The sad thing is that this is not because of quality, but merely aesthetics. Ugly food.

Our society and consumers have been trained that if produce doesn’t look a certain way then it is bad. I know that I am preaching to the choir here because our customers have evolved past that thinking. But even for us, as we are prepping your food we run into the dilemma that “Shoot, the bell pepper is a little too wrinkled to send out, but still great to eat.” It would be great to find a home for that pepper.

Additionally, Organic produce gets a really bad rap for being “too expensive.” So we were able to address bringing you better Value and cutting down on Food Waste with our Scratch and Dent Box. 12 lbs of fresh Organic veggies, for only $15! I feel like it is a win-win situation for everyone. Look for that Box offering on the website.

The other Rock-star that I need to remind you of is our Large Order Discount. As I have mentioned numerous times, the cost for us is the same to drop a small order as it is for a large one. So after you have paid for the small order, there are savings to be shared for you. So we have built in a tiered pricing structure that automatically (No Coupon Clipping) saves you money from your grocery bill.

At $50 take 5% off your bill. $100 = 10%. $150 = 15%. And $200 slash 20% from your bill. Easy and you do not need to scan a membership card or learn a secret handshake. Although if we did have a handshake, rest assured it would be awesome.

Lastly, keep your eyes peeled for a cool recipe card that we have added to all of the boxes this week. Some great ideas.

Have a great weekend, Farmer Monte

Send me to the Web Site

Over the last decade and a half, I have written a ton of newsletters. Probably in the neighborhood of 700. But this week something happened to me for the first time ever.

I had my weekly newsletter all done. I had rushed through my proof reading like I usually do. I am sure that there was a grammatical error like their usually is. And just before I was going to print and email it to you all, I read an article.

The article basically laid out how the huge savings that customers could (did) expect from Amazon buying Whole Foods were just a mirage. Amazon isn’t going to be able to waive its magic wand and fix the grocery game. Transportation, ingredients, and packaging costs were starting to eat their proverbial lunch. Only way out? Raise prices.

So why did this article have such an impact on my newsletter this week? In fact it is a pretty benign article. The irony of it was that I had just written about how we have been able to cut our prices and give you better value more than we have been able to do at any point over the course of our journey. And I think that we (finally) may be at the tipping point for the local food movement. Let me break this down a bit.

The ultimate goal for the Local food movement has always been offering something better, healthier, and more sustainable than the industrial agricultural food model. You have heard all of the buzz words for almost 20 years now… Buy Local, Less Food Miles, Support the Local Economy. But then there comes that time of self-reflection when you are looking at yourself in the mirror and question, “Are we really making a difference? Are those buzz words becoming reality or are they just buzz words that people like to dream about?”

I have to be honest that there have been times when the path has gotten a little faded and I have questioned if the Little Engine That Could would actually reach the top of the hill. But this week has reinvigorated me. Sure part of it is our move into a new warehouse. However, it is also seeing that what we have been doing for all of these years is moving the needle. Of course there is no Finish Line in this journey, but things are getting better. And that makes my gray beard smile.

All of the partnerships that we have been cultivating for years are giving us stability in this time of rising food costs. The Local food movement is (more and more) making good Economic sense and not just good Common sense. And this has been the pivot point I have been wanting to see. In order for the Local food wave to really reach its potential, we need what is good for the earth and what is good for our wallets to be in accord with one another. I think we are on the doorstep.

Back to my original newsletter for this week…we have seen supply of Local and Regional healthy food choices explode. This increase in supply, along with short miles to travel, has brought better value to you than we have ever seen. We are now able to offer you more food for fewer pesos than ever. Organic food is seeing more growers and better growing practices. That combination drives prices down and value up. A win-win situation for everyone involved including Mother Nature. We are in the doorway of a major shift of the industry; food free of chemicals has transformed beyond just a fringe food offering. We have to be thrilled about this.

Secondly, and this is huge, we arrived at this place through the will and the want of the people. Think about this, there has been no law passed to make people eat Organically grown food. Every bite of healthy food has been a choice made by a person. It is the reason why they say “Eating is an Agricultural Act.” What we put into our mouths shapes our agricultural industry. We are here today because of decades of conscientious eating in our communities. One bite at a time.

Thinking about all of those years of support for the Organic movement has made me think of how we are still in business today. And it is because of you. We have never had a billboard, no big dollar marketing campaign, shoot we have never even hired a salesperson. We grow and have grown throughout New Mexico strictly on our members spreading the good word of our food and of our mission.

For all of the word of mouth advertising you do for us, we want to thank you by giving you a $20 credit for every Friend Referral who signs up and orders. Plus they will enjoy 15% Off their first order. Thank you for keep us going/growing.

Onward and Upward, Farmer Monte

I would love to take a brief second here to look at how the winter crop production is shaping up. Seeing as how we are about half way through this winter season, it is a good time to take notes on where we are going and where we have been.

Greens. This has been a very good winter season for greens. Greens are not huge fans of major temperature swings, so protected winter growing is always preferable to the manic days of a New Mexican spring or hot summer. Look for lettuces, chard/kale, salad, and spinach to continue to be strong here for the next couple of months.

Apples. We are still enjoying some of the incredible fruits from Excelsior Orchard in Paonia, CO. As you have probably noticed, the apples have just been getting sweeter and sweeter. As we hold them in cold storage, the sugars continue to develop and intensify in the fruit. So any little bit of acid melts away and you are left with super tasting winter apples. You honestly cannot get apples with this kind of flavor before heading into the New Year. They need time to mature.

We will continue to have Paul’s apples hopefully into early March. But he also has pressed some apples and pears into Ciders for us. After pressing them, we freeze them so that we do not need to pasteurize or add any preservatives to them. After you get them thawed out, you will have about 2 weeks to drink them before they will start to ferment in your fridge.

If they do ferment a little bit, they are not bad. So please do not throw them out. They will have just a slight bit of alcohol in them. All grapes, pears, and apples contain a natural yeast on their skins. So if you do not pasteurize them, the yeast can start eating up the sugar and, viola, you get hard cider. Thank you Johnny Appleseed for all of your hard work. Look for these ciders in the Harvest Boxes.

Citrus. You cannot even talk about winter food production without mentioning (or thinking about) citrus. We have such an amazing group of citrus growers in Arizona that keep us flooded with these wonderful bits of sunshine throughout the winter months. It has been 8 years of working with them and seems to just keep getting better every single year.

Valencia oranges will start a transition into a variety called Arizona Sweets. They are like a Valencia, but just a bit sweeter and less acid. Those will start next week. The Navel oranges are also about a week out. We will highlight both of those fruit varieties in next week’s offering.

Lemons and Limes have been as consistent as the sunrise. And look for the Grapefruit to begin their transition as well into a sweeter less acidic fruit. The longer the grapefruit sit on the trees soaking up the Arizona sun and cool nights, the acid mellows out and becomes a lot sweeter. So good for those of you who love sweetness and not so good if you love your grapefruit with a strong bite. Overall just the best time of year to be enjoying our regional citrus program.

And a little citrus fact for you to chew on (pun most definitely intended). Most produce distributors come out of California, the Salad Bowl of the United States. California will not accept Arizona grown citrus into the state to protect their industry. What happens then is that all of the fruit that comes into NM is grown in CA because the distributors for grocery stores come out of CA. So AZ citrus is almost impossible to find.

California has great citrus, but I personally don’t think that it is as good as our neighbors to the west. And I can promise you that it is not as fresh. You are getting fruit that is less than a week off the trees. No other store can give you that. So enjoy the incredible varieties and flavors that we have to bring you this winter.

Lastly, our Local Pasture-Raised Meats. As I’ve mentioned before, I love produce. This farm was built and remains rooted in plants. But we have had some fantastic ranch partners come to the table with their locally raised meats. This pastured-meat program that we have put together for you has taken the better part of a decade to fill up. But I think that we are finally getting to a great spot. 2019 you will see better cuts and types of meat than we have ever had available. Right now check out the Virgin Farms Lamb. Raised in ABQ’s South Valley. Truly the best lamb I have ever had and I know you’ll agree.

Enjoy amigos, Farmer Monte