Happy Summer!
We hope this blog post finds you warm, peaceful, and well. We are thrilled to announce that we welcomed baby Aubrey Jessie Hay on May 21, 2021! We are over the moon about her arrival and we have been loving every minute of her time with us! Aubrey peacefully arrived in our home surrounded by her parents and two midwives. Aubrey weighed nine pounds, four ounces and measured 21.5 inches long. We are thrilled we were able to deliver her in our home where we felt most comfortable! Aubrey is growing quickly and is so healthy!
We had our most successful season in 2020, and our 2021 season is bound to now have its pivots which we are preparing for. Because there's some changes that are bound to happen, I thought I’d do a quick Q & A to answer any questions folks might have about the 2021 season.
What's Changing
Because baby is so exciting and new for us, we decided to take a step back from our online market this spring so we could be present in the last few weeks of pregnancy and the first month or so postpartum. We are now returning with all of the spray-free vegetables and grass-fed beef along with our new addition tagging along for the next 10 or so weeks. One of our goals this growing season (with baby and plants in mind) is to stay flexible and adaptable to all of the possible pivots we may have to make. We will let you know if we need to adapt any of our regular plans, but for now, we plan to proceed with a few changes and with a plus one!
Pickup Day
Because our lives are a little more full, we've now moved pickup day to Monday's starting July 5, 2021 from 5:00-6:30 pm.
What's Staying the Same
Website
You’ll continue to order and pay for your items online through the website again this year. If you subscribe to our website, you'll receive an email every Wednesday evening to gently remind you that our online market is open for business.
The Fresh Pick
The Fresh Pick is a bag of seven to ten, fresh, in-season produce; farmer’s choice, that’s available for purchase weekly through our website. The Fresh Pick will begin as soon as the growing season allows for enough items. Want some items that aren't included in your Fresh Pick order? No problem, just add them into your online cart and we’ll make sure that it’s in your bag at pickup!
Grass-Fed Beef
You'll continue to see our grass-fed beef option in our online market this year while quantities last. We make the decision to butcher a cow very seriously and you can read more about that process here. Our beef comes in packages as well as individual cuts while quantities remain.
FAQ
(Policy about Covid-19 included at the bottom)
Is your produce organic?
Our produce is spray-free but is not certified organic. At this time, we have one field that boarders the short edge of one of our gardens. It has been carefully sprayed in prior years, but it has been converted to hay land in 2021 so there will be no spraying near our vegetable crops; yay! In any case, this field is too close to the garden for us to be certified organic. As for what we can control in the garden, know that all of our produce is planted, nurtured and harvested with love. The weeds are hand pulled and we use a combination of our own household compost, rich composted manure from our cattle, and organic fertilizers to make our soil and plants happy. Read more about our garden practices here.
How can I get some of these veggies and grass-fed beef?
We urge you to subscribe for our newsletter (you can do this at the bottom of this page) so you get to hear about what's been happening around the farm as well as receive a gentle weekly reminder every Wednesday evening that our online market is open for business. Remember, all of our produce, beef, and packages are first come first serve. We also encourage folks to follow along on our Instagram page for the latest updates.
Can I find you at local farmers markets?
No. We haven’t signed up to participate in any farmers markets this season. We work really hard on product photography every week so that you get the best idea of what you’ll be receiving. We post a recent photo in our newsletter and Instagram page each week of what’s available with as much detail about the produce as possible. We’ve also found that the "click and collect" type of pick up is appreciated from those who are heading out to the lake for the weekend, for those who don’t like to fight the crowds at the farmer’s market, and to meet current Covid-19 health restrictions.
Are your cattle grass-fed?
Yes they are. In the summer our cattle graze in our pastures filled with many varieties of native grasses. In the winter, our cattle are fed pea and oat silage as well as baled hay from the summer.
Is your beef organic?
No. We are not a certified organic farm, therefore, our beef is not organic. We do not spray the pasture land that the cattle graze on and we make every effort to make sure that our cattle get healthy, quality feed that they deserve.
Do you butcher your own beef?
No we don’t. We bring the cow to a local, government inspected butchering facility where it’s processed and packaged on site.
Do you raise your own animals?
Yes we do! We are so proud that we can say that we’ve raised every cow that’s a part of our herd from birth until the time they leave us.
Can I private message you with my order and pay in cash?
No. We ONLY accept orders through our website. We ask that you use the website so that we can make better use of of our time and keep track of your orders and our inventory in an efficient way. If you have trouble using the website please let us know and we will be happy to walk you through the process! We generally have a few add-on's (think tomatoes, beans, peas, potatoes, spinach, lettuce) that folks can purchase when they're picking up their orders. These add-on's can be paid with cash or through e-transfer at pickup time.
What methods of payment do you accept?
We currently accept credit cards, Visa-debit and PayPal on our website as well as the option to send us an e-transfer.
Where do I pick up my order? We currently sell from Ashley's home located in Brandon, MB. Our gardens are located on my parents farm about 30 minutes south of Brandon, but we have pickup from our home in the city for easy access. Our address is disclosed at checkout, and you'll receive a reminder email from me confirming that your order is ready along with the location on pick up day.
What days and times can I pick up my order?
Pickup days are Monday's from 5:00-6:30 pm.
What if I can't pick up my order or will be away on a pickup day?
Ask a friend or family member to pick up your order for you!
What happens if I forget to pick up my order?
We usually do folks the courtesy of sending them a reminder email, but our policy states that order's that aren't picked up get donated to a family in need.
Do you deliver orders?
No. Folks must be able to pick up their orders in Brandon, MB on the pick up day and within the pick up time frame.
How will you practice safety for your customers during Covid-19?
Our current system actually prepared us for Covid-19 so we feel confident going into our second season with only a few tweaks.
Please wear your mask to pickup, we will do the same to ensure everyone's safety.
Each person's name will be clearly written on their bagged order and it will be waiting on a table for you to pickup.
We will respectfully limit the amount of people in our garage space pickup if we have a large amount of people that show at the same time. We will also continue to follow current health orders that are in place.
We will practice physical distancing from our customers and will not exchange hugs or handshakes (this includes touching or getting too close to the baby this year). If you're able to take your order to you vehicle that's great, if not, let us know and we will help you out by placing it your trunk while you stay in the vehicle.
We will continue to wash or sanitize our hands before handling any part of your order. We ask that you do the same if you're going to be touching the add-on's produce or handing us cash.
We continue to encourage folks to wash their vegetables when they get them home and before consuming to make sure any germs, dirt or bug friends have been removed.
All beef orders come to you frozen and will be kept bagged with your name in a cooler at pickup. Make sure you check in with us to get your beef orders before you leave!
And of course, if myself or anyone in my family becomes ill, we will notify everyone and cancel/refund orders immediately.
Do you have any other questions? Please comment below and we’ll respond!
I am really looking forward to sharing this growing season once again with you!
Ashley