Chicks are here! Subscriptions open till April 1st!
Hi friends and family,
Garrett and I have been talking quite a bit about how to start this chicken season off strong and keep up our momentum! Finalizing chicken subscriptions and bundles was our first real push of the year in better meeting our customers’ needs in an efficient and meaningful way. We want to bring consistent, quality products directly to you and keep you coming to us, but how do we actually do that?
Something we are discovering as the chore list gets longer and the farm needs to be farmed… the time we devote to sitting, reading, researching, marketing, bookkeeping, cold calling and visiting local farms grows exponentially. Too often, as I am snuggled in between our sleeping children, I wake up to Garrett just getting into bed and the clock reads 1:30am… to which I respond, “Are you kidding me?!” Farming full time means being a full time night student.
We are excited and learning more about direct marketing. This is still new territory for us. This model relies on people who value a relationship with the farmer; the one who is handling the food you are bringing home to feed your family. To us, this is the root of everything we do – it comes back to the family. We are raising food we feel good about feeding our own children. Our practices speak to how we want the land to be left for them. The way we nurture the animals and soil is for our children to learn that they are a part of something larger; a symbiotic relationship that requires maintenance, love, and mutual respect.
A few weeks back, a family friend gave us the book “Dirt to Soil” by Gabe Brown. It is about a ranch in North Dakota and the family’s journey into Regenerative Agriculture. This book spoke about the harm of large scale conventional crop farming, but it also sparked an immense amount of hope in us that there are farms like ours out in the world and people like Gabe Brown who are devoting their life's work to healing the soil. I believe one of the downfalls of civilization is humans' perceived competition with mother nature; the thought that working against her would ever be in our best interest. How could we get this so wrong?
Brown takes time to explain soil structure and the importance of biodiversity, carbon, mycelium and living roots and their roles in nutrient and water absorption and how to protect these properties. He introduces concepts of holistic grass management like rotating animals, no-tilling, and growing sufficient cover crops as methods of healing topsoil and growing healthier animals.
This is what we want to do. This is what you are supporting. We want to continue to be transparent on what motivates us to do this work. We do not predict this is an easy road; there is so much to learn and so little time. It can feel overwhelming when passion and success are so interdependent. We appreciate you growing with us and being a part of this community!
Some news:
First batch of birds arrived this morning! (One week early, so we are thankful for this warner weather!)
Next Winter Walk will be March 11th at 10am (all are welcome; dogs on leashes, please).
Spring Chicken Subscription period is open until April 1st! For clarification, you fill out the order form for what you would like for your average month. You will submit the form and we will give you the 10% discounted price of your order. The rest is easy! Simply wait to be notified when your monthly pick-up is ready!
Bulk Beef and Pork shares are available!
Rucker Farm Merchandise is here! Hats and shirts available! Reserve now through email or instagram. Stained Glass shirts (White, Blue, and Sage) $25, Chicken Feet shirts (limited edition) $30, Hats (Navy, Olive, Maroon, Khaki) $20. They are going fast, but we will have a waitlist for next order!