Chert Hollow Farm - Market Information

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	How to find our products *Farmers market* Our primary sales venue in 2011 will be the Saturday Columbia Farmers Market. Our farm's sales usually begin in late April or early May and continue through October or November. *On-farm sales* We do not have an on-farm store or roadside stand. On-farm purchases or visits can be accommodated with advance arrangement only. *Local restaurants* In 2011 we expect to supply several local restaurants with produce, including Sycamore, Uprise Bakery, Main Squeeze, and Red and Moe. Please reward these supporters of local farms with your business. *2012 CSA shares* In 2012 we will be converting to a CSA business model, offering shares for delivery in Columbia. We will be leaving the farmers market but maintaining our restaurant sales. More information here.
	Produce Quality & Handling We emphasize the freshness and quality of our produce through careful handling. Delicate items like fresh greens are harvested directly into cold water, chilling them quickly to prevent any degradation. Greens, root crops, and other relevant items are rinsed before sale, though all produce should be washed in the home kitchen. Produce is harvested and handled using clean, regularly washed containers and work surfaces. We maintain our storage coolers and refrigerators at several temperatures, sorting produce into each based on its optimal storage conditions (tomatoes should not be kept at the same temperatures as greens, for example). All fresh items are sold within several days of harvest, and we never resell unsold produce at a later date, except cured, shelf-stable items like garlic. Through these methods we attempt to maximize the quality, stability, and safety of our products. Pricing & availability What are we selling? During the growing season, we maintain a weekly announcement of product availability on our blog, usually published Friday mornings. You can follow these announcements by tracking our Market Tag. *What do we grow?* Our core focus is on items that are unusual, hard to find, or especially good fresh, such as diverse garlic varieties, fresh edamame, high-flavor sauce tomatoes, and mixed greens. We emphasize product diversity as well as biodiversity, making sure we balance many different biological families. As serious foodies and cooks, we grow many things aimed at like-minded home chefs who enjoy exploring new and excellent flavors. We welcome customer requests for produce types or varieties. *How do we set prices?* We attempt to consider the cost of production, labor, storage, transport, marketing, and more when setting our prices. Farming is a high-risk, high-labor enterprise, and we take these factors into account when trying to make a living. This is our full-time business, and we cannot afford to lose money on very many items. Thus, our prices are often higher than the market average or grocery stores, but we feel this reflects the quality, care, and principles that go into our products, as well as our desired independence from off-farm jobs and government subsidies. *An independent business* Small market farms like ours operate on a free-market basis. Unlike most fresh produce & food products in a grocery store, our products receive no subsidies or price supports, meaning we are competing against our own government's agriculture policy and the far higher budgets of major corporations. Our prices reflect the true cost of producing fresh food, and we appreciate those customers who choose to vote with their wallets for agricultural freedom and food independence.

All content & images on this site are copyright Chert Hollow Farm, LLC 2011