Greetings, from the farm! It has been too long since I have had the time to post on the website, so I felt compelled to provide a short update on how the farm is doing this season…
It has been such a strange season, not even counting the pandemic. The spring started off cold and snowy, much like last year, and then transitioned into Alabama-like weather for a while, which many plants did not appreciate. Nonetheless, most of our crops are doing great and we are filling dozens and dozens of CSA boxes, wholesale orders, and online store orders every week. We are busier than we have ever been.
Some of you may have noticed that we are not at the farmers’ market this year. Our decision to not attend the market was basically made for us due to the pandemic, as well as a desire to help keep the community as safe as possible. But, to be honest, we have been evolving the past few years simply due to the changing nature of the farm and customer buying habits. These changes are happening on a national level and, except for more high profile farmers’ markets, markets are increasingly not the way many people choose to interact with farms and purchase local food.
For a number of reasons, many lovers of local food have been steadily moving toward purchasing in ways outside of farmers’ markets, a trend that accelerated due to the pandemic. We think the broader changes in how people access local food is good. Customers still can have relationships with local farms, and it can be easier now to find food that is affordable and fresh.
And that is a good thing, for local food, and for Dukes Farm specifically. Dropping the market has enabled me to spend three whole days with my family each week, instead of the usual two (always less during planting season though)! We can now focus more on our fabulous CSA members. And not attending the market also limits social contact, helping to keep our customers a bit safer.
Perhaps a result of constantly adapting to changing, often inhospitable weather up here, we have always done a decent job of adapting. Over the past half decade, as farmers’ markets slowly started waning, we increased our CSA member base, and are now the largest CSA farm in the Upper Peninsula. Additionally, Dukes Farm was the first local farm to have an online store, and we already do most of our business direct-to-consumer. So, while many market farms had difficulty adapting, these aspects of the farm business allowed us to transition fairly seamlessly into primarily selling CSAs, website sales, and wholesaling to grocers.
We do miss seeing many of our longtime, regular market customers. Luckily, we get to see many of you still: on doorsteps, or at the farm, or hiking in the woods. And once the pandemic is over we will have a new way or two for you to see us regularly, without masks on our faces.
Hope to see you around! Stay safe!
