It’s a well-known fact by now that inflation is occurring and that it is more heavily felt in food purchases than other sectors of the economy.  

Unfortunately, our farm is not immune to this trend.

Because we view our customers as partners, not merely purchasers, we want to be transparent in how inflation has been impacting our farm business. 

???? Increased Packaging and Supply Costs

We have seen significant price increases on everything from boxes to egg cartons to vacuum bags over the last year.  Box prices alone have increased over 35% since a year ago.  Lead times for these supplies have also greatly increased due to labor shortages so we have to warehouse much more of these at a time to ensure we don’t run out.

???? Increased Grain and Feed Ingredient Costs

Prices for grain and mineral premixes that we use in our hog and chicken feeds have spiked as much as 20% the expected level at times during the past year. These ingredients are our largest input cost for raising these animals.

???? Increased Prices on Many Other Inputs

We have seen significantly increased costs on other key inputs as well, such as fuel, labor, parts and other services. 

All together, these increases have eroded our ability to be profitable and therefore sustainable.  It’s important for regenerative farms to be profitable for the reasons discussed in Pasture Posts #33.  We have worked hard to minimize the costs to you by waiting out and absorbing these costs for a period of time.  To meet our goals and to be able to continue healing the land, we sometimes have to increase our prices, but we do so with great care and sensitivity.  

“So, What’s the Plan?”

 

1. Price Freeze until Dec.1. 

We are committing to hold prices steady until Dec. 1 when we will begin to implement new prices on some items. 

2. Price increases are kept to a minimum while quality remains high.  

Most items on our store will not have a price increase more than 10% and many will be 5-7%.  We are working hard to minimize our expenses and then pass any savings on to you.  One thing we will never do though, is compromise protocols (such as grass-only for cattle) or market a sub-standard product.  

3. Subscriptions see little change.

We value all our customers, especially those who keep coming back time after time.  Many of our best customers also have chosen a Subscription Box.  As a tribute to your loyalty, we will not increase the price of anyone’s existing Subscription Box.  Furthermore, the new price for a Subscription Box with no eggs added on will be unchanged for the time being.  Only those variations of subscription boxes with eggs will see a slight increase due to the increase of our egg prices.  

Most companies would never bother to preview a price increase with their customers, but Watson Farms isn’t like most companies.  We truly value our customers to the point of seeing them as partners in our regeneration ministry.  We know that most of our customers are very informed about their food so we want to keep information flowing from the farm to you so that you can navigate this with us.  

Thank you for your understanding and your continued support of our farm and a better food system. 

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Product Spotlight

Some customers over the years have informed us that they enjoy using a pastured broiler or two for their Thanksgiving meal instead of a turkey from the grocery store.  We thought it might be a good idea to give you the opportunity to pre-order these birds and receive them freshly harvested, never frozen since we are processing some the week of Thanksgiving.  

We are able to offer them for Farm Pickup or Charleston, Columbia, and Greenville-Spartanburg Home Delivery on Tuesday, Nov. 23 only.  Please head over to the product page and read the description for more details and to reserve your fresh, pasture raised chicken!

The deadline to reserve your chicken(s) is Sunday, Nov. 21 at noon.

We’ve got an awesome sale going on Hot Sausage and our Hot Sausage UPS Bundle!  It’s a great time to stock up! 

You can see ALL of our ON SALE products with the button below.

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We re-use packaging!

We’ve seen a good response to our efforts in re-using packaging! Thanks and keep it up.  

You can help us reduce our carbon footprint by returning your CLEAN egg cartons and meat boxes. 

The main reason that we switched to plastic egg cartons a while back was because they are so much more durable than paper which could only be used once.  They also protect the eggs much better!

So if you have some egg cartons or boxes to return, you can just place them on your porch on your home delivery day.  Farm pickup customers can, of course, drop them off when you come to pick up your new order.  

Thanks for helping us re-use our packaging!

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Referral Program

If you enjoy our products please consider passing the word along to your neighbors, friends and family!  We don’t spend a lot of money of advertising but rather depend on customers like yourself to advertise for us if they are amazed by our products and customer service.

All you have to do is refer someone to us and when they place an order for the first time they will get a link to a form where they can say who referred them.  You and the new customer will receive a $15 credit!  So make sure they tell us your name.  Hit the button for more info!

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Order Deadlines and Store Hours

Order Deadlines

• Charleston: 12 noon Mondays
• UPS Orders: 12 noon Mondays (12 noon Sunday, Nov. 21 for the week of Thanksgiving. Shipments will go out on Monday, Nov. 22 that week.)
• GSP: 12 noon on Wednesdays (Click here for more info on the modified delivery schedule for GSP customers the week of Thanksgiving.)
• Charlotte/Rock Hill: 12 noon Fridays
• Farm Pickup: Please wait until you receive an email stating that your order is ready to be picked up (usually 1 business day from when you place your order).  Farm pickup is done during store hours:

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 10am to 6pm
Saturday: 10am to 2pm
Closed Sunday and Wednesday

Produce Box Ordering Deadlines

Sundays at 9pm for Charleston or Columbia Home Deliveries
Tuesdays at 9pm for GSP and CLT/Local Home Deliveries

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Did you know that we have a webpage that displays all the reviews we have received?  

Check it out!

Check out this ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review:

“Enjoyed my purchase. Delivery was smooth and easy. Will try the subscription plan next. I enjoy knowing my meat and eggs were raised in a pasture and I enjoy supporting a farmer directly.“

We would greatly appreciate it if you would be kind enough to leave us a review.  It helps first-time customers purchase with confidence.

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Thanks again for being partners in this endeavor of local, pasture-raised proteins that has truly transformed our farm.  We look forward to continuing this transition while serving you long into the future.

Sincerely,
The Watsons

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Pasture Posts is written by Matt Watson.