Greetings from Hammerstead Farms!
Some news and no mistake: we've removed the fuel surcharge ($1) on all deliveries. I promised in September that if gas went below $2/gal. I'd remove it, and while gasoline hasn't quite made it there yet, my new truck has improved my mileage enough that I feel confident that I can do so without doing serious damage to my bottom line.
But be warned: I've not yet gotten the heating bill for this winter yet. We use propane to heat our buildings out here in the country, and it's projected to more than double in cost! If those projections bear out, I may have to re-impose a fuel surcharge come January - or freeze my hens (and my family). Look for me to take the former option.
There's an additional price pressure on the horizon: Trader's Point is having a small wholesale price increase later this month. I'm going to roll with this punch for the time being and not raise our prices - but I'm counting on you folks to buy more milk and eggs to help me out! I firmly believe in delivering the best possible product at the lowest possible price, but I do run an (allegedly) for profit enterprise here, and must constantly keep that in mind.
New Delivery Areas
We are delivering all over Marion and Hamilton counties now - if you've held off because you thought you were out of our delivery area, now's the time to get in touch! The truck has made a tremendous difference in both time and cost, so we feel confident we can get our products to you profitably, at a price you can afford.
Egg Supply
Egg supply is doing quite nicely: we have 100 new hens which we raised ourselves out here coming "on line" for production in mid-December, and I've increased the current flock by 25 with new pullets. So we'll have plenty of eggs for your holiday festivities.
Beef and Chickens
We currently have some beef in the freezer that we're selling by the piece: generally speaking, I'll try to keep things to $5/lb., but may ask for a minimum order: if you expect to get your rib eye steaks at that price, be prepared to but a few pounds of hamburger or a roast or two as well. That helps me to do two things: keep up a supply of steaks (which would literally fly out of the freezer at that price) and sell more hamburger and other cuts (which are a bit pricey at $5/lb.).
And chickens: we are taking ~100 birds to visit our Amish processor tomorrow (11/6/2005) - half are regular meat chickens and half are stewing hens and roosters - please let me know as soon as possible if you'd like some of these, as they are going fast (nearly half are already spoken for). The price on the birds is $2.50/lb. for either variety - the stewing hens will weigh less than the meat birds, which should come in at over 5 lbs. each.
New Products From Trader's Point Creamery
We have started carrying Trader's Point Organic Ice Creams, available in vanilla, raspberry and chocolate. They're $5/pint, and worth every penny. If you thought the chocolate milk was good, wait 'til you have a scoop of the ice cream!
Trader's Point has also produced a hard cheese, which they're calling Fleur de la Terre ('Flower of the Earth' in French). This is really, really good stuff, but a bit on the expensive side: $20/lb., and they'll only sell it to me by the half or full wheel. A wheel of this cheese weighs between 8 and 12 pounds ... so I'd have to have 5 or six orders for a pound (or a single order for 4 to six pounds) before I could deliver it. But if you or your company is having a "wine and cheese" gathering this holiday season, trust me - this is the stuff you'll want! Let us know if you're interested.
Thanks again for your interest in (and patronage of) Hammerstead - we're really excited about our farm, and hope to continue serving you in the future.
Be well,
Dave Haxton