Farm Tours
We are happy to offer a tour of the farm for all current and prospective customers. Before I go into specifics on a tour, let me provide some background on this new policy:
If you don't care about the why, just keep scrolling and you'll see the meat of the new policy
In our short time farming (we launched this farm in the fall of 2018), we have had numerous "prospective" customers show up unannounced expecting to see the farm. We have always obliged, because we were hopeful that what we were offering was not only a blessing to them, but also would show them that we have nothing hide - what we say we do is what we actually do.
Until recently, that has worked out ok. At times it was frustrating, because folks would stick around for what seemed like an eternity, and not buy a thing. In most cases, those folks never came back.
If you've followed our journey for any period of time, you know that we started this farm out of a desire to homestead and feed our family wholesome foods. While we didn't expect to turn it into a "business", we wanted to share our products with like minded customers, which required us to go the "business" route in order to operate within the laws of North Carolina.
Prior to moving here, we lived in a suburban neighborhood and had a small flock of laying hens that provided eggs for us. We searched for local meats, produce and dairy items, and often wondered why things from local farms were so expensive. We both dreamed of the day we could start our own little operation where Chad grew up (on this farm), because if we lived there, the garden would be so well cared for, and we could raise our own meats for a fraction of the cost, and sell that to others at a fair price. I remember thinking if we ever had a milk cow, we would undercut other raw milk producers price and sell it all! Then we realized the real cost of owning a milk cow. We would raise meat chickens and sell them for grocery store prices, because there's no way it costs that much to raise a chicken. Same with turkeys, beef, and pork. We would offer better quality at grocery store prices. But, you don't know what you don't know.
One thing we have really been dedicated to is the health and welfare of the animals we raise, and to never EVER use synthetic pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers on our crops. All of this generates way more work for us, and (in the case of the animals) is very expensive. But it is what we are dedicated to. Our prices are high. We know that. We could not afford to pay some of the prices we are charging, which is why we started this. The sales that we make (in three years, we have yet to make a profit) help us offset feed, hay, vet and other costs that come with keeping this place afloat. And there are still hard choices that we have to make each year.
What does all this have to do with farm tours? Glad you asked.
We will always be open with you about our practices, because we can't afford to lie and lose the trust of the customers that we have built up over the last 3 years. We've been there (as customers - being lied to by a farmer about their practices - we found out because the story kept changing).
As I mentioned earlier, we've had an open door policy and allowed many folks onto the farm without an appointment so they can see that what we say we do, we actually do. What I'm about to say will sound - arrogant. It's not meant that way - it's really not. But there's just no other way to say this, so here goes: Folks that don't live or have never lived on a working farm and been involved with the daily activities have no clue what we do on a daily basis. We were the same way before we started this. So we're not judging, and that has been a huge reason we've waited until now to implement something like this for farm tours. We didn't know any better. We had these ideas that we could handle gardening, milking, feeding etc. in a short amount of time each day, and the rest of the day would be rainbows and sunshine - working a full-time job remotely, homeschooling the kids - it would be great!
The reality is - our time is valuable, because there is so much more to it than we ever thought. Chad works full-time from home (not farming) and Chrissy, when not handling farm chores, gardening, homeschooling or ferrying kids to and fro, is a wife and mom who keeps the house clean and cooks meals. We are up at 4:30 each morning and in bed by 10 each night. Very little of that time each day is spent idle, and what idle time we do have is after the sun goes down. We keep a routine with chores, gardening, schooling and work, and one unexpected visit that lasts 30 minutes can throw everything off for the rest of the day - and will likely also mean that some critical chore doesn't get done. Adding insult to injury, the folks that seem less inclined to make an appointment are the ones we rarely ever hear from again, unless they want to criticize the practices they don't like. We are happy to engage with farmers about best practices, and often do. One thing that always comes out of those conversations is, "You don't know what you don't know" and "You have to figure out what works best for you and your farm".
If you really want to upset a farmer, though, visit their farm and spend some time with them. Then, don't offer to purchase anything and after you leave, send them an email letting them know how your Google search found that other farms do things a different way, a way that is better and superior to what they are doing. Yes, this happens way more than anyone realizes. So here is our blanket response to that (so if you do come and decide you don't like something you already have our response to your critical email - hopefully this will save us both some time).
We do what we do because we have lived through it and researched best practices for animals and crops alike. Are we perfect? Nope. But the practices we have settled on are sound, humane, healthy for the animals, crops and our family, and no matter what you found on Google, we're not going to change our practices because you found a farm that does it "better" and charges a lower fee on their products. If you have found that - that is fantastic. You've found a local farm that is (hopefully) honest with you, has practices you agree with, and will save you some money. Buy from them any and everything you desire. But don't expect that to have an impact on what we do.
Now that we've dealt with that, below is the (now, maybe long awaited) policy on farm tours. We feel this will better help us manage our daily schedules
Until recently, that has worked out ok. At times it was frustrating, because folks would stick around for what seemed like an eternity, and not buy a thing. In most cases, those folks never came back.
If you've followed our journey for any period of time, you know that we started this farm out of a desire to homestead and feed our family wholesome foods. While we didn't expect to turn it into a "business", we wanted to share our products with like minded customers, which required us to go the "business" route in order to operate within the laws of North Carolina.
Prior to moving here, we lived in a suburban neighborhood and had a small flock of laying hens that provided eggs for us. We searched for local meats, produce and dairy items, and often wondered why things from local farms were so expensive. We both dreamed of the day we could start our own little operation where Chad grew up (on this farm), because if we lived there, the garden would be so well cared for, and we could raise our own meats for a fraction of the cost, and sell that to others at a fair price. I remember thinking if we ever had a milk cow, we would undercut other raw milk producers price and sell it all! Then we realized the real cost of owning a milk cow. We would raise meat chickens and sell them for grocery store prices, because there's no way it costs that much to raise a chicken. Same with turkeys, beef, and pork. We would offer better quality at grocery store prices. But, you don't know what you don't know.
One thing we have really been dedicated to is the health and welfare of the animals we raise, and to never EVER use synthetic pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers on our crops. All of this generates way more work for us, and (in the case of the animals) is very expensive. But it is what we are dedicated to. Our prices are high. We know that. We could not afford to pay some of the prices we are charging, which is why we started this. The sales that we make (in three years, we have yet to make a profit) help us offset feed, hay, vet and other costs that come with keeping this place afloat. And there are still hard choices that we have to make each year.
What does all this have to do with farm tours? Glad you asked.
We will always be open with you about our practices, because we can't afford to lie and lose the trust of the customers that we have built up over the last 3 years. We've been there (as customers - being lied to by a farmer about their practices - we found out because the story kept changing).
As I mentioned earlier, we've had an open door policy and allowed many folks onto the farm without an appointment so they can see that what we say we do, we actually do. What I'm about to say will sound - arrogant. It's not meant that way - it's really not. But there's just no other way to say this, so here goes: Folks that don't live or have never lived on a working farm and been involved with the daily activities have no clue what we do on a daily basis. We were the same way before we started this. So we're not judging, and that has been a huge reason we've waited until now to implement something like this for farm tours. We didn't know any better. We had these ideas that we could handle gardening, milking, feeding etc. in a short amount of time each day, and the rest of the day would be rainbows and sunshine - working a full-time job remotely, homeschooling the kids - it would be great!
The reality is - our time is valuable, because there is so much more to it than we ever thought. Chad works full-time from home (not farming) and Chrissy, when not handling farm chores, gardening, homeschooling or ferrying kids to and fro, is a wife and mom who keeps the house clean and cooks meals. We are up at 4:30 each morning and in bed by 10 each night. Very little of that time each day is spent idle, and what idle time we do have is after the sun goes down. We keep a routine with chores, gardening, schooling and work, and one unexpected visit that lasts 30 minutes can throw everything off for the rest of the day - and will likely also mean that some critical chore doesn't get done. Adding insult to injury, the folks that seem less inclined to make an appointment are the ones we rarely ever hear from again, unless they want to criticize the practices they don't like. We are happy to engage with farmers about best practices, and often do. One thing that always comes out of those conversations is, "You don't know what you don't know" and "You have to figure out what works best for you and your farm".
If you really want to upset a farmer, though, visit their farm and spend some time with them. Then, don't offer to purchase anything and after you leave, send them an email letting them know how your Google search found that other farms do things a different way, a way that is better and superior to what they are doing. Yes, this happens way more than anyone realizes. So here is our blanket response to that (so if you do come and decide you don't like something you already have our response to your critical email - hopefully this will save us both some time).
We do what we do because we have lived through it and researched best practices for animals and crops alike. Are we perfect? Nope. But the practices we have settled on are sound, humane, healthy for the animals, crops and our family, and no matter what you found on Google, we're not going to change our practices because you found a farm that does it "better" and charges a lower fee on their products. If you have found that - that is fantastic. You've found a local farm that is (hopefully) honest with you, has practices you agree with, and will save you some money. Buy from them any and everything you desire. But don't expect that to have an impact on what we do.
Now that we've dealt with that, below is the (now, maybe long awaited) policy on farm tours. We feel this will better help us manage our daily schedules
Farm tours are available by appointment only (no exceptions - if you show up without an appointment we will turn you away), limited to 30 minutes per scheduled tour, and are limited to one per month. Current customers (those customers who have purchased milk, meat, eggs etc.) from Seven Seasons Farm are eligible for a tour at no cost.
If you are a prospective customer, we are happy to offer you a tour (at your appointed time). The cost of the tour will be $20 and is limited to 30 minutes. If you make a purchase of $20 or more, this fee is waived (but not reduced if you make a purchase less than $20).
To address the inevitable question - this is not another way for us to make money. On the contrary, we hope that this will encourage prospective customers to contact us via phone, text or email to ask questions about our practices and make their decision prior to requesting a tour. Yes, it will still cost you $20 for the tour if you call first, but hopefully you are then coming to purchase something rather than kick the tires. Simply put, we don't have time for tire kickers that just want to see some animals.
Again, I apologize if the information we have presented on this page sounds arrogant, ungrateful or anything less than appealing. Our intent is to simply streamline our daily schedule as much as possible so that we can be productive in all areas or our lives. We do appreciate your understanding.
Chad and Chrissy
Again, I apologize if the information we have presented on this page sounds arrogant, ungrateful or anything less than appealing. Our intent is to simply streamline our daily schedule as much as possible so that we can be productive in all areas or our lives. We do appreciate your understanding.
Chad and Chrissy