Farmers Market Update

2021 Farmers Market Update

February 18, 2021

We’ve had many inquiries about our 2021 plans for Farmers Market. The short answer is that we will not be regular vendors at market this year. It has been a hard decision. We are going to miss chatting with our regular customers and gorgeous mornings on the mighty Mississippi at Guttenberg market. 

The longer answer is that last year we discovered that dropping farmers market from our schedule enabled us to focus our energy and grow MORE food for MORE people all while taking better care of ourselves. The pandemic and the toddler in our lives have shifted our perspectives in the last year. Our lives as parents leave us with much less capacity for late night market preparations on Friday evenings, and even less energy to pack the car full of vegetables at 4am on Saturday morning. The Community Supported Agriculture model -- customers investing in a season of produce & developing a relationship with their farmer -- was always our dream. It turns out, not surprisingly, that we can be better farmers when we can focus more on growing food!

What if joining our CSA is just too much food? Maybe you are often traveling during the summer? But you still want those fresh, crunchy Turkey River Farm salad greens? We have some options for you:

• Order extras from our online store. Our store is slick and easy to use, with photos of veggies, descriptions, and even some recipe ideas and storage tips. We’ll keep the store updated throughout the season with the extra veggies we have available. Pickup at the farm and local delivery will be available on orders. 
• Saturday Shares. A bounty bag of $25 of produce. We’ll have a limited number of Saturday shares available each week. Order online or give us a call. Pickup at the farm on Saturday and make a trip of it -- we’ll have lambs and piglets in the spring, miles of hiking trails to explore, and you’re welcome to peruse the high tunnel and gardens while you’re here. 
• Pork and veggies at Turkey River Farm’s Greenhouse in Elkader. We’ve been busy this winter updating the greenhouse with electricity! Lights! Trim! And a display cooler for veggies and pork! We’ll have extra asparagus, salad greens, shiitake and oyster mushrooms, and pork cuts stocked at the greenhouse in May and June for you to shop during our open hours.