Happy New Year to everyone!!  We have had a good holiday season….tried to cram all of our visiting that we put off during the growing season into 3 weeks of traveling!!  This year’s traveling had a new dimension with our little Gavin along for the ride!!!  He did pretty good considering!  None the less we are glad to be back home and into the planning stage for 2012!!  Some of you have been wondering when we would be accepting payment for the 2012 Vegetable CSA season so we have fast tracked the planning process and are launching it right now!  We are going to offer an early bird incentive for paying in January and February.  You will get a 7% (January purchase) and 5% (February purchase) rebate on your CSA order in the form of a gift certificate to use on any of our products!  Our prices have increased slightly this year with the rise in labor and fuel costs.  We don’t like increasing our prices however realize that the CSA is all about sustainability and so that means not only environmentally sustainable but also financially sustainable operation.  We appreciate the encouragement from several of our CSA members that have told us that the reason they are a part of our CSA is to contribute to a small family farm and they want to see us succeed not fail because of not charging enough!  Enough said about that!!  Here are the new prices:

Small (3 items/week) $195
Medium (5 items/week) $290
Large (7 items/week) $385
X Large (9 items/week) $480

The program will be running for 17 weeks again, and will start around the 2nd-3rd week in June this year.  We have purchased another greenhouse so plan on starting alot of our plants early to hopefully be harvesting produce earlier!!  Again there will be the choice between “you pick” (this means that you pick the items you get in the share for the week)and “we pick” (this means that we pick the items in the share for the week) shares.  This year we are going to cap the # of “you pick” shares and the rest will be “we pick”.  This is to make it easier for our garden planning and management.  You can specify which type of share you would like as you order online.  It will be a first come first serve system for the “you pick” shares.  We are going to be offering 2 different pickup locations this year.  You may pickup at the Tuesday evening Science Center parking lot location or pickup at the Farmers Market on Saturday.  We would like you to specify at the beginning of the season which location works best for you and then stick with that program through the season.  If there is a week where it absolutely works better at a different location then of course we don’t mind you switching for the week.  As usual we offer CSA members a 10% discount off of any additional Green Ranch products.   You can purchase your CSA share HERE!

In other news….We are putting together some more great offers!!!  We are now offering a pre-purchase program where you can purchase a $100 credit for product for $95.  You may purchase as many of these as you like and then we will keep track of your credit until it is done and you need to top up the account again!  You can find that option here!  Another great product that we have had for about a year now but we are marketing it more as a weekly service is the Sask Harvest Basket.  We sell a 4 week subscription to the $25/week basket here! This is a great way to add Local foods to your diet all year round!  Each basket comes with a recipe that incorporates some of the ingredients in the basket.  You can purchase both the $100 credit and the Sask Harvest subscription HERE

Within the next week or so we will be launching some meat boxes.  These will be a variety of cuts from a certain type of meat.  The meat boxes will be available in 5, 10, 25 and 50lb boxes.   We have some new types of meat that we will be launching at the same time.  Look for Elk and Yak meat!!  There are a few more non meat products in the works too so stay tuned!!

Thanks for your support!!  Make sure you let your friends know about us, if we find out that you have referred a new customer we will give you a $10 gift certificate!!

The Staff at The Green Ranch
www.thegreenranch.ca

As always we also offer our gift certificates-they are available here.  Another great idea for a gift is our 4 week subscription to the Sask Harvest Basket home delivery service!  Give the gift of Saskatchewan grown foods for 4 weeks!  The Sask Harvest basket is a collection of foods with a recipe that incorporates one or more of the ingredients in the basket.  You may even want to purchase one of these for yourselves!!!

We have a few fresh Christmas turkeys left, you can order yours here.  The turkeys will be delivered to Regina on the 20th (Tuesday)  We do still have lots of carrots, beets, and potatoes so if you need any for your big dinner you can order them here!

There is one more Farmers market and we will be there with a great selection of root veggies and meats that you may need for the holidays!  The market is going to be jam packed with vendors on Saturday so come on down and enjoy the last market of the year!  They markets will open again in March.

Thanks for all your support!!!

I think about those first settlers to Canada sitting down to a Thanksgiving meal and each sharing what they were thankful for.  I wonder what they might have shared….Thankful to be in a new country with so much opportunity and beauty?  Thankful for family and friends that had helped them build their new life?  Thankful for good harvests? Thankful for Life?!

Thanksgiving is a great time to think about things we are thankful for!!  Here is our list from The Green Ranch!!

We’re thankful to be Canadians!  Thankful that as Canadians we have the freedom to follow our dreams and achieve them!  Thankful for the beauty and diversity of Canada!  Thankful opportunity that is still very prevalent in Canada and more specifically Saskatchewan!

We’re thankful for ancestors who had a dream and came west to find it!  Thankful that they had a vision for this land and poured their heart and soul into it.  Thankful that we have the privilege to farm this same land!

We’re thankful for our family that have been an incredible support to us.  Thankful that they see and believe in our vision and encourage us to keep reaching for it!

Were thankful for our little baby Gavin that arrived in January….he has brought us so much joy and makes the long hours worthwhile!  He is truly our motivation!  We realize more than ever before how thankful we are for good wholesome natural food when we are feeding our precious boy!

We’re thankful for amazing customers!  Thankful that you realize the benefits of eating wholesome and natural foods, and supporting local producers.  Thankful that many of you have become great friends!

We’re thankful for our hardworking farmers and ranchers.   Thankful that they believe in us and our vision.  Thankful that they are dedicated to producing top quality food sustainably.  Thankful that they care about the animals they raise and treat them with respect.

We’re thankful for our amazing staff!!  Thankful for all the long hours they spend without complaint!  Thankful that they have made this summer fun and fruitful!

We’re thankful for a beautiful summer and bountiful harvest this year.

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

The Staff at The Green Ranch

1/2 lb quantities for $7.50

1lb quantities for $14

2lb quantities for $26.

You can order them by clicking on this link

In other news…the garden is growing leaps and bounds, baby potatoes are now ready, carrots, zucchini, beans, cucumbers (long english and dilling) etc…  The corn is late for us, it may be ready in a couple weeks.  This has certainly been a trying year with the record wet spring however the amazingly warm summer has made up for it and we are amazed by the bounty in our gardens!!  If you are interested in veggies in bulk or for that matter any product in bulk make sure you contact us!  We put together bulk packages at wholesale prices for most anything!

The Staff at The Green Ranch

See you at the market on Saturday!

The Staff at The Green Ranch

http://www.charcut.com/assets/pdf/
Western_Living_Magazine

This is the writeup about us:
TIM & CARLA SHULTZ, 30 & 31
The Green Ranch, Osage, SK

The Shultzes, with their herd of cattle, online store and enviro- attitude to farming, may be the sturdiest bridge in the West between family-run farms and young urban locavores.

Thanks for all your support!!  Its been an incredible 4 year journey, we have learnt so much and still have much to learn!  We have benefitted by the relationships we have made with our customers and producers alike.

In other news we want to welcome Leanne Schaeken to our team!  Leanne is super passionate about organics and local foods, so its a pleasure to be working with her.  You will likely meet her at some point either on delivery day, farmers markets, or CSA drop offs.

Have a great week!!

Tim and Carla
The Green Ranch
www.thegreenranch.ca

from the farm to your table…naturally

Its CSA time!!!!!

Its time to start collecting for the 2011 CSA season!  Even though it’s hard to imagine that the garden season is just around the corner … it is!  Our seed order will be placed by the end of this week and microgreens planted in the greenhouse next week.  This is an exciting year for us as we are expanding our CSA to 100 members, which is a level that we have only dreamed about until now!  We will have 3 full time employees for most of the season, which will really help make this an enjoyable year for us!

Now down to the business of the CSA!  The basics of the CSA are going to be very much similar to last year’s program.   Here are the changes…

Because of the increased fuel costs this year, we have been doing a lot of budgeting and analyzing and have decided that instead of increasing the price for each share we will cut one week off of the program.  Instead of 18 weeks like last year it will run for 17 weeks and the prices will remain the same.  We will be continuing the 2 flexible week program as it seems to be very popular.

We have added a new size to accommodate large families.  There is now a 9 items option.

Here are the prices for the different sizes

Small (3 items/week)  $180.00

Medium (5 items/week)  $270.00

Large (7 items/week)  $360.00

X Large (9 items/week)  $445.00

There are now two different types of CSA’s to choose from.  “You choose” – you get to select the products you want in your basket and “We choose” – we put together a selection of products for you.  The advantage of this new option is that you have more variety of products.  There will be certain products that we can’t offer to everyone but we can put into the “We choose” baskets!   We are wanting to have a set number of “We choose” shares out of the 100 shares this year to help balance things out so we will evaluate as members sign up and at some point we may have to only accept “We choose” baskets to fill the quota.  It will be 1^st come 1^st serve so if you want the “You chose” share then make sure you sign up right away!!

Once again we will be offering a $10 discount for members who refer a friend – there is no limit on how many referrals you can make.  Last year we doubled the size of our CSA almost entirely on referrals alone!  It is a great way to build a member group!  One advantage of having your friends participate is you can pick up for each other when something comes up that you can’t make it to the pickup location.  The other thing we like about building the group by word of mouth referrals is that it becomes more of a fun social outing when members know each other.

The start week will be similar to last year, between the last week of June and the 1^st week of July.

The pickup point for Regina will be Tuesday evening from 7:00-8:00pm at the SaskPower parking lot just North of the Science Centre.The pickup point for Weyburn will either be Monday evening from 7:00-7:30 or Wednesday from 4:00-4:30 at the Weyburn General Hospital parking lot.  Please let us know your preference.

Here is the link to purchase your share!  You can either pay via paypal right online or simply check out without paying and send us a cheque to

The Green Ranch

Box 113

Osage, Saskatchewan

S0G 3T0

Looking forward to another great CSA season!!!!

Tim, Carla and Gavin

The Green Ranch

www.thegreenranch.ca

Because of the exposure that the Groupon feature gave us our CSA shares have been selling quickly!  We want to make sure that if you have been thinking about purchasing a CSA share you contact us soon or just purchase online so that you don’t miss out.  We will sell out!  Don’t forget about the $10 credit if you refer a friend who purchases a share!  If you have been referred to us by a friend please make sure you mention it on your CSA order!

In other news…the spring is really getting long, and the garden is still much to muddy to plant, however we do have peashoots almost ready to cut in the greenhouse!!!  It feels so good to finally have something green growing!!

Our new website is getting closer and closer to launch!!  We are so excited about it, this has turned into a huge undertaking but we know that when it is done it will be worth it!  It looks like a launch date may be in a week or two.

The team at The Green Ranch wishes you a terrific Easter weekend!!!!

Tim, Carla and Gavin
The Green Ranch
www.thegreenranch.ca

going live

Creating a website can be easy. There are countless free templates and hosting sites, as any Google search will reveal. But Tim found that “free” comes with a price.  Free templates and hosting sites are often inflexible, they’re clunky to update and they end up producing websites that almost make it look like you know what you’re doing, but not quite.  “I had always wanted a web presence, but really didn’t know how to go about it,” Tim says. “I used some free sites on the internet to try and design a website, but realized that I would never be happy with a basic template.”  Then, while browsing an online forum for market gardens Tim discovered Small Farm Central — a website design and hosting company focused on farms and direct selling. With the use of Small Farm Central’s design and support staff, Tim says the site is as easy to update as doing basic word processing.  It’s that updating, Tim says, that is crucial to a credible web strategy.  Staying current is most important if the site acts as a marketplace,  Tim says. “The No. 1 thing (in online selling) is keeping your online store up to date. Nothing turns a customer off more than not being able to get what they ordered.”  For The Green Ranch, this is especially challenging because of the seasonal nature of some products, and the curve balls Mother Nature can throw. If Tim and Carla don’t keep the website updated, their customers can’t keep track of what crops are coming on.  It’s challenging too because the website can need updating at the very time when they’re busiest on the farm. If they’re in the middle of harvest, for instance, the last thing they may want to do at the end of the day is sit down at their computer and work their way through complex web coding to let consumers know what crops they’ll be selling the next day.

Yet staying current is worth it, Tim says. “I’ve been on many farm websites and noticed that their last entry was over a year ago. Usually when I see that I just close out and keep searching.” So does everyone else, says Simon Huntley, lead developer at Pittsburgh based Small Farm Central.  Timeliness is one of the key criteria that your customers will use to rate both your website and your farm, Huntley says. The website doesn’t have to be flashy, but if the most recent post is a blog report you filed six months ago, consumers will wonder if you drop the ball on your food production too.  Besides, says Huntley, who also runs a small local-food-based farm in Pennsylvania, consumers are starved for other ways to keep up with what’s going on in the countryside.  Newspaper readership is down, and many small papers have closed completely.  Costs for launching a website through Small Farm Central typically range from $100 to $350, depending on the amount of consulting that’s needed. After that, there’s a fee of $20 to $50 a month depending on the number of services that are used.  “If you’re thinking of going to Internet marketing, start collecting email addresses now,” Huntley says. “Even if you aren’t going to get your site up for a year, or even two, start getting those addresses.”  Tim credits The Green Ranch website and use of social networking tools such as Twitter with getting them exposure and helping them make a go of it, although as yet it’s difficult to pinpoint what percentage of sales or added sales being online has garnered.  Online ordering also works for the busy restaurant and store owners they supply.

“Chefs and store managers are very busy, as are we in the peak growing season,”  Tim says. “It’s always hard to find the right time to call and take orders.”  The number of individual customers ordering online is relatively small right now, but those who use the service like the convenience of ordering from their home.  Tim and Carla are at the Regina farmers’ market each week and bring orders for their customers to pick up. “There’s no waiting in lines and you always know you’ll get what you need,” Tim says.  Expanding the online ordering part of the business is a goal for Tim and Carla. “It really simplifies things for us. It’s great going to the city knowing that you have pre-sold a good portion of what you are bringing.”

Sharing the skills

Discovering that e-marketing can be fun and satisfying, Tim has expanded sales on their site from their own cattle and market garden to a whole host of other products, such as eggs, flour, wild hog and more.  “I realized I enjoyed this part of it and instead of several other farmers trying to reinvent the wheel, now we market their products under our banner,” Tim says.  This is especially helpful when supplying restaurants who need such a wide variety of meat and vegetables — too much for just one farm to produce reliably.  Beyond an information site and a marketplace, the Internet offers cheap, effective ways of promotion, if you can tap into it.  “There is so much to learn about Internet marketing and I feel like we are just scraping the surface,” Tim says. “We are just now playing with Twitter and considering Facebook as another method of connecting our customers with each other and with what is happening at the farm.” CG