Fresh News from the Farm
November 1, 2020
Celebrate the holidays with local, pasture-raised turkey!
Pasture-raised turkeys are now listed on our website! We have large whole turkeys as well as a variety of turkey cuts available. Our turkeys are raised in a large fenced area where they spend their days in the open air, on grass with access to bugs and seeds and are protected from predators at night. Their forage is supplemented with non-GMO, corn and soy-free grains. If you love our chicken, you are going to really enjoy our turkeys!
We are offering three options for PICKUP this year. Unfortunately, we are NOT offering delivery of turkeys and we will NOT be at any more farmers markets this year. Please confirm that one of these options will work for you before purchase.
- On-farm pickup in Elma available every Friday from 11am - 4pm through November 20
- Olympia area pickup on Saturday, November 21 from 4pm - 6pm (Olympia Farmers Market parking lot)
- Tacoma area pickup on Sunday, November 22 from 2pm - 4pm (Proctor Farmers Market area, where we were set up for Saturday market this summer)
Please note that the turkeys are FROZEN.
November 1, 2020
Just Brine it!
If you are looking for a change from the usual roasted turkey this season, you should consider serving a brined turkey. Brining is the process of submerging meat in a salt water solution. The meat absorbs some of the water and salt, resulting in meat that is not salty but juicier, more tender and more flavorful than traditional roasting or cooking.
We dissolve approximately 2 tablespoons of salt per quart of water and add some or all of the following: fresh or dried herbs (oregano, marjoram, thyme, sage, parsley, bay leaf, peppercorns, etc.), coarsely chopped onions, garlic and celery, citrus and whatever else sounds good. Results from brining can be seen in as few hours but we usually try and plan for at least a 2-day brine.
We have found that a cooler makes for a great whole turkey brining vessel (make sure to add plenty of ice) and a gallon jar holds 2 turkey legs and still fits in the fridge.
Whatever you serve and however you prepare it, we are grateful for our loyal customers and your dedication to supporting local foods and farms. We hope you have a safe and happy holiday!
November 1, 2020
What Happened to All the Chicken and Pork?
You may have noticed that we haven't been to any farmers markets the last few weeks and that there hasn't been much listed on the website. We have found ourselves out of both chicken and pork much earlier than we thought we would be this year. We apologize that you weren't given notice but it was a bit of a shock to us once we realized out situation. We will be maintaining our website and anything listed can be ordered for pickup on the farm in Elma on Fridays. We have lots of bones for making stock and plenty of fat for rendering as well as a few other items. While we finish up the last of the turkeys and ducks for the year, we are beginning our farm planning for 2021. We are looking forward to raising more of everything and striving to keep you stocked with great pasture and forest-raised meats next year. We will try to keep you informed of our planning and progress over the winter through this newsletter. Thank you to all of our loyal customers, we will see you all next Spring! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at info@chehalisvalleyfarm.com.
October 24, 2020
South Sound Fresh is an online marketplace of locally grown and produced foods where you can find our seasonally available products. Available to customers in Thurston and Mason Counties.
MilkRun curates pasture-raised meat boxes which include our half chickens, available in the Seattle area.
Our market season is done for the year. It’s been a strange year and we are finished earlier than we had expected on the retail side of our business. We are grateful for our local markets and the opportunity to sell directly to supporters of local foods. It’s been encouraging to have so many new conversations at markets with shoppers who want to know more about where their food comes from. Busy planning now for 2021, we will be back in the Spring with more pasture and forest-raised meats.
For those of you who have been put on the turkey reservation list, we will be in touch next week with details..









Our online store is loaded with a lot of great stuff, available for local delivery, farmers market and on-farm pickup.



Use our online store to pre-order for on-farm pickup, local delivery and quick farmers market pickup.
Local Delivery: Order online by noon on Thursday for delivery to the Olympia/Tacoma area on Friday. Check our website to see if we deliver to you. Order online, leave a cooler on your porch and we will do a contactless meat delivery on Friday between 9am and 4pm.
Bellevue Farmers Market: Reserve your cuts online today by 2pm for pickup at the market on Thursday from 3pm-7pm.
Tacoma Proctor Farmers Market: Make your order online by Thursday at noon for quick and easy pickup at the market on Saturday from 9am-2pm.
Olympia Farmers Market: We will be selling on Saturday and Sunday from 10am-3pm. Make an online order by Thursday at noon and choose either Saturday or Sunday for quick market pickup.

Use our online store to pre-order for on-farm pickup, local delivery and quick farmers market pickup.
Local Delivery: Order online by noon on Thursday for delivery to the Olympia/Tacoma areas on Friday. Check our website to see if we deliver to your area. Order online, leave a cooler on your porch and we will do a contactless meat delivery on Friday between 9am and 4pm.
Bellevue Farmers Market: Reserve your cuts online today by 5pm for pickup at the market on Thursday from 3pm-7pm.
Tacoma Proctor Farmers Market: Make your order online by Thursday at noon for quick and easy pickup at the market on Saturday from 9am-2pm.
Olympia Farmers Market: We will be selling on Friday and Saturday this week from 10am-3pm. The farm team will be taking Sunday off from Oly market this week (going to marinate and bbq some wings). Make an online order by Thursday at noon and choose either Friday or Saturday for quick market pickup.
June 23, 2020
Bellevue Farmers Market this Week!
We are headed back to Bellevue Farmers Market this week!!! 🎉🐷🎉🐥🎉 Thursday from 3pm - 7pm. We will be bringing whole chickens, lots of chicken cuts, pork steaks, fresh and smoked sausages and more! Make sure to check out our freezer sale where we have pork bones, fat and skin on sale for 1/2 off!.
June 23, 2020
Home Delivery Resumes this Week!
Home delivery to the Olympia/Tacoma area is back this week! Order by 12pm on Thursday, leave a cooler on your porch and get contactless meat delivery on Friday. If you are outside our delivery zones, you can still pre-order on the website for quick and easy farm and farmers market pickup each week. Thanks to everyone who used the new website last week for farm and market pre-orders!
June 20, 2020
Happy summer solstice from the farm!
June 18, 2020
We've launched a new website and online store!
We are really excited to share the look of our new website and online store! We apologize that delivery and pre-order options have been suspended while we have been renovating the site. We have made the pre-order option for farmers markets and on-farm pickup available for this weekend (order by 2 pm Friday) and we will be resuming local home deliveries soon (tentatively planned for next week along with more pre-order dates).
Whole chickens, chicken livers and chicken feet are available for pre-order online now through 2 pm Friday for quick and easy pick-up this Saturday and Sunday at the Olympia Farmers Market and Saturday at the Tacoma Proctor Farmers Market. You can also choose on-farm pickup for Friday between 11 pm and 5 pm. Our freezer sale items (pork bones, fat and skin) are still half off and are available for pre-order as well.
We will be bringing whole chickens to the Olympia Farmers Market and Tacoma Proctor Farmers Market this weekend along with a nice selection of chicken cuts, including boneless skinless breasts, whole legs, wings and tenders. Unfortunately, we were unable to get these listed in the online store for pre-order this week. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed about product availability as well as stories about our farm and cooking suggestions.
Thank you to our loyal customers for your dedication to our farm and patience while we updated the website! We are looking forward to providing you with a better and easier shopping experience with our new online store and more information about our farm and practices with the new website.
June 11, 2020
Whole Chickens Available this Weekend!
Whole chickens will be available this Saturday at the Tacoma Proctor Farmers Market and Saturday and Sunday at the Olympia Farmers Market*. We will also have chicken livers and hearts and a few chicken cuts available. Pork inventory is low at the moment and we will bring what we have to the markets including some bacon, smoked sausage links and ground pork, along with plenty of our freezer sale items (see below).
We apologize that delivery and pre-order options are still suspended on our website. We had hoped that the online store would be ready this week but we are still working the bugs out. Stay tuned, we think it's going to be great!
*The Tacoma Proctor Farmers Market is open Saturdays from 9am-2pm. The Olympia Farmers Market is open 10am-3pm on Saturdays and Sundays. We will not be attending Fridays at the Olympia Farmers Market at this time.
June 6, 2020
FREEZER SALE!
- Pork Fat, Bones & Skin all 1/2 off -
Forest-raised pigs make the best lard, bone broth and cracklins! We are bringing lots to markets and will have these items available for pre-order and delivery soon.
Back & Leaf Fat
Back fat has a subtle pork flavor and leaf fat has a neutral flavor that is prized for pastry baking. Easy to render, simply grind or cut the fat into pieces and cook on low on the stovetop or in a slow cooker. Once melted, strain and cool. Keep some in the fridge for everyday use and freeze the rest. $1.50/lb for back fat and $3.00/lb for leaf fat.
Pork Bones
Pork bones make excellent bone broth, stock and soup. Roast them in a hot oven with carrots, onions, garlic, salt and pepper for extra rich flavor and a darker broth. Once cooked, you can add them to water to make broth, cook with beans or soup for extra flavor or freeze for future use. $1.50/lb.
Pork Skin
Make your own pork rinds or pork cracklins with skin from our forest-raised pigs. Raised in the forest without added hormones and antibiotics, these can make a great low-carb/keto snack! $1.50/lb.
June 5, 2020
Bacon & Smoked Sausage Links Available This Weekend!
We will have belly and jowl bacon, smoked kielbasa and smoked bratwurst sausage links available at the Olympia Farmers Market from 10 am - 3 pm on Saturday and Sunday and the Tacoma Proctor Farmers Market on Saturday from 9 am - 2 pm.
Make sure to also checkout our freezer sale! We have pork bones, fat and skin on sale for 1/2 off.
We have made a new website but our online store isn't quite ready yet. We apologize that delivery and pre-order options have been temporarily suspended but we look forward to providing you with an easier and better shopping experience with our new online store. It should be up and running soon, we'll keep you posted. Thank you for your patience!
May 24, 2020
We are launching a new website very soon with a brand new platform for online ordering. The new website will be live with online ordering resuming shortly. Sign up for our newsletter to receive the latest news from the farm including available inventory, delivery and pickup options and recipes.
May 23, 2020
Chicken will be back in-stock soon! With several butcher dates scheduled for early June, we will have whole chicken and chicken cuts back in stock by mid-June which will be available for local delivery, on-farm pickup and pre-order for quick pickup at the Olympia Farmers Market and Tacoma Proctor Farmers Market.