Fresh News from the Farm Store
UNFORTUNATELY, PRICES ARE GOING UP
Cheers to the New Year, hopefully the best one yet!
Proctor Farmers Market's monthly Winter Market is this Saturday and the Olympia Farmers Market is open every Saturday through March. Order online by 5pm today (Thursday) for pick up this Saturday at either market. Our on-farm store is open Wednesday, Friday and Saturday each week.
HOLIDAY MARKETS
This is the last Saturday market of the season for the Tacoma Proctor Farmers Market. Pre-order now or stop by the market to get what you need to hold you over until Winter Market starts.
We will be back for Winter Market on January 14, February 11 & March 11 from 10am-1pm.
This is the last weekend of the season at the Olympia Farmers Market. We will also be at the market on Thursday the 23rd and Friday the 24th for Last Minute Shoppers Delight from 10am-3pm (we will not be at market on Saturday the 25th even though the market will be open)
Starting this weekend the on-farm store we will be open Wednesday, Friday & Saturday from 11am-5pm and Thursday and Sunday by appointment only.
APPLEWOOD SMOKED GOODNESS
Our bacon, jowl bacon and ham hocks are back in-stock.
And, for a limited time, SMOKED PORK CHOPS ARE BACK!!
Smoked with applewood, our line of smoked pork has a great balance of smoke, sweet and salt.
BONE BROTH & STOCK
Whether you are looking to make a nourishing bone broth or some stock for a warm winter soup, we have a great selection of pasture-raised bones available.
And they are all ON SALE! - online, at our farm store and at markets!
Pre-order by 5pm today for pick up at markets this weekend or stop by our farm store in Elma to stock up!
Choose from beef, chicken and pork bones. All of the bones we offer make delicious broth, packed with nutritious collagen. (Chicken and beef must be pre-ordered for market pick up.)
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
We hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving! We are grateful for all of our wonderful customers. Thank you for supporting small farms and for choosing to eat clean meat!
THE HOLIDAY SEASON BEGINS
The season is upon us! We have lots of great options for the perfect holiday celebration. You can still find us weekly at the Tacoma Proctor and Olympia Farmers Markets and at our on-farm store in Elma. See below for the holiday schedule.
This fall we have a nice selection of boneless hams available. Cured and applewood smoked, choose from either a Traditional or Sweetheart ham. Both are nicely marbled with great texture and flavor! Simply heat to 145 degrees and serve or get fancy with a rub or glaze!
There are a lot of recipes out there for cooking skin-on pork belly. Our advice is to start experimenting and see what you like and what works for your schedule and ability to pre-plan. Cooking belly isn't hard or labor intensive but if you want crispy skin, you need to pre-plan! We aren't always the best at planning out meals, but for crispy skinned pork belly we figured it out! Here are the basics of what works for us when we cook our skin-on belly in the oven but there are lots of other ways and variations, including blanching, parboiling, pan frying, smoking, slow-cooking and combinations of each. We would love to hear what your favorite ways to cook pork belly are!
If you've been thinking about stocking up on quality pork from a local farm then we've got you covered! You can save from 10-20% off of our retail cut prices when you buy in bulk from our website. We offer wholes, halves and a host of other great options online. Our happy, healthy pigs are raised outdoors and fed only non-GMO feed. Everything is processed under USDA inspection and ready for pick up from several convenient locations as soon as the following day.
If you are planning to celebrate over this long holiday weekend, we have great forest and pasture-raised meats available for a memorable cookout.
Visit our on-farm store.
Bacon is the word. Extra fatty bacon on sale, oddball cuts and bones on sale!
Summer sales and bulk discounts
Sales on roasts, fresh belly, sausages & more!
Happy Father's Day!
FARM STORE NOW OPEN!
Our on-farm store is now open! Stop by Wednesday through Sunday from 11am to 5pm to browse through freezers packed with our delicious pork plus local pasture-raised chicken and grass-fed and grass-finished beef. 69 Taylor Ferry Rd., Elma, WA. You can still shop our full line of pork products at the Proctor and Olympia Farmers Markets and now at the Aberdeen Sunday Market.
We have some great chicken in stock at the farm store, sourced from our friends at Kirsop Farm in Rochester. Pasture-raised and certified Organic, these delicious birds are non-GMO, corn-free and processed on their farm. We have whole birds, boneless skinless breasts, whole legs, wings and backs available.
We have also stocked the store with a variety of outstanding regionally produced goods!
- Barbeque sauces from Sgt. Harts Barbeque, Yelm, WA
- Jams from Johnson Berry Farm, Olympia, WA
- Spice blends and salts from Mountain Rose Herbs, Eugene, OR
- Barbeque rubs from Spiceology, Spokane, WA
- Sauerkraut and Sour pickles from OlyKraut, Olympia, WA
Pre-Order for Easy Farmers Market Pick-Up This Weekend
Proctor Farmers Market: Pre-order by 4pm Friday for pickup on Saturday from 9am-2pm
Olympia Farmers Market: Pre-order by 4pm Friday for pickup Saturday from 10am-3pm and by 4pm Saturday for pickup Sunday from 10am-3pm
Aberdeen Sunday Market: Pre-order by 4pm Saturday for pickup on Sunday from 10am-3pm
FARM UPDATE: SPRING 2022
POULTRY
PIGS
- Olympia Farmers Market: Join us this Saturday and every Saturday and Sunday starting in April from 10am-3pm. Pre-order by 4pm Friday each week for easy market pickup.
- Bellevue Farmers Market: Sadly, we will not be attending the Bellevue Farmers Market this season. We love this market but it is just too far for us to travel from our farm this year. Thanks to all of our dedicated customers, we will miss you!
- Pork Chops Box* - Thick cut pork chops - extra 10% off bulk price - $10.49 per pound, boxes vary from 12 - 18 lbs.
- Boneless Roasts - Sirloin and Leg Roasts - 25% off - $7.49 per pound
- Roast Sampler Box* - Try all three of our roasts (shoulder, sirloin and leg), approx. 16 pounds of roast - extra 25% off bulk price- $110 per box
- Shoulder Blade Steak - 25% off - $8.24 per pound
- Shoulder Blade Steak Bulk Box* - 10-11 lbs of 1" thick shoulder blade steaks. 5-6 steaks per box - extra 25% off bulk price - $75 per box
- Half Hog Share Package* - 70-75 lbs of our premium pork cuts (including chops, steaks, roasts, ground, sausage, belly and ribs) plus 35-40 lbs of offal (including hocks, trotters, bones, skin and fat) - extra 10% off bulk price - $680 per share
- Premium Cuts Box* - 70-75 lbs of our premium cuts (including chops, steaks, roasts, ground, sausage, belly and ribs) - extra 10% off bulk price - $629 per box
- Essential Cuts Box* - 26-27 lbs of our premium cuts (including chops, steaks, roasts and ground) - extra 10% off bulk price - $234 per box
- Fresh Jowl - 50% off - $6.49 per pound
- Leaf Fat - 50% off - $1.49 per pound
February 8, 2022
JANUARY WAS THE LONGEST YEAR YET
Just kidding, but only kind of. We and all of the animals survived those ridiculous, stress-filled days of flooding. We moved most of the pigs to another piece of property to be safe. Luckily, we didn't have to move the boars or the two sows with their new piglets. The big metal poultry pens with their many hanging feeders and waterers didn't fair quite as well. Many of the feeders and waterers got banged up as they floated up and crashed into each other and the support beams of the pens. A lot of work is needed to get them back in shape but it could have been a lot worse so we are thankful for that.
We have been spending a good deal of time reviewing the successes and failure of 2021 and making our production plans for 2022. Thank you to everyone who showed up for us at markets and came out to the farm, as well as those of you who purchased our products from other outlets including Beast and Cleaver and both Marlene's locations. Thank you for choosing better meat and supporting your local and regional farms.
Ready to stock up on pork? We are excited to finally announce that we have put together a variety of bulk pork boxes, including a half pig share! All USDA processed and ready now. Options include:
- Half Hog Share Package - 70-75 lbs of our premium pork cuts (including chops, steaks, roasts, ground, sausage, belly and ribs) plus 35-40 lbs of offal (including hocks, trotters, bones, skin and fat)
- Pork Chops Box - 16 thick cut pork chops, 8 rib loin and 8 center loin
- Roast Sampler Box - Try all three of our roasts (shoulder, sirloin and leg), approx. 16 pounds of roast
- Premium Cuts Box - 70-75 lbs of our premium cuts (including chops, steaks, roasts, ground, sausage, belly and ribs)
- Essential Cuts Box - 26-27 lbs of our premium cuts (including chops, steaks, roasts and ground)
- Shoulder Blade Steak Bulk Box - 10-11 lbs of 1" thick shoulder blade steaks. 5-6 steaks per box
- Ground Bulk Box - 10 lbs of our premium bulk ground pork
- Sausage Bulk Box - 10 lbs of our premium bulk pork sausage. Choose from 5 flavors
Bacon ends 25% off
Jowl bacon on sale for $12.99 per lb.
Fresh jowl on sale for $9.99 per lb.
Hot Italian and Smoked Hot sausage links 50% off
Chicken gizzards 2 for 1
Pre-order and Pick Up Options
Proctor Farmers Market: Pre-order by 4pm this Friday for pickup on Saturday from 10am-1pm. The next Proctor market day is Saturday, March 12 with the regular season resuming Saturdays starting March 26 from 9am-2pm.
Olympia Farmers Market: Pre-order by 4pm this Friday for pickup Saturday from 10am-3pm. The Olympia Farmers Market is open every Saturday from 10am-3pm through March.
On-Farm Pickup: You can choose to pickup your order at our farm in Elma this week on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday from 11am-4pm.
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.
