"Holton Farms is owned by cousins Seth Holton and Jurrien Swarts and family friend George Hornig. The Holton family, among the first settlers of Westminster, Vermont, has been farming this quaint village for over 200 years. As eighth generation farmers, we take farming seriously. We use sustainable farming methods, not because it’s in fashion, but because it makes sense and it’s the right thing to do.
Our farm produces a diverse selection of agricultural products including organic and conventional vegetables, herbs and fruits, grass fed beef cows, pigs, lambs, chickens, turkeys, eggs, maple syrup and honey. We also offer high-quality products from a number of neighboring farms and other local artisanal producers."
Bait and Switch!!
Monday, August 8, 2011
Dear CSA Members,
It is with great regret that I have to announce that Holton Farms will be cutting its CSA season short this year. We are only able to run our NYC delivery service through the Saturday prior to Labor Day weekend. Saturday, September 3rd will be our last regular delivery day.
The late season start, poor performance of wholesale crops, our inability to continue to sign up new members and unforeseen operating costs relating to costly key equipment failure contributed to our situation.
As stated in our earlier correspondence dated June 23, the tight financial position we've been in since June necessitated that we cease to offer third party goods. For the remainder of the season we will only be able to offer goods grown on our farm or traded with Harlow Farm.
There are many more varieties of crops yet to come between now and the beginning of September, but they are all late as a result of in-climate weather. Peppers, melons, eggplants, cabbages and winter squashes are progressing, but not quickly enough.
We will have limited chickens over the two weeks, we're just waiting for a slot at the processing facility to open up.
We urge you all to spend down your credit as much as possible over the coming 4 weeks.
I know that this is a major disappointment for all of us. I have tried every thing possible to find a solution, but can't find a way out. Our company is too young for bank financing and this is a tough environment to raise capital in.
While I'm sure a great number of you will be understandably upset, please don't take your frustration out on Adam or Bradley as they continue to deliver the best service they can. Instead, please direct your correspondence to me at jurrien@holtonfarms.com or feel free to call my cell 917-575-0094. I'd appreciate if folks could limit calls to 8AM-8PM. Please be patient as I get back to you all. I'm still running farm operations full time and don't sleep much or take days off as it is.
Thank you for your support through this difficult period.
Jurrien, Seth and the Holton Farms team