Ongoing Challenges & Promising Progress

We’ve always known that trying to create a new kind of food system would come with its fair share of challenges. That’s been especially clear these past few weeks. Here’s a bit of what we’ve been working through behind the scenes: 

You may have noticed fewer eggs in the shop — and so have we. Several factors are at play: heat stress, predator activity (a particularly persistent fox has been testing our patience), and a change in feed. 

For feed, we've been alternating between a commercial blend and our own in-house recipe of herbs and oats. We aim to control everything that goes into our food, and chicken feed is one area we want to master. Standard commercial feeds don't meet our standards, which is why we prefer Joe's blend of herbs and oats. While this recipe worked beautifully before, it's becoming challenging to produce cost-effectively as our flock grows. We'll need to temporarily switch back to a commercial blend until we can invest in a large in-house mill to make production more efficient. We're working on it.

If you’ve received a damaged box recently or had to wait longer than expected - we want to say, first and foremost: we’re sorry. And thank you for your patience.

For the past year, we’ve been using APC as our nationwide courier for delivering your fresh produce and frozen goods. When we first started, they handled our boxes with care, and the service was reliable. But in recent months, the quality of their handling and the consistency of their delivery times have taken a noticeable downturn.

We’ve had an increase in reports of boxes arriving late, damaged, or with perishable goods compromised. That’s not good enough. And it’s not the standard we want associated with food grown and raised with this much intention and care.

We’ve spoken with other small farms across the country and it’s clear this isn’t an isolated issue. Many are now actively moving away from APC toward alternative logistics partners who offer a better service.

So that’s exactly what we’re doing. We’re in the process of researching and negotiating with other delivery providers who can offer the reliability and handling care that My Little Farm produce deserves - and that our members expect.

In the meantime, we’re continuing to pack your orders with extra care and insulation. But we know that’s not a perfect solution. If you’ve experienced issues with a recent delivery, please do reach out - we’ll always do what we can to make it right. Thank you again for your understanding. We’re on it.

Many of you have been eagerly awaiting raw milk, and so have we. Since last year, we've been carefully building the foundations for a micro-dairy that meets our exacting standards. We sourced top-quality Jersey cows, cared for them through winter, and welcomed their calves in April. The cows are ready, the milking rhythm has begun, and we're close to launch.

Setting up a well-functioning raw milk operation is no small feat - especially when doing it right from the ground up.

Heavy rainfall last year prevented us from beginning the groundwork for our dairy unit as planned. When the weather finally cleared a few months back and we began excavating for our waste system, we encountered an unexpected challenge: a Victorian land drain—still flowing—ran through the area, flooding our newly excavated space. As a result, we must now relocate the dairy building elsewhere on the farm, which has led to additional delays.

While frustrating, this setback brings an unexpected blessing: we now have a valuable freshwater source, perfect for irrigation and supplying troughs.

Though this means a delay in launching our raw milk deliveries, there's good news: our cows are healthy, our systems are nearly complete, and our commitment remains steadfast. Thank you for your continued patience. We'll keep you updated as we progress toward launch. It will be worth the wait.

Despite the challenges, the energy around the farm is lifting. More people are discovering what we’re doing. New collaborators, landowners, supporters and investors are coming forward. There’s growing recognition of what we’re building - not just a farm, but a model for the future of food.

We don’t say this lightly: the quality we’re striving for is hard to find. Truly natural, pharmaceutical-free, regenerative farms are still rare. That’s why we’ve had to build so much from scratch. But those long-term investments are beginning to bear fruit. Our food production is increasing every week - our freezers are now stocked with pork, lamb and beef. The first chickens of the year will be ready soon. And the vegetables, milk, and eggs are not far behind.