ABOUT OUR FARM NEWS INSERTS

            Open a quaint and cozy little carton of The Country Hen eggs and you will find the most charming little folded note entitled Farm News resting on top of the best tasting and most beautiful Omega-3 enriched organic eggs. This little insert might tell a story about people on the farm or offer an educational summary of the nutritional value of the eggs themselves. Some tell of current events taking place on the farm or in the town area. The Farm News inserts were one of many innovative ideas our founder George Bass implemented as an important part of our standard operating procedures here at The Country Hen farm. The tradition began in early 1989. George loved to tell people about all the benefits of our healthful organic eggs and about all of the happenings on the farm. George also liked to write.

            If you have ever had the experience of talking with a proud grandparent, you know the enthusiasm they exude while boasting about their grandchild’s superior talents, intelligence, skills, charms or successful accomplishments. They do this because those grandchildren represent the embodiment of a proud legacy of family traditions and a lasting heritage that reaches into the future. This is perhaps as close a comparison as can be made with respect to George’s penchant for writing the Farm News inserts. George’s enthusiasm and pride toward the accomplishments on this farm are well earned. Who can blame him for wanting everyone to know about the great qualities of the farm, the people who work here, the pampered lifestyles of the hens and especially the exceptional superiority of the unique organic eggs we produce here. Organic farming is not a new concept, but rather an heirloom and tradition passed to us from our predecessors, we believe this tradition must reach into the future.

Personal Connection with Our Customers

Our customers call or write to tell us how much they appreciate the personal connection they feel when they read our newsletters. It is reminiscent of the “olden days” when going to the market meant meeting your neighbors there, maybe sharing a little gossip, being familiar with the butcher behind the meat counter, the grocer stocking his shelves or the cashier that rings up your groceries. The people who handled the food you brought to your home were not strangers.  It is this nostalgia, this connection to days gone by, and this reminder of the simple things in life that add to the charm. Being familiar with and trusting in the people that produce your food is the next best thing to harvesting it yourself.

As a consumer myself, I rarely think about how the mundane but necessary merchandise I buy came to be on the shelves of the department stores. I will most certainly take into consideration things like the practicality, functionality and value of the purchases I choose to meet my needs within my budget but I usually do not consider knowing much about the factory that manufactured the items because it does not always inspire the sense of contentment I would like it to. The realist inside me knows that my shoes were not hand-stitched by a cobbler making shoes one pair at a time in a little workshop down in the village square. Gone are the days of blacksmiths making household hardware by pounding hot metal on an anvil at a fiery forge. And though the quilted bathroom tissue being marketed by manufacturers through showing us images of little old ladies sitting around sewing circles to produce the toilet paper, well we all know that is not how it is made. It is hard to feel good about many of the things we buy in this modern day and technological age. Food should never be counted in that list!

We here at The Country Hen farm want our customers to know everything they can know about us. We want to promote and maintain the personal connection and familiarity customers once had with the people that supply their food. That is a pretty ambitious goal coming from a company that does absolutely no advertising at all. The Farm News inserts seemed like the best way to attain that goal. In our next blog, we’ll talk about how it all began.