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| | | Hutten Family Farm Newsletter for Friday Jan 30, 2026 |
It looks like yet another snowstorm to start the week again. I am personally getting tired of snow removal despite the obvious fact that we are getting moisture back in the soil after the insane drought conditions last year. When we get significant snow like the past week; it takes us a couple days to get things cleaned up. The snow builds up on the greenhouses and it needs to be moved before the next snow comes. The timing is quite important because even light fluffy snow like we had last week quickly gets very heavy and crusty and turns to ice when it is heaped up against a greenhouse. I\\\'m hoping that the coming storm has less snow with it.
The primary message in this newsletter is to talk about the CSA as well as the Saturday market in Halifax. We have had multiple issues with the CSA deliveries to Halifax as well as the Saturday market due to the road conditions. I\\\'m not talking about the snow and ice but the state of disrepair of the roads. My primary delivery van has had about $6000.00 in front end repairs and towing costs in the last year. We have had the van completely shut down three times in transit to and from the city because of impact with potholes. The van will begin flashing lights and announce an impact message on the screen followed by a complete fuel shut-off. It is a safety feature to shut the fuel off when there is an accident. This happened three weeks ago in Halifax and again this past Saturday on the highway out side of Wolfville. I spent significant money on the front end just over ten days ago and it is back in the garage now (since Tuesday) with major damage again. I plan to park the van once it is repaired sometime next week and will not be driving it on the highway until things are better. I am looking at rental vans as an option at this point but have not committed due to both availability and cost. If I go with this option it will be a very small van with minimal capacity so I will eliminate any wholesale and restaurant sales due to space. There are options to sell in the valley if I need to do so temporarily and we have very limited product selection and volume this winter due to the drought last season and the unusually cold and snowy winter.
I am sure that there are different opinions as to what is the better choice for me at this point but I need to do something. Both my employee Gordon (who delivers the CSA/wholesale) or myself have no desire to drive the 101 highway with a van of produce in the very early morning hours; especially the stretch between Hantsport and New Minas. I was travelling at 70 kms per hour last Saturday when I hit the pothole and things shut down. We will message CSA members in Halifax each weekend with the status of the CSA delivery. Market cancellations will be posted on Instagram. The Kentville CSA will continue as usual except for weather cancellations. I hope the highways get repaired.
ted
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