Home Delivery of Pasture-Raised Meat Expands
Local favorite Avrom Farm partners with Iowa-based 99 Counties
Chicago native Hayden Holbert was in his early 20s when he started Avrom Farm, a regenerative livestock operation in Ripon, Wisconsin, in 2015. The quality of the meats, soon joined by a growing selection of produce, first caught on at Green City Market, then other farmers markets.
They also did ecommerce and home delivery, which made them well positioned in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic sent many consumers flocking to local food and its reliable supply. Starting in 2021, Hayden added a fried chicken and waffles carry-out at Avrom’s market stands, and a brick-and-mortar market near home in Wisconsin.
This ambitious agenda stretched Hayden and his small team. But it caught the attentions of the folks at 99 Counties, a one-year-old company based in Keystone, Iowa that partners with regenerative and organic farmers who produce meat and other foods that 99 Counties delivers to homes across Iowa (which has 99 counties) and Chicagoland.
The result is a merger between 99 Counties and Avrom Farm. Avrom Farm will shut down its ecommerce site and sell its products on the 99 Counties site. The farm store will close too, though Avrom Farm will maintain its presence at Chicago area farmers markets. And Hayden joins the 99 Counties team as manager of customer experience and business development.
The following is an article by Hayden explaining in detail why he made this move. At the end, there are codes to save 25 percent off a 99 Counties subscription — which includes a 10 percent discount on each order and free delivery on orders of $75+ — and free delivery on your first order if you’re not yet a subscriber.
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Change is in the air
Thank you so much for your support over the past two and a half years since we started our online store and delivery service. It began during the COVID-19 shutdown order in 2020 when all restaurants and farmers markets had immediately closed, therefore eliminating the sales avenues for our meats, eggs and produce.
By sheer luck we had already spent months building an online store independent of the shutdown order. That week in March 2020, we found ourselves questioning the feasibility of staying open. But as a farm we were able to quickly launch an online store and string together a network of friends and family members to help us jump start our delivery service.
After launching the online store, many of our supporters, such as farmers markets and a few news outlets, amplified this message to a wide-ranging audience that was looking for food security. This was a particularly unique time in the midst of the supply chain collapse in the conventional food system. When grocery store shelves were bare, our farm and the 20+ farms with which we partnered had freezers and walk-in coolers packed full of nutrient-dense food grown by small independent outfits.
The first week we launched our website we were packing boxes until 3 a.m. because we were so overwhelmed by orders coming in. As our online store continued to grow, it became clear that it would be a lasting part of our business, so we bought a small warehouse and retail space in Green Lake, Wisconsin. This was a major upgrade from packing orders in a retrofitted greenhouse in our driveway!
The biggest struggle with operating our delivery service has been balancing the wide range of responsibilities demanded by our farm operations, storefront, farmers markets, events and delivery logistics. Ultimately my goal as a farmer has been to build a food movement whose cultivation restores ecosystem functions, makes our food widely accessible to people, and builds a resilient business model for us to keep growing and doing what we love.
It became clear that our current trajectory had strayed far from my passion in sustainable agriculture and food sovereignty. Ultimately I found myself spread too thin, underperforming in each project, and making little progress in achieving my goals.
Enter 99 Counties
99 Counties was founded by Nick Wallace and Christian Ebersol in November 2021. 99 Counties’ focus is to support farmers practicing regenerative agriculture and to deliver nutrient-dense food in abundance to our regional food economy. This organization creates a resilient market and support system that allows local farmers to grow as land stewards.
By pooling resources and working cooperatively with farmers, abattoirs and other food artisans, 99 Counties aims to expand their reach to revitalize our ecosystem. Folks can shop for regenerative meat on the 99 Counties website and receive delivery the next week, similar to Avrom Farm’s delivery service.
The concept for 99 Counties evolved from Wallace Farms, Nick Wallace’s certified organic livestock farm. Nick has been practicing sustainable land management over the past 20 years on his grass-based farm in Keystone, Iowa.
After all this time growing his farm and garnering a strong following in his community, Nick still felt like he wasn’t making enough progress in the food system. The vision for 99 Counties is to one day transform all of agriculture to become regenerative, starting with a grass roots movement that wields the collective power from dozens of small to mid-sized regenerative farms.
As I have seen firsthand, an individual farmer just simply does not have the time, money or bandwidth to do it all themselves. 99 Counties solves that problem by bringing together the resources to develop a market for these products and achieve the scale and efficiency needed to make this nutrient-dense food accessible to people.
Avrom Farm’s Future
I first learned of 99 Counties this January when I met Nick and Christian through a regenerative agriculture lender called Steward. Nick’s and Christian’s mission and vision resonates deeply with me and I decided to join the movement!
Avrom Farm is now raising pork and chicken for 99 Counties, and I have joined the management team leading our customer experience, business development and event departments. My passion for the better part of my adult life has been centered around this pursuit, involving a cohesive network of independent regenerative farmers, artisans and individuals committed to building this movement. I am really excited to share this project with all of you in the coming weeks.
You will continue to see Avrom Farm at farmers markets, we will still host our annual music & food festival, Avrom Farm Party, but our farm is changing. To make this transition possible we are downsizing to focus on pasture-raised chicken and eggs at least for 2023. Our online store is transitioning to 99 Counties and we will no longer accept orders on our website.
I want to invite all of you to continue supporting regenerative agriculture and following our journey with 99 Counties. We are offering a discount to everyone that wishes to join as a member or try it out by placing an order with free delivery.
25% off membership: Avrom99C-M
Free delivery: Avrom99C-D
Sincerely,
Hayden Holbert
Founder, Avrom Farm