Three shares, every other week, eleven pickup sites and six delivery zones around Huntsville.
The season stops for winter. The members stay.
Ryan used to end the CSA when winter came and ask every member to sign up again in spring. Now the plan runs year-round. Every share goes on hold for the blackout and comes back in March.
His crop plan, his neighbors' eggs, one place to run it.
15 minutes with Ari, our founder and a farmer.
The blackout period is good so customers don't have to re-register. We can just pause them.
Ryan Reece · Howling Fresh Farm · Huntsville, AL
Watch the interview"Hey farmhand,
can you…"
Ryan texts what he needs. Someone on the Farmhand team does it and texts back, usually before the harvest is in.
Two delivery groups and eleven pickup sites means something changes most weeks. Most of it fits in a sentence.
See what he runs ↓He gives the speech. The signup page is ready when they get home.
Ryan's members find him at farm dinners, on porches and through friends. Farmhand runs the website, the host recruiting kit and the texts, so the next step is waiting the moment someone's interested.
- The website and signuphowlingfreshfarm.com lists all three shares, the delivery towns and the Porch Partner program, and links straight to signup. Farmhand builds and updates it.
- A kit for pickup hostsA flyer, wallet cards, and Instagram stories and posts, so a host can recruit their own street. Hosts get a free box once their site reaches ten members.
- Texts that reach only the right boxesWhen sugar baby watermelons went into the Classic boxes, only members with a Classic share on that Friday's orders heard about it.
- The spring openerOn March 2, one email and text went to every member: the 2026 produce catalog, with the store open that day.
Ten signups in the week after one farm dinner.
One long season, with a winter pause built in.
Veggie, Essentials or Classic, every other week. The plan runs year-round, members pay per share, and anyone can skip a bag until Sunday at 11pm.
- A blackout on the calendarLast winter's ran December 22 to March 8, farm-wide. The first bag in March went to members who never had to re-register.
- Groups A and BEvery pickup site and delivery zone belongs to one of two groups. Each week the crew packs for one group, so each member gets a bag every other week.
- Three sharesVeggie at $35 with 5 to 7 veggies, and Essentials at $55 with pasture-raised eggs and honey or fruit. Classic, with sourdough and meat, is full for now.
- Pay as you go, or prepaySignup is one share at a time. Members who want the savings can move to a 10 or 20 share prepay, which takes a Veggie share from $35 to $31.75.
- Skips before Sunday at 11pmMembers skip from their own account. Full-season members get a week's credit for a skip.
Last winter's blackout ran two months. This winter he's aiming for one.
When his beds run thin, his neighbors fill the bag.
Ryan buys fruit, vegetables, eggs and meat from farms nearby to keep the box local all season. The same makers stock his shop, and anything a member adds rides home in their CSA bag.
- About 40 products from a dozen local makersSouthard Farm eggs at $10 for 18, Trinity Farms ground beef at $10 a pound, Humble Heart goat cheese at $9, Coffee Break beans at $18.
- Add-ons ride with the shareShop orders land on the same pack list and the same route as the CSA bag, so a pie or a pound of beef costs the member no extra trip.
- A bread share$10 every other week, or $9.10 a loaf on a 20-share prepay.
- His own harvest tooOkra, eggplant, banana peppers, rosemary and basil.
His pickup instructions say “text Farmhand.” So members do.
Member texts land in one shared inbox. Ryan answers the ones he wants to, and the Farmhand team takes the rest, from address changes to skips.
- One inbox for every member textA member moving to Gurley asked if they deliver there. Ryan said yes, and the Farmhand team takes the address change from there.
- Dislikes get a swapMembers list allergies and what they don't want, like jalapeños or okra, and it shows on every order. The pack line substitutes. Ryan says it's been huge for retention.
- The winter hold, handledOne farm-wide blackout covers every share, so members stay subscribed through the break and nobody's box goes out by mistake.
- The rules, before the first boxThe season-start email told every member the three-skip limit, to put a cooler out, where to sign in, and that a reminder text comes every order day.
“We lose two, we get ten. It kind of averages out.”
John checks every bag before it leaves the farm.
The harvest report totals every share and add-on for the week. Ryan, John and Alexis pack from it, and John works the end of the line, checking each bag and adding the subs and extras.
- Harvest totals for the cycleOne recent two-week cycle came to more than 200 shares across Classic, Essentials and Veggie, plus bread and more than 40 add-on lines.
- Pack sheets John marks upHe highlights every add-on, circles anything that comes from the cooler, like meat, cheese and chocolate, and circles any item ordered more than once.
- Routes by day and groupThursday A runs 46 stops, Thursday A2 takes 22, and Friday B covers 20. A late route gets flagged, with re-optimize and a delay text one tap away.
- A text when the bag is on the porchThe driver marks each stop complete, and the members at that site get a notification that their order is ready.
- Directions for every pickup site“Follow the driveway and sidewalk… check the coolers for all of your items!” Each pickup notice carries that host's own instructions.
“Three is kind of the sweet spot.” John, on the pack line.
What's going to be less work for them?
Ryan checks every decision against one question: what's easiest for the member? That's why the season pauses for winter, the bag comes every other week, and a dislike gets a swap.
The case for going year-round
Ryan and John on the winter blackout, groups A and B, and keeping a small crew from burning out.
Watch the interview
Winter Is a Pause, Not a Cancellation
Ryan's full write-up, with what he'd tell another farm thinking about going year-round.
Read the post
Next storyHeavy Hollow FarmHerdshare · Lancaster, KY
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