We don’t guarantee that no pesticides are ever used in the production of our crops. We only ever use chemicals pre-approved by out third-party certifiers, the Food Alliance and Oregon Tilth. Our agricultural certifications, including Organic, do allow the use of certain, approved chemicals.

Having said that, we are in the fields every day making the best decisions we can. We take these decisions very seriously and only ever take action when absolutely necessary. We do not have a specific list of inputs we apply to our crops, simply because each season is different and each crop has its own individual needs. If you would like to learn more about the pesticides our third-party certifiers allow, please take a look at their websites: https://foodalliance.org and https://tilth.org.

About 1/3 of our farm is organically grown, while our entire farm is Certified Sustainable.

The sustainable certification is from the Food Alliance. It looks not only at what we use in the fields, but also our water conservation practices, our soil health, wildlife and biodiversity on the farm, employee well-being, and social responsibility. In short, Certified Sustainable ensures the entire farm, not just the field, is working with our planet’s well-being at the forefront. You can find more information on their website here: foodalliance.org.

Our entire farm is certified sustainable, and about one third is certified organic. We do have some organic products, look for the USDA Organic seal on our line of grains and legumes. The rest of our fruits and vegetables are certified sustainable.

Sustainable agriculture is a way of growing food in an ecologically and ethically responsible manner.

Organic farming can generally be classified as sustainable agriculture, however, organic products can also be produced on large industrial farms that are not always sustainable.

Some aspects that all of our fields share:

• Soil management: Both our Organic and Sustainable fields rotate their crops to maintain the nutrient quality of the soil. The nutrients taken from the soil by crops must be replaced using natural methods.
• Pesticides: Both our Organic and Sustainable farms may only use pre-approved chemicals on their crops that meet certain criteria. Yes, even Organic fields can sometimes have chemicals used on them.
• No genetic engineering: Our crops are not altered using genetic engineering, sewage slug or ionizing radiation. That means that both our organic foods and our sustainably grown foods are inherently free of genetically modified organisms (GMOs)

The USDA defines sustainable farming as agriculture that:

• Enhances the natural resources upon which society lives.
• Efficiently uses resources by implementing natural controls and biocycles?
• Is economically viable.
  And enhances life for farmers and those eating the products.

Our sustainable certification is from the Food Alliance. It looks not only at what we use in the fields, but also our water conservation practices, our soil health, wildlife and biodiversity on the farm, employee well-being, and social responsibility. You can find more information on their website here: foodalliance.org.

Our practices include:

Soil Health: With each growing season, we use conservation tillage to reduce erosion. We also plant cover crops to return nitrogen to the soil and build organic matter. We even apply digestate from our biogas plant to our fields as it acts as an organic fertilizer and naturally increases microbial activity and builds overall soil health.

Water Conservation: We continue to improve our irrigation, using weather, soil moisture and evapotranspiration data to track water use and needs. We have implemented automation systems that allow us to access real-time data that automatically controls and schedules our irrigation based on the needs of each plant.

Wildlife Habitat and Biodiversity: We plant native species that attract pollinators like bumblebees and plant cover crops in the winter that keep the blue herons on the farm year-round. We have a thriving blue heron rookery or habitat on the farm.
Social Responsibility and Employee

Well-Being: We have programs and benefits in place for our employees to ensure job satisfaction and fulfillment. We also have programs in place to improve our local community, for instance we donate one million servings to local food banks every year.

Innovation: We were the first farm ever to be certified sustainable by the Food Alliance. We have always been early adopters of new technology. Stahlbush was the first farm in Oregon to use GPS technology and the first to build a biogas plant that generates electricity using agricultural by-product in North America.

Unfortunately, our packaging is not compostable. We have been researching possible new compostable options and have made great progress, but haven’t found one yet that will preserve the high quality of our products. As a sustainable company, we are always looking for the most innovative, environmentally-friendly products to improve how we operate on a daily basis. The best way to dispose of the packaging at this time is to place it in the garbage.

You are able to order as much as you want. Some especially large orders may be split into two boxes. We do require a minimum of 16 10-oz bags OR 6 3-lb bags so that offering free shipping to customers remains a sustainable option for us.

We currently deliver anywhere in the continental United States. If we don’t currently deliver to your region, you won’t be able to complete your checkout. But don’t worry! We are working tirelessly to expand our delivery region and we’ll be in touch once we can ship to you!

Once you place your order on our website, our warehouse will carefully package your items, with enough dry ice for them to remain frozen in transit. Your items will then be shipped via FedEx and all tracking information sent to you. NOTE: due to delays associated with weekend delivery, we currently ship all orders where they will arrive on a weekday to ensure your items arrive on time and frozen.

To make sure your food stays frozen while in transit, each box is packed with plenty of dry ice. If you live in a warmer climate, our team modifies dry ice quantities according to regional weather as well as seasonal patterns. In most cases, you don’t need to be home for your delivery, but Stahlbush Island Farms food is perishable, so it’s important to get your items into a freezer ASAP after delivery.

In most cases, you don’t need to be home in order for your box to be delivered. Carriers can leave the package without a signature and we pack our boxes with enough dry ice to keep contents frozen. Your tracking information will also be updated as your order progresses. FYI: Once you’ve received your box, it is important to get your items in the freezer as soon as possible to maintain freshness.

To get rid of your dry ice, place the bag (with the dry ice still inside) in a well-ventilated area until any remaining ice has disappeared (usually 24 hours or so after delivery). Be sure to keep the dry ice out of reach of children and animals (PLEASE don’t touch the dry ice!), and don’t place it on any tiled or solid surfaces (like in a sink), as it can cause severe damage. Once the ice has dissolved, you can recycle or compost all the packing materials according to the guidelines on each piece.

We offer free shipping on orders of any size to the lower 48 states. We do not ship to Alaska or Hawaii at this time. All orders are shipped within 1-3 business days to ensure best quality.

We cannot take returns due to the perishable nature of our frozen products. If there is an issue with your order, please contact DTC@stahlbush.com and include the UPC and expiration date.

We value quality, so all our orders are shipped within 1-3 business days of being placed! Because our orders ship so fast, orders can’t be canceled unless we are contacted at DTC@stahlbush.com before 5 pm PST the day the order was placed.

Subscription-based orders must be canceled before the next order is shipped. To view your subscription, go to My Account and click on the Subscriptions tab. All your subscriptions and when they ship next are listed there and can be canceled from that tab.