Pip’s Micro Farm LLC operates under a variety of Texas laws.
Cottage Food Production Operations
In September of 2013, Texas Governor Greg Abbot signed the “Cottage Foods Law” allowing individuals to prepare and sell foods made in their home kitchen directly to the public.
As a cottage food production operation, all members of our household have completed a basic food safety education or training program for food handlers accredited under the Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 438(D). In accordance with Texas law, we provide the following statement on all food labels: “This food is made in a home kitchen and is not inspected by the Department of State Health Services or a local health department.”
Food Safety
As part of the Cottage Foods law, we are permitted to offer foods that are considered “non-hazardous” including bread, rolls, buns, biscuits, bagels, croissants, pastries, doughnuts, Danishes, cakes, tortes, pies, tarts, muffins, lemon squares, cookies, large pretzels, and tortillas, Candy, Coated & Uncoated nuts, Fruit butter, Canned jams & jelly, Fruit pies, Dehydrated fruits & vegetables, Popcorn & popcorn snacks, Cereal & granola products, Pickles, Mustard, Coffee, any canned foods with a pH of 4.6 (Salsa & Sauces), and any Dried herbs.
Texas Egg Law
Our egg production and retail sales operate under a separate law known as the Texas Egg Law. Under this provision, a farm is permitted to sell “ungraded” eggs directly to the public at Farmers’ markets and Farmstands, provided they are washed and stored at 45 degrees, or less. Our beautiful, free-range chicken eggs are washed and refrigerated within hours of being laid by our staff of chickens. Our farmstand has a built-in refrigerator to maintain the required temperature. We also follow all Texas laws regarding packaging and labeling, ensuring our eggs are fresh, safe, and delicious.
Our egg production is limited by the number of chickens that we may employ on our property due to zoning.
Market Garden
Our Market Garden operates under the Texas Right to Farm Statute which states: “Food security being essential, it is the policy of this state to conserve, protect, and encourage the development and improvement of its agricultural land for the production of food and other agricultural products. It is the purpose of this chapter to reduce the loss to the state of its agricultural resources by limiting the circumstances under which agricultural operations may be legally threatened, subject to suit, regulated, or otherwise declared to be a nuisance.“
Even though our principal agricultural operation is located within a residential district, under Texas Law we are still a farm. We have livestock (chickens) and grow foods used for human consumption. Thus, we are protected by the Texas Right to Farm Statute.
This law also grants us the right to sell our food products at Farmers’ markets, farmstands, and other locations, provided we sell directly to the public. Of course, we obtain all required legal permits to do so.
Our farm does not meet the threshold for quantity or volume that would require commercial inspections of our tomatoes, fruits, or vegetables.
Pesticide Free.
We use no commercial or chemical pesticides in our market garden. We use only natural plant-based biopesticides such as Neem oil to pests. We also use salt/vinegar mixes, ground pepper, & food-grade Diatomaceous Earth. We use “companion planting” to deter pests from wanting to set up shop in our garden. Of course, such natural processes are not always 100% effective, which means that we lose plants from time to time. Such is the cost of doing business, so our prices are slightly higher than the grocery store. But the benefit is that our foods are fresh and chemical-free, which makes for healthier living.
Safety & Quality Record Keeping
In order to ensure safety & quality, and also for tax purposes, we keep records of our inventories, maintenance, and pests or disease encounters & treatments. We endeavor to follow Good Agricultural Practices, which are voluntary guidelines for produce farmers to reduce the risk of microbial contamination related to food-borne illnesses on their farms. The guidelines are based on the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Guide to Minimizing Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fresh Produce.
Nursery
Cut flowers, landscape plants, and garden vegetable starts that we sell are licensed in accordance with the Texas Nursery Floral Licensing Program. “The mission of the Nursery Floral Program is to prevent the introduction and spread of agricultural pests and diseases in nursery plants and to protect consumers and Texas agriculture against economic losses.
The Nursery Floral Program:
– Performs nursery inspections and regulatory activities
– Provides registration and certification services for the Texas plant industry.“
We pay an annual fee to have our farm inspected, and to provide us with licensing for operation at our Farmstand & Farmers’ markets.
Whereas the “Market Garden” sells fresh-cut produce, from our Nursery we sell living whole plants, as well as cut flowers. We are not a “florist” and do not make floral arrangements. None of the plants that we propagate, are patented, but we do occasionally supplement our inventory with patented or trademarked plants that we are granted the right to resell. Whenever possible, we seek out heirloom varieties that will be “true to type”, however, some varieties are hybrid (Non-GMO) to allow for better climatized growing in Texas Zone 8b.
As a nursery, we mostly propagate our plants from seeds, cuttings or plugs. As a result, some plants may take 2-3 years for a plant to develop to maturity and be ready for sale. You can identify which plants are ready by the sticker or label on the container or information card. Of course, any plant that is offered on our Farmstand is ready to come home with you.
Public Hours
Throughout the season we offer select products in our self-serve farmstand. However, several times a year we have a special, open house “Plant Sell” day where we open the entire nursery and garden to the public. Think of it like a giant Yard Sale… but for plants! You will be able to browse our entire inventory of plants and vegetable starts and maybe even get to pick fresh vegetables directly from our garden. We even have a crafts table for the little ones. It’s fun, and a great way to meet your neighbors.
Farmstand
Our Farmstand operates under the provisions of the Texas Right to Farm Statute.
It is generally open on Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays, from April through September between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm … weather and family obligations permitting. This is a self-service, honor system farmstand (yes, you will be on camera). The mobile Farmstand will be located near the street, on a concrete driveway extension.
The Farmstand will accept Cash, Venmo, PayPal, and Zelle for payment. It is also possible to pay by credit card. However, to use this option you must checkout online with our website. QR codes will be provided for your convenience. You will also find a pen and a calculator in a box to help you add up your purchase if you need to.
We would also like to invite you to sign our guest book. It’s just fun to see where everyone is from and read your comments.
Please, Please, Please … Remember to close the refrigerated egg cooler. If that temperature ever rises above 45 degrees, we have to throw out the entire stock. Please don’t adjust the electronic controls.
Special Online Orders
At this time we are not taking special or advanced orders.
We try to post our current Farmstand offerings on Facebook, Instagram & X.com. Please follow us for updates and share with your family & friends.
State Sales Tax
We are required to collect and submit sales tax of 8.25% to the Texas Comptroller on some items. However, we want to make it easy for our customers and keep the math to a minimum. Thus, when you see a price listed at the farmstand, we have already included the sales tax in the amount listed…. and we do the math for you on the back end. So, for example, if we list a price as $5.00 … the actual sales price is $4.62 and we have already included the tax of $0.38.
Why do we do it this way? Because not all items are required to collect sales tax. Generally, food items are exempt from sales tax. But it’s not always so cut and dried. For snack-type foods, such as candy, we are required to collect tax. There is a long list of items that we are required and/or not required to collect sales tax. We don’t want our customers to be burdened with the tax issue, so we take care of it for you.