Mossy Gate Flower Farm is building out a walk-in cooler and storage shed to provide on-site refrigeration to their sustainable cut flowers.
Funded on 07/05/2022
Mossy Gate Flower Farm is a woman-owned, specialty cut flower farm located in Skagit County, WA. They operate on a two-acre leased site and focus on seasonal cut flowers that incorporate native perennials into bouquets—all grown with regenerative practices. Growing blooms April through October, owner Jesalyn Pettigrew specializes in tulips, daffodils, dahlias, sunflowers, and zinnias, offering wholesale cuts, arrangements, and DIY buckets.
Mossy Gate was the first flower farm member of the Puget Sound Food Hub, and sells their flowers to local and regional florists, high-end restaurants, grocery chains, their roadside farmstand, and to a major Seattle sports arena. 2022 marks their 7th growing season, and Mossy Gate has significantly expanded production to meet demand for their flourishing wholesale markets.
Mossy Gate Flower Farm will use their loan from Steward to purchase a new shed to build out a walk-in cooler and equipment storage area on their primary growing site. This will replace Jesalyn’s old cooler that is much too small for her growing business and located off-site, eliminating the 20-minute drive regularly made to refrigerate her products. The loan will also be used to refinance an existing revolving line of credit at more favorable terms.
Mossy Gate Flower Farm specializes in growing flowers with the health of native pollinators and the larger ecosystem at the forefront of their operations. Unlike most cut flower farms, Jesalyn incorporates seasonal, native plants into her growing plan and designates a percentage of her crops to growing pollinator-friendly species. She takes a holistic approach to managing the farm, with sustainable practices that include:
We are reaching out to provide you with an update on Mossy Gate Farm. Jesalyn recently reached out to share that she has secured a low interest loan through the FSA to help her continue to grow her flower business. Shortly you will receive your final payment of outstanding principal and interest as a deposit into your Steward Wallet. Below is an update from Jessica!
"This has been such a journey. From feeling like a struggling want-to-be farmer to being seen and recognized as a brand in my community and getting to settle into the full time focus of this farm. I still have a lot to learn regarding financial success in such an uncertain industry but, with Steward’s support, I was able to get the infrastructure in place to make me more competitive for lower cost of capital programs. The FSA recognized my dedication to the land and I’m now curating crop plans that have a higher value than I ever expected!
With Steward’s funding I was able to refinance and purchase a custom made cooler/storage area that has changed our work flow incredibly! And now, FSA is able to do the same to assist with lower interest debt. I have no doubt that I’ll be back to Steward when the day comes that I’m ready for the next big endeavor… like buying my own land perhaps. Steward lenders are helping my family farm continue to give it our all!"
We at Steward are excited about this next step for Jesalyn and Mossy Gate Flower Farm! Thank you for your continued support of regenerative agriculture.
- The Steward Team
Yesterday started like every busy Tuesday. I needed to get bouquets made for the bi-monthly CSA partnership I jumped on this year. The boys needed to get ready to go to their dad’s for the week, which left me feeling torn about spending some time with them or getting to farm work. And on Tuesday’s I have two amazing farmhands that I like to work with.
The bouquets went smoothly. I am getting better at making them efficiently, BUT my current cooler is FULL of buckets of Lilies, cardboard for my packaging, and other various items that I store in there to keep out of the rain. This made placing two more buckets into the cooler a tad frustrating. I paused and remembered it was THE DAY! The day that my Steward project was going to go live!
Once the bouquets were made and the kids off on their way, I rushed off to stock my farm stand - which failed as I spilled the two buckets of blooms on my way down my steep driveway- argh. Next I ran a few errands but all were a waste of time because the stores were either too busy or didn’t have what I was looking for. Sigh.
I finally made it to the field got caught up with my helpers - they were already weeding the new perennial herb section. I hopped on my little tractor to till our last section. After a pass or two in, a local stopped by to chat with me about local gossip, farm woes, and future ideas. I am really lucky to live in a place that has an amazing network of farmers, business owners, and customers that I can lean on and talk to. Farming can be a lonely endeavor at times - so many odds against us and long hours on long rows alone with our plants (picture crazy cat lady). When we wrapped up our conversation, I naturally went to look at my phone and my normal 2-5 email alert read 55 new emails!!
Over the course of the next ten minutes the emails kept coming in “Steward - You are Receiving a Payment!” I couldn’t keep up with all of them. I didn’t know what to expect with this process - I assumed it would take some begging, some waiting, LOTS OF HOPING, and even more worrying. But oh my goodness, you guys BLEW MY MIND! The amount of support and the instant rush of seeing funds come in means everything to us. To be fully funded within 17 minutes was absolutely incredible.
Thank you. Thank you for believing in this goal and this lifestyle. Thank you for helping us leap into a much better situation - less driving, actual storage, and improved energy efficiency! Also, the food hub I sell through has agreed to pick up from my new cooler site!!! This means even less driving on my part and more time in the field or with customers!
Okay I know this was a very long way to say thank you, but this is a very real, very meaningful thing you have done, and I appreciate you. I can’t wait to show you how it brings success to our farm!
Sincerely,
Jesalyn
Mossy Gate Flower Farm
Shed--$21,700: This includes a new custom-built 12'x20' shed with a 12’x12’ walk-in cooler and a separate 8'x12' equipment storage area.
Refinance--$20,000: This includes the refinance of a revolving line of credit at more favorable rates.
Total Budget: $41,700
This loan will be made to Mossy Gate Flower Farm LLC, a Washington limited liability company, which grows and sells cut flowers to their local community.
This loan will be used to purchase equipment and refinance an existing, outstanding line of credit.
The total loan amount is $41,700 which will assist Mossy Gate Flower Farm LLC in growing and expanding their business.
This is a secured loan with a first lien on all business assets, set at a 7% interest rate, with a 60 month term, and fully amortized monthly payments beginning 6 months after funds are disbursed. In addition, Steward has required a prepayment of $4,250 to be made by Mossy Gate Flower Farm LLC by year-end 2022. This prepayment will greatly de-risk Steward's lending and security positions by reducing outstanding principal once Mossy Gate Flower Farm has accrued sufficient cash flow through the end of the growing season. (The prepayment can also be thought of as a deferred equity contribution from Mossy Gate).
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