Capitol Cooler

Leafhopper Farm is proud to announce the instillation of a walk in cooler! We’re keeping the meat, veggies, and fruit at 42 degrees! Rob and Garett worked Sunday morning to get the compressor and cooler all hooked up to run in time for pig butchering next weekend. The job went smoothly, taking only five hours. Sometimes the job can run 8 hours or more! I was so thankful for their time and focus, and they finished up in time to get home to a Seahawks game.

The old cooler parts were very old and outdated, so Rob got me new parts at cost (saving thousands of dollars) and now the cooler will last a lifetime! This project has been in the works for a few months now and it feels so good to have everything finished, up and running, and ready for butchering.

The old units will be dismantled and recycled. The new units will save us hundreds a year on electricity and follow strict EPA guidelines around coolant chemicals. I am so happy about this upgrade for the farm, and a safe place to hang and store our food.

It’s amazing to see how much goes into putting together these seemingly complex parts, to get the right hookups and alignments of all the electrical, pipes, and hardware. The work was involved, using torches to weld, drills to tighten, and canisters of chemical compound under intense pressure. I understand why you want professionals doing this work. Don’t try this at home!

A special thanks to Rob and his son Garett for coming out on a Sunday morning at the crack of dawn to get everything in order and hooked up right. It was truly a pleasure to work with them, enjoying the humor it takes to overcome all the obstacles of the job. Both gentlemen were very hard working and patient with answering all my questions. What a lucky farmer I am to have friends like these. They understand the work that goes into growing food and were very supportive of the farm and my vision here. Thank you gentlemen!

Now LHF will have a HUGE walk in cooler for pigs, deer, elk, fruit, veggies, and more! We can keep everything at a safe temperature for future food processing needs. We also plan on renting out space in the cooler to others in the community in need of additional space to keep perishables. It’s a new chapter in the farm’s capabilities, and might also come in handy for Kat’s flower business, once she’s cutting stems and working on her lush bouquets. If anyone local needs walk in space, we’ve got it!