“Farm fresh” (or “farm-fresh”) has long been a clichéd food phrase; farms grow food and no one advertises anything except “fresh.” The image (in such terms as “farm fresh eggs”) is that the food is fresh, shipped directly from a farm. In April 2012, the blog Serious Eats said that “farm fresh” should be strictly banned, explaining that it’s “an overused phrase with little to no real meaning.”
 
The generic advertisement of “farm fresh eggs” has been cited in print since at least 1922. The name “farm fresh” has appeared in trademarks since 1939.
 
       
25 May 1911, Trenton (NJ) Evening Times, pg. 4, col. 4 ad:
WE’RE SELLING EGGS CHEAP,
Nearby Farm Fresh Eggs, Dozen ... 20c
(Burd’s Pure Food Store—ed.)
 
Google Books
December 1922, The Farm Journal, pg. 27, col. 1:
My signs would read: “Farm Fresh Eggs,” “Fresh Eggs from the Folloy Farm,” “Fresh Eggs laid by Prize Hens,” and others.
 
OCLC WorldCat record
Andy’s Farm Fresh Produce.
Publisher: Healdsburg, 1965.
Edition/Format:  Image : Graphic : Picture Archival Material : English
 
OCLC WorldCat record
Nutritional value of Egg Beaters compared with “farm fresh eggs”.
Author: MK Navidi; FA Kummerow
Edition/Format:  Article : English
Publication: Pediatrics, 1974 Apr; 53(4): 565-6
Database: From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
   
OCLC WorldCat record
Farm fresh fruits and vegetables
Author: Alice King; Kansas. State Board of Agriculture. Marketing Division.; Kansas State University of Applied Science and Agriculture. Cooperative Extension Service.
Publisher: Manhattan, KS. : Cooperative Extension Service, Kansas State University, [1976]
Edition/Format:  Book : State or province government publication : English
   
OCLC WorldCat record
The Farm fresh cookbook
Author: Glynn Christian; Marion Luke; Janet Rutland; British Farm Produce Council.; County Markets.
Publisher: Muggington : County Markets, ©1983.
Edition/Format:  Book : English
     
Google Books
The Design of Advertising (7th edition)
By Roy Paul Nelson
Madison, WI: Brown & Benchmark
1994
Pg. 68:
Avoid the cliches of advertising copy. They include such words and phrases as at last, now, full-bodied, amazing, fast-acting, fabulous, farm-fresh, improved, giant size, quick relief, hurry, while supplies last, ...
 
Muskegon Farmers Market
Market Terms-Defined
July 31st, 2008
There is a lot of technical and confusing jargon used for agricultural produce and farming methods. This list of terms with their definitions should help you sort through all the market talk.
Farm Fresh: This phrase is a marketing term used in retail and direct farm sales. In general it means that the product is being purchased directly from a farm. If freshness is a concern, ask when the produce was harvested or the eggs collected.
 
Epicurious.com
Top 5 Most Annoying Food-Writing Clichés
by James Oliver Cury
on 06/02/09 at 09:57 AM
(...)
COMMENTS
serena72
04:09:59 PM on 06/02/09
I agree with all of the above.
How about “sublime”? Holy overuse, Batman!
“Farm fresh” pretty much guarantees it’s not.
 
The Food Section
Posted by Josh Friedland on Dec 14, 2009
farm·wash·ing (noun): A marketing technique used by some industrial food producers in which idyllic images of farming are deployed to create misleading messages about how their products are made.
 
A recent Washington Post article by Jane Black, entitled “‘Green’ cuisine not always as ordered,” quoted restaurant consultant Clark Wolf on how the use of farmwashing has cheapened the meaning of the terms “farm fresh” and “farm-to-table”:
 
The phrase “farm fresh was ruined in the American grocery store years ago. The American restaurant business is perfectly capable of ruining ‘farm-to-table,’ ” said New York restaurant consultant Clark Wolf. “It’s called ‘farm wash.’ And the other term is ‘B.S.’ ”
   
Serious Eats
Our Secret List of Banned Words
Posted by J. Kenji López-Alt, April 5, 2012 at 3:00 PM
(...)
Strictly Banned!
, Farm Fresh. It’s an overused phrase with little to no real meaning.
(...)
COMMENTS
“Farm Fresh!” No, but I have used the phrase “so fresh, it doesn’t know it’s dead yet!” (Thank you, Stephen King.)
Scott569 at 12:35PM on 04/06/12
(...)
A note about “farm fresh”: Years ago we had 80 laying hens, and according to the Department of Agriculture, we weren’t allowed to call our eggs “Farm Fresh”. The “inspected” places, that store the eggs for up to a month before they put them in the stores…only they were allowed to say “Farm Fresh”. *shrug*.
Cady36 at 3:58PM on 04/09/12
   
(Trademark)
Word Mark FARM FRESH
Goods and Services IC 031. US 046. G & S: FRESH FRUITS AND FRESH VEGETABLES. FIRST USE: 19390406. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19390406
Mark Drawing Code (1) TYPED DRAWING
Serial Number 73511769
Filing Date December 3, 1984
Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Published for Opposition August 8, 1989
Registration Number 1563627
Registration Date October 31, 1989
Owner (REGISTRANT) FARM FRESH, INC. CORPORATION VIRGINIA 7530 TIDEWATER WATER NORFOLK VIRGINIA 23505
(LAST LISTED OWNER) FF Acquisition, LLC LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY VIRGINIA 11840 Valley View Road Eden Prairie MINNESOTA 55344
Assignment Recorded ASSIGNMENT RECORDED
Attorney of Record Scott W. Johnston
Prior Registrations 0609215
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL-2(F)
Affidavit Text SECT 15. SECT 8 (6-YR). SECTION 8(10-YR) 20081210.
Renewal 1ST RENEWAL 20081210
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE
 
(Trademark)
Word Mark FARM FRESH
Goods and Services IC 031. US 046. G & S: FRESH VEGETABLES. FIRST USE: 19390406. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19390406
Mark Drawing Code (5) WORDS, LETTERS, AND/OR NUMBERS IN STYLIZED FORM
Serial Number 71652591
Filing Date September 1, 1953
Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Registration Number 0609215
Registration Date July 19, 1955
Owner (REGISTRANT) A. ARENA & CO., LTD. CORPORATION CALIFORNIA 606 S. HILL ST. LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA
(LAST LISTED OWNER) FARM FRESH, INC. CORPORATION ASSIGNEE OF VIRGINIA 11840 Valley View Road Legal Department Eden Prairie MINNESOTA 55344
Assignment Recorded ASSIGNMENT RECORDED
Attorney of Record ALFRED M. RANDOLPH, JR.
Prior Registrations 0379831
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL-2(F)
Affidavit Text SECT 15.
Renewal 2ND RENEWAL 19950727
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE
 
(Trademark)
Word Mark FARM FRESH
Goods and Services IC 042. US 101. G & S: SUPERMARKET SERVICES. FIRST USE: 19561203. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19561203
Mark Drawing Code (1) TYPED DRAWING
Serial Number 73340382
Filing Date December 7, 1981
Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Published for Opposition March 28, 1989
Registration Number 1544928
Registration Date June 20, 1989
Owner (REGISTRANT) FARM FRESH, INC. CORPORATION VIRGINIA 11840 Valley View Road Legal Department Eden Prairie MINNESOTA 55344
(LAST LISTED OWNER) FF Acquisition, L.L.C. LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY VIRGINIA 4860 Cox Road Glen Allen VIRGINIA 23060
Assignment Recorded ASSIGNMENT RECORDED
Prior Registrations 0609215
Type of Mark SERVICE MARK
Register PRINCIPAL-2(F)
Affidavit Text SECT 15. SECT 8 (6-YR). SECTION 8(10-YR) 20090622.
Renewal 1ST RENEWAL 20090622
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE
 
(Trademark)
Word Mark FARM FRESH
Goods and Services IC 029. US 046. G & S: FISH. FIRST USE: 19701105. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19710200
Mark Drawing Code (1) TYPED DRAWING
Serial Number 73822443
Filing Date August 30, 1989
Filing Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Published for Opposition January 15, 1991
Registration Number 1640632
Registration Date April 9, 1991
Owner (REGISTRANT) FARM FRESH CATFISH COMPANY CORPORATION MINNESOTA 501 - 16TH AVENUE N.E. AUSTIN MINNESOTA 55912
(LAST LISTED OWNER) FARM FRESH CATFISH COMPANY CORPORATION ASSIGNEE OF ARKANSAS 150 OPAL STREET HOLLANDALE MISSISSIPPI 38748
Assignment Recorded ASSIGNMENT RECORDED
Prior Registrations 1362213;2632213
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL-2(F)
Affidavit Text SECT 15. SECT 8 (6-YR). SECTION 8(10-YR) 20010707.
Renewal 1ST RENEWAL 20010707
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE