Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
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bags was $11 a week. I think we were at $230 or $240 if you signed up early
and $250 or $260 if you signed up later in the season. And the Rochester
people, since we deliver the bag, that is an extra $30 a season. We get a little
over a buck a week to deliver them. I am not making any money off it, but
at least I am getting paid something for it.” Plus Steve gives incentives for
signing up new customers. “We also offer a referral fee. Say you are happy
with the program and you have a neighbor that saw you getting it and they
are interested. If you sign them up, I'll knock off $10 of your sign-up fee.”
Steve is honest about the economic benefits of the CSA. “Like I say, it
does add some management challenges for us, but there is good margin in
it. You know, I won't try to schmooze ya. It will make us money.” So he is
trying to increase their membership, based on understanding the members'
needs. “In a few weeks I will be sending out what I call a year-end letter and
a survey that will give people my take on the season last year and maybe
any improvements we are thinking of doing in the coming year. It also has
pr
icing information for the coming year and we put in a survey also. We
ev
en put in an addressed return envelope, so people can send the survey
ba
ck without having to look for my address. We probably get 50 percent of
th
e people to send back the surveys; people are pretty good about that.”
To summarize his feelings about how the CSA fits within the farm: “We
lik
e this program.” Indeed, due to their organic certification and work in
id
entifying markets, their farm size has increased. In terms of farm size,
St
eve notes, “Since we have certified, we have picked up more ground for
gr
owing grains, and some of the soil is good for growing vegetables. We
ha
ve been up to five hundred acres in the last three or four years.” Of that
to
tal they own about three hundred tillable acres.
Luckily, Steve is organized and has developed an efficient system for
ba
gging and labeling the two hundred CSA bags. He downplays his system.
“
Well, we've been doing it seven years now, and we haven't changed the sys-
te
mmuch. We have a lot of people working here on our wholesale vegetable
sa
les. What we do on Friday afternoon my brother and I sit down and say,
w
hat are we giving the people this week. (We call them 'the people.') We
m
ake a list and give them two of this, one of this. And we just start sending
pe
ople out to pick, and since we know how many people we are dealing
with, we need eight hundred leeks because I want to give everyone four
leeks. I'll tell the guys, 'Get a little extra, get nine hundred.' There is nothing
worse than when we are bagging everything up, to run out just before we
are done. After everyone gets their four leeks, there are maybe a hundred
leeks left. That is kind of the perk for whoever drives out that week. That
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