Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
(CSA) operations forge direct links between nonfarm households and their CSA farms. New
grower-controlled marketing cooperatives are forming, especially in peri-urban areas, to
more effectively tap emerging regional markets for locally produced food and agricultural
products. Agricultural districts organized around particular commodities (such as wine) have
served to stabilize farms and farmland in many areas of the country. Community kitchens
provide the infrastructure and technical expertise necessary to launch new food-based en-
terprises. Specialty producers and on-farm processors of products for which there are not
well developed mass markets (deer, goat/sheep cheese, free-range chickens, organic dairy
products, artisanal cheeses, etc.) and small-scale, off-farm, local processors add value in loc-
al communities and provide markets for farmers who cannot produce or choose not to pro-
duce bulk commodities for the mass market. What these civic agriculture efforts have in com-
mon is that they have the potential to nurture local economic development, maintain diversity
and quality in products, and provide forums where producers and consumers can come to-
gether to solidify bonds of community.
Community-Supported Agriculture
Community-supported agriculture consists of a group of individuals or families who commit
resources (money and/or labor) to a farmer and become, in essence, shareholders of the farm. 3
In return for their investment, the shareholders receive part of what the farm produces that
season. CSA shareholders provide farmers with the money they need to finance their oper-
ations before the growing season begins. In this way, the shareholders incur along with the
farmers both the risks and the benefits of food production.
Most CSAs offer their members (shareholders) a variety of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and
flowers in season. Some CSAs also produce eggs, milk, meat, baked and canned goods, and
even firewood. In a recent study of how CSAs work, Bruno Dyck found that most ranged in
size from 35 to 200 shareholders. A typical box of food, usually distributed weekly, one per
shareholder, held between five and ten pounds of fruits and vegetables. Consumers pay from
$10 to $35 per week, and an average share for a season was $346. 4
Overall, successful CSAs are successful businesses. They have been able to carve out a
segment of the market for fresh, locally produced vegetables that consumers desire. Most
CSAs produce some or all of the “top eight” vegetables: corn, lettuce, carrots, tomatoes,
green beans, broccoli, onions, and potatoes. The successful CSA uses staggered plantings so
that shareholders have a wide variety of fresh food for a long period of time. And every sea-
son specialty items like berries and flowers are added to the season's bounty.
Each CSA is organized to meet the needs of its shareholders. CSAs vary according to the
level of financial and labor commitments of their members, their decision-making structures,
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