Three Springs Farm

Oakley, E. and M. Appel. 2008. How one customer revolutionized our CSA program. Growing for Market. Vol. 18, No 10.

Five years ago a regular farmer’s market customer shared with us his inventive spin on our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program.  We were at our Saturday farmers’ market in Tulsa, OK and were in the process of signing people up for our CSA program when he approached us with his proposal.

At the time, our CSA was like many across the country.  Members joined in the winter and received a half bushel basket of produce for twenty weeks throughout our growing season.  Like a good number of CSAs, it gave us the benefit of up-front winter income while giving members a 10-15% discount over our farmers’ market prices.  Members picked up their baskets each week at either the Wednesday or Saturday farmers’ market.

The customer who approached us with his innovation said that he wanted to support us by becoming a CSA member, but spent some of the summer out of town.  Rather than being bothered with trying to find friends to pick up his basket in his absence or being disappointed by missing out on so much of the harvest, he instead proposed paying us money upfront in the winter for a “debit” style system.  He would have an account with us off of which he could shop throughout the season.  It was such a compelling suggestion that we were eager to experiment.

The next season we opened up the “farmers’ market CSA”, as we call it, to fifteen customers and kept our regular “basket CSA” members.  It was only our second season in operation, so we wanted to be careful about not over-committing with too many members at once.

From the beginning, people were attracted to the farmers’ market CSA.  It gave them the chance to pick out whatever they wanted from our market table.  If they didn’t want cabbage, they didn’t have to take it.  If they wanted to get ten pounds of tomatoes one week, they could.  We subtract their weekly selections from their credit balance.   CSA members can shop from either the Wednesday and/or Saturday farmers’ markets.  As with the basket CSA, they receive a weekly newsletter with stories, photos, and recipes from the farm.  They get a ten percent bonus added on to their membership amount.

We have a somewhat cautious attitude towards change, so our transition to the farmers’ market CSA was measured.  We gradually added farmers’ market CSA memberships each season.  By our fourth year farming, we reached a cross-road in our marketing plan.  With an equal number of farmers’ market and basket CSA members, we felt we needed to make a strategic decision for future growth.  A central aspect of our farm philosophy is functioning as a two-person farm.  As a result, we have an obvious labor limitation.  We could not effectively expand either program since our energy was too divided to intensify either.  We felt we needed to choose one program or the other and do that well.

We ultimately opted to eliminate the basket CSA and focus exclusively on the farmers’ market CSA.  This was an arduous decision to make.  The basket CSA was a significant part of our identity as a farm.  We commonly had a waiting list three times the size of available membership spaces.  We knew there would be some people who would be unwilling to make the switch.  Although we were clearly averse to disappointing our loyal basket members, we finally concluded that we needed to do what was best for our farm.  And we have never looked back.

The benefits of doing away with the basket CSA are many.  No more market pickups.  Assembling the baskets was frequently one person’s full-time job for an hour during market set-up.  Perhaps most liberating is not worrying about growing so many unusual crops to satisfy the need for diversity in the baskets.  Watermelon diakon, for example, are fun for a basket CSA, but they were never a big money maker at our market stand.  We are no longer obliged to pay such close attention to the contents of member’s baskets from week to week to avoid repetition and boredom.  The result is that some of our time and fields have been freed up from growing crops that were not remarkably profitable.  We still grow a wide variety of crops; we are simply not as obsessive about it as we once were.  Another significant weight off of our minds is that with the farmer’s market CSA, we bring what we have.  No scrounging for forty equally-sized celery heads to fill the baskets.  Farmers’ market CSA customers know they must come early to get the best selection.

Which is why the farmers’ market CSA is not for everyone. Several former basket members have mentioned the convenience of knowing that even if they couldn’t get to the market early, there would still be a varied basket of produce waiting for them when they arrived.  Some people preferred the surprises inherent in the basket program.  They enjoyed being pushed to try new veggies they would not otherwise be likely to select from our market stand.  Some took particular pleasure in the novelty of having a basket of produce picked especially for them.  They said it was like regularly receiving a present.  Others used the basket program to inspire them to add more veggies to their diets as they knew they had a basket of produce ready for which they had already paid.  Ultimately, about one third of our basket customers chose not to become farmers’ market CSA members.  Nearly all of them continue to shop with us, though not with the same intensity as the basket CSA promoted.  Nevertheless the majority of basket members readily made the switch to the farmers’ market CSA and now prefer its flexibility.

We gain considerably from the farmers’ market CSA.  As was also the case with our basket CSA, we have a dedicated and informed group of customers who learn about the latest news on the farm and who care about our ups and downs.  Our habitual interaction at the market makes us each an essential part of the other’s life.  No matter the weather, we know we will always have a substantial number of CSA customers at each market, giving us a core group of supporters that makes setting up on rainy days comforting.  Moreover, when a wash out is predicted we often email the CSA the night before the market to remind them of our availabilities and promote their attendance.

Our CSA is now smoothly integrated into our farmers’ market arrangement.  Rather than competing with our time for traditional market sales, it adds to them.  Our CSA members tend to come to the market early, surrounding our stand with a vibrant crowd that attracts other customers.  People seem drawn to the busyness, as though there must be something good for sale at our table if so many people are gathered there.  CSA members are liable to try unusual crops since they have read about them in the newsletter.  They tend to take home extra produce, getting a wider selection and greater volume of veggies overall than regular market customers.  We have noticed that many of our CSA customers who were former traditional market customers spend more with us now than they did previously.  Since money is absent from the transaction, some CSA customers joking say that they feel like the veggies they get each week are “free”.  All agree that not having to be troubled about bringing money to the market is a major benefit.

We now have eighty-five farmers’ market CSA customers and a healthy waiting list.  Next year we expect to raise that number to 100, where we anticipate capping it.  That gives us sufficient working capital at the beginning of the season while not overwhelming us with too many obligations.

A critical aspect of the farmers’ market CSA is keeping track of every customer’s on-going balance.  We created an Excel spreadsheet listing each person’s name and their total.  Using a simple subtraction formula, we enter their weekly purchase amount, and Excel subtracts it from their on-going balance.  Because no cash is actually changing hands, CSA members are even faster to service than traditional farmers’ market customers whose money we must deposit and for whom we generally need to make change.

Despite its major advantages, no arrangement is perfect.  With eighty-five CSA members, we must remember that a certain percentage of the produce we bring to the market is technically already sold and will be picked up by our CSA members.  CSA selections generally comprise one third of our weekly market “sales”, depending upon the time of year and the volume of produce we bring each week.  There is a certain amount of paperwork involved, namely keep a tally going of their current balance as mentioned above.  Additionally, putting a name to everyone’s face and remembering them can be a bit challenging, especially at the start of each season.  There are always a few members each year who seem to enjoy the concept more than the reality and have a hard time making a regular commitment to attending the market to use their balances.

In the first few seasons, we carried over any remaining balances to the next year.  We soon learned that this created an untenable situation for us as we were starting each new year with residual debt from the previous season.  To remedy this we adopted a use-it-or-donate it policy.  Members must consume their entire balance each season, or the remainder will be donated in produce to a local food bank.  We encourage members to regularly inquire as to their balances to help them gauge their purchase totals.  We also try to make a point of telling each member their balance on the final market of each month.  Mid-way through the season we devote a newsletter to balances.

We allow three different membership amounts so that customers can select a size that adequately reflects the amount of veggies they eat: $200, $250, and $300.  For example, in our sign-up letter we remind them that there are approximately 20 weeks in our season.  So if they purchase a $200 share that is equivalent to buying $10 a week worth of produce.  Members can always add to their balances at any point should they use it all before the end of the season.  Those who do tend to re-up in fifty or one hundred dollar increments.  Any time they augment their balances, they are given the same ten percent bonus.

The success of the farmers’ market CSA is indicated by the high percentage of repeat customers.  We have averaged a roughly ten percent attrition rate each year; some people move, others build their own gardens, and a few find it doesn’t fit their needs.  Yet they overwhelmingly remain loyal customers and supporters.  Our CSA customers have become vital fixtures in our farm lives.

Each season we find a new reason to appreciate the farmers’ market CSA, and we have come to see it as the foundation of our farm.  Since starting the farmers’ market CSA, we have heard that other farms throughout the country have similar programs.  Our experience helped us see that CSAs are wonderfully adaptable, and they can be modified to fit the farm and its customers’ needs.

© Emily Oakley and Mike Appel 2009

Oakley, E. and M. Appel. 2008. Accepting food stamps at market: Good for everyone. Growing for Market. Vol. 17, No 6.

As farmers, we struggle with ways of making our food accessible to all, particularly low-income customers. One easy way of doing this is accepting food stamps at our farmers’ market stands.

Accepting food stamps is a win-win situation for farmers and food stamp recipients. It increases access to our products for low-income citizens who might not otherwise be able to purchase our goods. Many low income communities are “food deserts”, places where fresh fruits and vegetables are simply unavailable. The lack of healthy food options is often accompanied by a plethora of fast food restaurants and convenience stores that specialize in junk food. Making farmers’ markets available to food stamp clients can help ameliorate inequitable access to healthy food.

It also allows farmers to reach out to new clientele. In Iowa, where a collaborative effort between the Iowa Department of Human Services and the Iowa Farm Bureau provided farmers with free wireless Point of Sale (POS) devices, “each farmer that participated in the pilot reported an increase in revenue from 10-25% over the previous year, with average monthly sales of $2,730 (22% from food assistance customers)” (FNS). In Texas, “approximately $135,000 food stamp benefits were redeemed monthly at farmers markets and produce stands throughout [the state] between July 2005 and June 2006” (ibid). In our experience in Oklahoma, most of our food stamps clients have spent over $20 per sale.

An unintended benefit of accepting food stamps can be good press. We received a full-page story complete with color photos in our local newspaper the summer we started taking food stamps. Not only did this spread the word that people could use food stamps at the farmers’ market, we got strong positive feedback from our existing customers who appreciated what we were doing.

The Nuts and Bolts

The food stamp program is administered by the Food Nutrition Service (FNS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. According to FNS, 26 million people benefit from food stamps each month (USDA). Food stamps are no longer issued as paper coupons; instead, recipients receive an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card which they use throughout the month like a traditional debit, or ATM, card. This system allows for greater anonymity for food stamp clients while giving the vendor immediate reimbursement.

Food stamps can be accepted at farmers’ markets, farm stands, and farmer-owned storefronts. They can be used to purchase many of the items sold at farmers’ markets, including fruits and vegetables, breads and cereals, and meats, fish, poultry, and dairy products. They can even be used to purchase food-producing seeds and plants, such as tomato seedlings from greenhouse vendors. However, not all vendors at a market are qualified to accept food stamps. The regulations governing their use are strict—non-food items, such as soaps and crafts are not allowed. Other items, like prepared food, fall into a grey area. The rules state that hot food and items intended to be eaten on the premises are not permitted. For further clarification we recommend contacting you regional FNS field office for a comprehensive list of eligible products.

Either individual farms or farmers’ markets associations can apply to accept food stamps. From our perspective, farmers’ markets associations are the most convenient option. This model seems to work best because it is easier for the food stamp customers and the vendors and therefore has the greatest chance of success.

According to a 2006 FNS report, 23 states have farmers’ markets accepting food stamps (FNS). Each market that accepts food stamp sets up its own system for administering the program; however, one of the most common methods uses a single wireless POS terminal to swipe food stamp clients’ cards. The client indicates how much money they wish to spend and is then given wood tokens or scrip which range in denomination from $0.50, $1.00, $5.00, and up to $10.00. POS terminals are generally centrally located within the markets and are operated by the market manager and/or trained volunteers. The customer can use these tokens with any of the eligible vendors at the market. At the end of the day, vendors convert their tokens to cash with the market manager.

At the recent Southern SAWG annual conference, Andrew W. Smiley, Project Director with Sustainable Food Center in Austin, shared the details of their Farmers’ Market Food Stamp Initiative. He explained that many EBT machines can be programmed to accept both food stamps and commercial credit and debit cards. They created red colored tokens for food stamp patrons and green tokens for ATM customers (since there are no restrictions on ATM customer sales). ATM users are charged a $2.00 transaction fee just as they would be at most any other machine not from their home bank. This fee is used to help cover the wireless POS start-up and operating expenses. Start-up costs were approximately $2,000 for the wireless equipment, tokens, promotional materials, and training supplies. The monthly costs are $85 and include the wireless connection, food stamp and ATM transaction fees charged by the wireless processor, and materials. The Sustainable Food Center has documented their food stamp efforts and is willing to share their resources and insights with other market organizations. Their contact information can be found at the end of this article (Smiley).

Farmers markets are often aligned with a local non-profit, university, cooperative extension, and/or state departments of health and human services to support, advertise and administer the program. Partners can assist with the acquisition of transaction machines, which cost around $1,100. Likewise, grants have been used in some cases. State Departments of Health and Human Services can negotiate with EBT providers to provide free wireless machines to farmers and markets as part of their contracts. Several states have complimentary education and outreach programs to encourage involvement by food stamp clients, such as cooking demonstrations by local chefs.

There are some universal challenges to attracting food stamp customers, including possible language barriers, access to transportation, and perceptions of high prices. Partnering with a local government or non-profit social service agency is one way of addressing some of these barriers. Partners can spread the word by sending out press releases and by creating, translating, and distributing fliers to targeted neighborhood associations, social service agencies, senior centers, and churches. They might be able to create maps with public transportation routes to area markets as well.

If applying as a market is not an option, individual farms can apply to accept food stamps as independent retailers. Although more cumbersome, it is a good first step. Food stamp clients can cash in their benefits at any of the farm’s FNS-approved location (i.e. a Saturday and Wednesday market). In this case, the farm is assigned its own EBT machine for free. This machine requires a phone line and electricity to operate, which means you will need to go through two steps for each food stamp transaction. When you get a food stamp customer you tally their sales (minus sales tax) and enter their total, their name, their EBT card number, card expiration date, and your merchant identification number into a manual paper voucher. You then call a toll-free number provided to you by the POS contractor. The call guides you through the approval process to verify that the customer has sufficient funds for the purchase. You are prompted to give some information listed on the voucher and the customer is prompted to give their pin number. You subsequently receive an authorization code. After returning home from the market, you use your POS machine to enter in the transaction to complete the process.

There are advantages and drawbacks to each arrangement. If your farmers’ market does not currently accept food stamps and the association does not have a strong interest in participating, you can apply as an independent retailer and hopefully encourage other eligible vendors to join your efforts. One limitation to this scheme is that fewer vendors accepting food stamps at a given market lessens the incentive to attend by food stamp clients. If a farmers’ market association applies to accept food stamps, it streamlines the process by eliminating the need for individual farmer applications. Moreover, it alleviates the farmer of the burden of performing the EBT transactions.

The Application Process

How you apply to become eligible to accept food stamps depends on who the “authorized retailer” will be—the individual farmer or the farmers’ market association.

The first step in the application process is determining whether or not your market is interested in applying as the authorized retailer. This might entail approaching your farmers’ market board and polling market members to gauge their interest. The market applying to FNS is the entity legally responsible for all paperwork and guaranteeing compliance of the regulations. If the market is going to apply, the market manager and board should work together to figure out how the program will be implemented. Who is responsible for filling out the application? Who will manage the logistics of acquiring the POS machine, training farmers, etc? Who will be in charge of processing EBT transactions at the market? A quick web search of food stamps at farmers’ markets will reveal several organizations working at the local level on market-wide food stamp acceptance, and undoubtedly many of them would be willing to share their experiences.

After deciding who the authorized vendor is, call 1-877-823-4369 to request an application form. Visit the FNS website to review eligibility requirements, frequently asked questions, and other program details: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/. Find out if your state has any existing farmers’ market programs and contact them for advice and potential partnerships. If you have questions specific to your area, you can speak to your regional FNS field office.

The application form will ask for a couple of key documents: license to operate, which may be a business license or a sales tax permit; identification for all owners, which is generally a drivers’ license and a social security card; and some form of a lease agreement for the market or your individual stand within the market. When filling out the application, attach a list all of the products you grow and the month or season in which they are sold. It is important to note that each application is location-specific. Contact you FNS regional office to learn how to apply to accept food stamps when selling at different farmers’ markets throughout the week.

Once FNS has received your properly signed and completed application, they have 45 days to accept or reject it. In determining your eligibility, they will send an inspector on an unannounced visit your stand or market to verify that you are selling the items listed in your application. They will want to see that you have a cash register or calculator for tallying sales totals.

Once approved, you will be contacted by your state’s EBT machine contractor. If applying as a market the contactor can tell you how and where to purchase a wireless POS device. If you are an individual farmer they will mail you a wired POS device. The POS contractor will ask you to fill out an agreement form which will include your business’s bank account information. This allows the contractor to directly and immediately deposit payment remittance to your account once a transaction has been submitted and approved.

Final Thoughts

Increasing the number of vendors and farmers markets accepting food stamps is a step towards increasing access to local food by all members of our communities. This encourages healthy eating among all segments of our communities.

References:

Food and Nutrition Service. “2006 EBT Farmers’ Market Projects Status Report”. http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/ebt/ebt_farmers_markstatus.htm. Accessed on 01/22/08.

Smiley, Andrew. “Electric Benefits Transfer and Farmers’ Markets: Austin Farmers’ Markets Food Stamp Initiative”. Presented at Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Conference, Louisville, KY. January 18, 2008.

U.S. Department of Agriculture. “Food Stamp Program”. http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/. Accessed on 01/27/08.

Resources:

Andrew W. Smiley, Project Director, Sustainable Food Center Austin, TX. Phone: 512-236-0074 ext 2. Email: andrew@sustainablefoodcenter.org.

Oakley, E. 2006. “Winter Travel to Farms Exposes Growers to Wealth of Ideas That Can Be Used At Home”. Growing for Market, Vol. 15, No. 10.

The middle of the summer always seems to bring us to our breaking point. Somewhere between the triple digit heat and the 16-hour workdays, we find ourselves longing for a change of pace, and place. Last July, while sorting through box upon box of heirloom tomatoes, we decided that we needed a vacation! The idea of winding up the season in the fall and hitting the road made the rest of the summer fly by.

In trying to figure out where to go, we had several inspirations that made the trip financially feasible. We wanted to make the journey a marriage of pleasure and learning. A friend working for the United Nations in Rome and a grandmother staying with her sister in Israel made a visit to the Middle East by way of Italy seem a likely choice. Eventually, we settled on stopping in Lebanon first, followed by Syria, Jordon, Israel, and Italy.

We have been farming for three seasons, but our backgrounds are in international agricultural development. We used our experiences interning with small-scale farm institutes to help us locate like-minded individuals and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that we could call on. The internet was a terrific resource. Searching for organizations with an emphasis on sustainable agriculture, we discovered that it was easy to locate contact information and to make preparations for a visit. We arranged to meet with farmers and community groups in each country before leaving. Scheduling our plans in advance took an upfront investment of time and energy during our busy part of the year, but is also guaranteed us an appointment with the places we most wished to visit.

With summer coming to a close, we began to look forward to our trip with great anticipation. As growers, we are generally focused on the local nature of our day-to-day operations. It can be easy to forget that we all belong to an international community of farmers. Visiting with farmers in other parts of the world reminds us that despite cultural and geographic distances, we share common challenges and rewards. Although our climatic, cropping, and marketing conditions may vary, there are universal ties that connected us as market growers. We learned this lesson in each place we visited, as we exchanged farming tips, variety preferences, and marketing strategies. The emotional satisfaction we gained was equally matched by the pragmatic tools and techniques we acquired.

Our first stop was Lebanon. There we met with an organization called MECTAT, Middle East Center for the Transfer of Appropriate Technology, and took a field trip to several rural villages in the southern part of the country to observe home garden demonstrations of grey-water harvesting. MECTAT employs community leaders to design and implement irrigation systems using recycled kitchen and laundry waste water for home garden tree crops. In this dryland region, water conservation takes on a special significance during the summer months when rainfall is scarce or non-existent. The project was geared towards women since they are typically in charge of home garden production. It taught them how to safely utilize their waste water to increase fruit and nut yields by turning a liability into an asset.

Simple technology is used to deliver the irrigation water from the home to the fields. Water flows from pipes in the kitchen sink outside to a series of three plastic holding tanks. Here suspended particles settle and are digested. The water passes through a filter before being discharged into the t-tape. Households must be careful about the types of cleaning solutions they use to avoid salt build-up in the soil. The women with whom we spoke were all satisfied with the yield increases they observed in their peaches, figs, apples, almonds, persimmons, grapes, and other fruit crops. Even though we have considered experimenting with gray water harvesting ourselves, seeing it action gave us the inspiration we needed to jumpstart our own design. Variations on this system have great potential for waste water from the packing shed and post-harvest cleaning.

Our next visit was to a watermelon/cucumber farm outside of Aleppo, Syria. Here we met Mahmoud whose father manages their farm for supplemental income. As we were taking a tour of the fields and sharing ideas on production methods, we noticed that they use t-tape for their irrigation system. They explained that rapidly sinking water tables due to unsustainable water harvesting for crops like cotton have heightened the need for more moderate water consumption. We asked them where they purchase their hose each season, curious about the businesses serving small-scale producers in his area. Mahmoud told us that they save it from one year to the next, and then showed us how they store it using a locally-produced t-tape winder. A center roll hangs between two wheels, upon which is attached a hand crank. The end of the t-tape is inserted into a notch in the roll and is quickly wound up. The tool is mounted on a small hand truck, allowing for easy movement between rows and fields.

We had long wondered how to improve our own t-tape recycling system, and this technique motivated us to make some key changes. Upon returned home, we screwed on a makeshift hand crank to the recycled electric wire spools we use to store our tape. In the past, we turned the wheel with our hands, relying on muscle power. Now we use the strategically placed hand crank to spin the spool, making for a faster and less strenuous task. Where we once suspended the spool on a pole held up between two saw horses, we now attach the spools to a pole mounted on the three-point hitch of the tractor. Like the winder in Syria, this makes it easy to move the spool from one bed to the next. We went to the farm expecting a standard appointment and left with a practical innovation that we successfully applied to our own operation.

In Israel, we stopped by a biodynamic kibbutz (a communal farm) to meet about their value-added marketing efforts. The kibbutz runs a therapeutic center for mentally challenged children. As part of their treatment, the children participate in the kibbutz’s organic vegetable and herb farm. Products from the garden are sold at a market stand on the kibbutz. Leftovers are dehydrated into a soup mix which helps diversity the farm’s business and finds a lucrative use for otherwise perishable commodities. We saw this product at several natural food stores throughout the country. Though not many small farms can afford value-added equipment, it suggests partnership opportunities with local universities, food banks, and community centers where farmers can borrow the facilities to make their own locally-grown, locally-produced food items.

After the kibbutz, we traveled to the Israeli Palestinian village of Sakhnin where a local university student has formed a community organization to preserve traditional farming methods. Laithi Gnaim of Arassid showed us around the organization’s experimental field plots and nursery. We even had the opportunity to help his family with their annual olive harvest—not a crop we see a lot of in Oklahoma. He is researching drought tolerant field crops with a strong marketing potential that he can trial and introduce to village farmers. The town has no access to irrigation water, and many of the young people are abandoning farming. Laithi hopes to find a way to encourage new farmers by making agriculture profitable. A major obstacle has been locating unique, climatically-appropriate crops to test. Upon returning home, we contacted Native Seeds/SEARCH in Arizona, a non-profit specializing in protecting Native American crops of the desert Southwest. Although Israel and Arizona might seem an unlikely combination, they actually share numerous agroecological variables. Native Seeds/SEARCH generously agreed to send Arassid a sampling of varieties, which Laithi eagerly planted this summer. We look forward to reading his progress report this winter.

Our most intensive and intimate farm stay was in Italy. After several days of sight seeing with our friend in Rome, we headed off to bucolic Tuscany to work with an organic farm family. Back in late summer we became members of Willing Workers On Organic Farms (WWOOF) Italy in hopes of finding a farmer with whom we could organize a farmer-to-farmer exchange. By joining WWOOF we received a listing of hundreds of farms across the country that swap seasonal farm help for room and board. Most WWOOF volunteers are not farmers; however, we wrote to farmers that expressed an interest in mutually beneficial learning experiences, optimistic that we would find someone who wanted more than just an extra pair of hands.

WWOOF provides detailed descriptions of the farms, and this made sorting through the directory straightforward. We identified the farm in Tuscany, contacted the farmer, and were delighted to receive his hearty welcome. He was interested in precisely the sort of exchange we sought. We traveled from Rome to his hamlet, Vicchio, where his wife picked us up and drove us up the mountains to their farm. There Saverio and Rosella cultivate, vegetables, herbs, fruit, olives, chestnuts, and firewood, living in the restored stone farmhouse that has been their home for the past thirty years.

Saverio and Rosella own a certified organic farm, and they sell their products at an all local, all organic farmers’ market in nearby Florence. At this special market, a majority of the ingredients in all processed food items must be made with food grown and refined by the vendor. The spelt pasta I bought was made with grain grown and ground by the farmer/vendor. At this market, prepared foods are seen as a way for the farmer to capture more of the customer’s dollar and to increase his/her sales. Selling value-added products can give the farmers income in the winter months and extend the shelf life of perishable items (for example, by turning tomatoes in to pasta sauce or strawberries into juice). Lessons learned from Florence have been instructive in evaluating the potential for more local ingredients at our own farmers’ market.

Our friendship with Saverio and Rosella continues to flourish. Our customers enjoyed eating the broccoli rabe seed we learned to grow from Saverio. We regularly exchange thoughts on organic certification rules, inspection prices for small-scale growers, recipes, and unique crop varieties. This relationship has blossomed far beyond our expectations and now epitomizes on-going farmer-to-farmer exchange.

As wonderful as most of the visits were, not all of them worked out as we had hoped. Good planning cannot always prevent mistakes or undesirable outcomes. We went to a WWOOF farm in Sicily that proved to be a complete disaster. The farmers had not paid their workers in three months, people were poised to resign, and there was precious little time left to deal with us. While this certainly was not what we anticipated, we simply altered our plans and headed back to Rome early. We used the bonus time to visit a local farm cooperative, several farmers’ markets, and various natural food stores. In the end, we realized the importance of maintaining back-up arrangements and a flexible attitude.

If you can afford the time and extra cash, visiting an international agricultural project is a valuable education in global farm networking. Linking with organizations such as WWOOF and traveling in the tourist off-season can make your trip more affordable.

Sharing your trip with farmers’ market customers and CSA members through articles, photos, and brochures of the places you have visited extends the reach and impact of your experiences. In talking with other farmers, you are each the “experts”; you will find you have something to learn and to teach. Cultural exchange through travel unites us with the movement for sustainable agriculture beyond our home communities, and shows us the broader meaning of what we do.

© 2006 Emily Oakley 2006

Appel, M. and E. Oakley.  2005.  From interns to farmers: taking the plunge from dream to reality.  Small Farmer’s Journal.  Vol. 29, No. 3.

Most children growing up in suburbia dream of becoming doctors and lawyers, teachers and policemen.  Not many kids in America’s cities decide they want to be farmers when they grow up.  However, there are an increasing number of young people exploring small-scale sustainable agriculture through farm internships and apprenticeships.  More and more of them are discovering their passion for farming along the way, and taking the plunge towards owning and operating their own farms.  That is exactly what happened to us.  This article is about the steps we took to start our small farm, how we applied what we already knew, and what we learned through the process.

Like others, we were drawn to sustainable agriculture because it weaves together beliefs about the environment, social justice, education, healthy food, and community building.  Unlike many of our childhood friends who struggle to find meaning in an office cubicle, we feel fortunate to have a profession that is both a livelihood and a way of living.

How did we learn to become farmers if we did not grow up on farms?  Although we studied sustainable agriculture in college, it was not until we were farm interns and received hands-on, practical experience that we really learned what farming truly entailed.  Translating that knowledge to our own operation has been a fascinating and exciting challenge. Yet even the most comprehensive internship cannot teach everything.  We hope that through our mishaps and adventures this article can shed some light on what is necessary to start a farm from scratch for budding farmers and their mentors.

The Big Challenge: Finding Land

In the fall of 2003, after finishing four combined years of internships and jobs on two successful organic farms in California, we moved to Emily’s hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma.  Our dream was to have a farm that was big enough to support us financially, but small enough to operate without hiring employees.

Many people have asked us why we chose Oklahoma.  First, it really helped that Emily had an existing network of support from family and friends here.  Second, land is relatively affordable.  And third, through preliminary research, we believed there was a high demand for local organic vegetables with vast opportunity for more suppliers.

Since we did not inherit property and we had no independent source of monies finding land was, and still is, our biggest challenge.  We thought we could move to Oklahoma in the fall, buy land shortly thereafter, till it up, and plant a crop in the spring.  We did plant a crop that spring, but not as we originally planned.

Neither of us had experience with real estate, and we had to start at ground zero.  We wanted a farm within an hour’s driving distance to Tulsa.  This meant looking at a grand total of 15 surrounding counties!  We had no idea how to find an agent for rural property spread out over such a large area.  After numerous phone calls and visits to several real estate offices, we finally found a realtor willing to work with us who was familiar with our needs.

Although our idea seemed simple enough at first, we soon discovered that productive farmland is hard to come by in northeastern Oklahoma.  We looked at countless properties in four months.  We joked that if farming did not work out, we could always go into the rural real estate business.  The fall quickly became winter and there were no properties that met our criteria of fertile soil, access to water, within our price range, and with at least ten acres of tillable land.  There is some excellent soil right on the edge of Tulsa, but the majority is being paved over for housing developments, which keeps the prices far beyond our reach.

By the end of January 2004 we were starting to think that maybe it was time to pull out the classifieds and forget farming for the year when we found land to lease.  Through a series of contacts we were put in touch with a family who owned acreage just on the periphery of Tulsa.  They generously offered us use of two acres of horse pasture.  To make the whole situation even more remarkable, they also had a 60 horsepower tractor, a harrow, and a roterra which they were also happy to let us use.  All they wanted in return was vegetables!  Our dream was saved at the eleventh hour.

While it may seem like our experience is completely random, we think it is actually very transferable.  There are people around the country who are willing to provide access to land, and even equipment, to beginning farmers.  The tricky part can be finding them.  It is very important to tell anyone and everyone that you are trying to start a farm – you never know who will be able to help you.  We found our land through a labyrinth of people: the state organic inspector put us in contact with a woman in Tulsa working on local foods issues who put us in touch with her friends who own the land we now lease.  It is a wonderful example of the importance of networking and leaving no stone unturned.

In retrospect, we believe that leasing was infinitely better than buying our own land during our first season.  There are enough stresses and learning curves during the first year of growing without the added pressure of a mortgage.  Yes, we will have to start over again when it comes to building up the soil and getting the weeds under control when we eventually buy our own land, but the benefits far out weigh the negatives.  The biggest and single most important advantage was not going in debt while we were still learning about growing on our own in a climate different from our previous experience.

Even though we were originally against leasing, we now encourage all prospective farmers to consider renting during the first couple of years.  At the end of that time, you will have a better idea of the local geography.  Also, a more complete understanding of how your system operates and what your needs are in a property will benefit your business.  Additionally, several successful years of growing are essential in applying for a loan.

On the Paper Trail: Research and Development

Finding land was just one aspect among the many facets of starting our own farm.  As apprentices, farming felt like a state of being.  In fact, it is as much a business as any other self-employed venture.  Learning to think in business terms was one of the most crucial aspects of our transition into farmers.  It was on this paper trail that we become aware of what we did not learn as interns.

We jumped into the administrative details through a series of research and development tasks.  This was critical since it got us thinking about what we needed to do to get our farm venture initiated.

We started by writing a business plan.  We read about business plans and began putting our thoughts on paper.  This plan was not meant for a loan, like most business plans are, but for our own organizational purposes.  Our first steps were based on researching marketing outlets, meeting our “cooperatition” (to borrow a great term we learned in California which refers to other farms who are your competition, but with whom you also cooperate in terms of sharing equipment and ideas), budgeting, and becoming familiar with local resources.

Many farmers have told us that the easy part is growing the food; the hard part is selling it.  Our primary goal was to decide how we were going to market our produce.  We wanted to replicate the model we learned in California.  It entails a three pronged approach – farmers’ market, CSAs, and wholesale.  Of course we would be operating on a smaller scale, but we wanted as many different venues as possible to spread our risk.

The farmers’ market was straightforward.  Tulsa has one main market that has become very popular in the last couple of years.  We sent out postcards to anyone we could think of announcing the farmers’ market dates to solicit customers.  Almost all of these people came to the market at some time during the season.  For our CSA we decided to keep the membership to ten of our family friends.  The wholesale world was more difficult.  In the fall, we called restaurants that we thought might be interested in local foods to see what we could grow that they would want to buy.  Many restaurants were not accustomed to buying locally; nevertheless, a few did express an interest and we contacted them again once the season was underway.

We also wanted to get a sense of the state of organic vegetable farming in Oklahoma.  It is important to know how many other people in your area are doing what you are doing.  These farmers are an instant source of support, resources, and community.  We made appointments with all of the nearby organic vegetable farms or those offering CSAs.  Meeting with these growers was extremely helpful as they shared their experience about weather, customer demands, variety selection, pricing, and other locally-specific information.

The hardest part of writing our business plan was the budget.  It was hard to anticipate all of our costs and project our income.  We began by making a list of everything we remembered using in our internships.  It is amazing how many materials are needed to plant vegetables on a couple of acres.  The budget helped streamline the items we absolutely had to purchase the first year and to negotiate for the rest.

Other items we explored for our business plan were record-keeping systems, business structure and legal organization, and insurance.  We also examined our target sales, developed a planting calendar and a harvest schedule, and explored government and private organizations working on sustainable agriculture. Ultimately, we were able to use our business plan format to successfully apply for a grant from the Oklahoma State Department of Agriculture.

By joining local sustainability advocacy groups, we tapped into a captive audience and benefited from a free source of advertising.  We took every opportunity to list our farm on relevant websites.  Although this is a strategy not likely to yield immediate results, it eventually led to customers, contacts, and even media publicity.

We touched base with our county cooperative extension agent, attended local farm shows, and began subscribing to trade journals.

The realization that we are not only a farm but also a business led us down a bureaucratic road.  There were government agencies we needed to register with, fees to be paid, and forms to be filled out.  We attended workshops offered by the IRS and the Oklahoma Tax Commission which helped us navigate the process.  We attended classes presented at our local library on topics such as the difference between employees and independent contractors, applying for a sales tax permit, and setting up a small business accounting program.  It was discovering the finer points of being a self-employed business owner, like registering for our Federal Employee Identification Number (FEIN), that finally helped us convert the dream of farming to actually becoming farmers.

Challenges Along the Way

Along the line of finances, we needed a sizable nest egg to live off of during our start-up months.  We saved money from our internships and previous jobs, but we also benefited from having a cheap place to stay during our R & D phase.  Getting the farm operational was a full-time job, but without any income.  Anyone planning on starting their own farm should think through their financial needs (car payments, health insurance, student loans), and make sure to have an adequate amount saved to pay bills while still having enough for working capital.

Oklahoma is not vegetable farming country.  This made finding equipment and supplies suitable for our projects somewhat difficult.  We bought as much as we could from local hardware stores, building shops, irrigation stores, and used equipment dealers, but we also had to supplement by mail ordering from companies that specialize in small vegetable farm supplies.  Finding a high-quality supply of compost for example, took weeks and was a source of major frustration.  This is where we experienced the downside of a small farming community—there were not many people to turn to for help with resources.

Another challenge was the lack of access to credit for beginning farmers.  We spent several months investigating loan options for working capital and farm real estate.  Unfortunately, there are just a few.  The Farm Service Agency operated by the USDA does give loans to beginning farmers at low interest rates.  However, the loans take many months to process.  Unless you are buying land from someone who can wait months to get paid, this is not a viable option.  Banks and other credit institutions will not even entertain the idea of financing a farm operation until you have demonstrated two successful years of operation.  Our only viable source of capital would have been asking one of our parents to cosign a loan with us.  Ultimately, we used our own small savings to buy what we needed to get started.

Taking the Plunge

With business plan in hand and land under our feet we were finally ready to start putting our money where our dreams were.  Our first purchase was a six hundred dollar seed order.  We now knew that we were jumping in full force and that there was no turning back.

Ordering seeds was surprisingly laborious.  We needed to figure what and how we were going to plant.  We stuck with varieties we were familiar with and ones that do well in the hot, humid climate of Oklahoma (which we learned from our cooperative extension service).  We took educated guesses on how much we would need.  We had to accept that we were going to make mistakes, and we did.  We over planted lettuce and broccoli – but in the process we learned which varieties do well and which do not.

In Oklahoma, spring arrives quickly.  At end of January when we secured our land, we immediately started considering field preparation and greenhouse work.

With the help of a local farm couple, we constructed a small, economical 10 x 20 greenhouse.  We bent EMT conduit (electrical tubing) to make the bows and used rebar and T-posts as anchors.  We are proud to say it survived an Oklahoma spring which is no small feat (think “Tornado Alley”).  To maximize the amount of space in our humble greenhouse, we used 200 cell plug flats.  Even through our greenhouse may sound small, we can grow over 20,000 plants in there at one time!

While our plants were starting to grow in their propane heated home, we began the process of turning a horse pasture into a vegetable farm.  As interns, the farms we worked on had their usual share of weed problems, but we could not help but look back and wonder how they ever turned their grassy fields into rows of beautiful crops.  We made several passes with the roterra and harrow, and then hand raked out the Bermuda grass (this is a noxious pasture grass that is a hardy perennial – it is nearly impossible to get rid of as it spreads through underground runners).  This tillage method worked well by bringing the Bermuda up to the surface of the soil.  The harrowing reduced the amount of soil still attached to the roots.  Although hauling out all of that material took time, it was well worth it as it saved us hours of futile weeding during the summer.

Our next step was assessing our soil situation.  An afternoon of digging with a soil probe showed us that our soil varies greatly throughout the field, from a clay loam to a sandy loam.  A soil test indicated we were low in NPK.  We bought 25 tons of mushroom compost from a local mushroom farm and started spreading it, along with some soft rock phosphate and granite dust, with a wheel barrow and shovel.  We applied it directly in the bed furrows in order to maximize the amount of nutrients close to the plant roots.  The plants responded well to this method, but our backs definitely did not.  This was a lesson in the benefits of borrowing a manure spreader.  Throughout the growing season we side-dressed with an organic granular fertilizer and foliar fed with fish emulsion.

Using a modified cultivator we made 30” raised beds.  This system evolved from the equipment we already had on hand.  Raised beds are critical in Oklahoma as it is not uncommon for storms to produce four or more inches of rain in less than an hour.  The 30” beds worked well, but we decided later in the season we could plant more efficiently on the 60” beds we had learned to use in our internships.

By the end of February we were planting spinach and carrots with our Earthway seeder.  We found the Earthway to be ineffective with most seeds.  Towards the middle of the season we borrowed a Planet Jr. from the local land grant university’s research farm which worked infinitely better.  Planting is still a tricky task for us as we have not mastered seed depth or the optimal number of seeds per foot.  On our internships we took for granted the farmers’ ability to remember the spacing and depth requirements of each individual seed.

As the season progressed we realized why there is such a dearth of vegetable farms in northeastern Oklahoma – the weather and the bugs.  Oklahoma has a reputation for producing tornados, but the real weather trouble is from intense thunderstorms that produce hail, wind gusts, and heavy rains.  Luckily for us we only received hail once and it was very early in the season.  On the other hand, we received several heavy rain storms that ripped holes in on our lettuce and actually killed tomatoes plants from water-logged soil.

We were also unprepared to deal with the pest pressure.  Every week we seemed to notice a new insect that was wreaking havoc on our crops.   Fortunately for us we have a fantastic cooperative extension agent who helped us identify our wide range of bugs.  We learned to accept loosing some crops to diseases and insects.  Our internships taught us the value of growing a diversity of crops and the lesson served us well.

A huge difference between established farms like the ones we worked on in California, and a new farm is the weeds.  The weeds were overwhelming us.  With a two person operation there is only so much time that can be dedicated to weeding.  We wanted impeccably clean rows of crops, but eventually we learned to think of weed control as an on-going process.  Towards the end of the season we rigged up an old C-shank cultivator to help weed one and two-row crops.  Although it was not a perfect solution, it saved us our most valuable resource: time.

As interns we did not fully appreciate the maneuvering and juggling required to harvest in time for market, CSA, and wholesale orders.  With several interns, farmers, and employees, picking and packing gets spread over many hands.  When you are getting started, you have only yourself to rely on to get the work done.  There were some harvest days when the strain of being a two person operation was pretty intense.  If we did not get the produce picked ourselves, no one else was going to do it for us.  We wanted to harvest crops the day before the market so they would be as fresh as possible.  Harvest days were grueling, but also incredibly rewarding.  Our “cooler” is an example of a satisfying innovation we devised.  It is an insulated room in a barn with a window AC unit.  We were able to keep the temperatures near 50 degrees even in the heat of summer.  Learning to creatively solve our obstacles has been an enjoyable experience.

We tried to keep as many records as possible.  Some examples of the records we kept are: daily field logs, planting calendars, harvest records, market journals of what we sold and at what price, and pest control and fertility applications.  These records were extremely helpful preparing for the next year.  We were able to determine which crops made the most money, which varieties did well, and how much time we spent on particular tasks.  And though at the time we thought we were being too obsessive, there were still some details we missed.  Looking up a reference guide on records for small farms is an excellent way to find out what you should be keeping track of.

In order to give aspiring farmers an idea of our costs, we have broken down some “typical” expenses a beginning farmer would incur on a similar acreage.  This was one obstacle that we had a hard time anticipating before getting started, but is it key to deciding if you are going to have enough start-up capital.

• Seeds – $725
• Fertilizers and compost – $650
• Pest control – $125
• Greenhouse construction – $450
• Greenhouse supplies – $550
• Field tools and supplies – $1900
• T tape irrigation supplies – $900
• Harvesting and washing supplies – $500
• Cooler – $350
• Market supplies  – $850
• Fuel – $150
• Hardware tools – $120
• Office supplies – $350
• Utilities – $500

Altogether we spent over $17,500.  That number includes a tractor for $5500 and a pick up truck for $3200.  The lower you can keep your costs of course, the higher your profit.  But many of these items are one-time expenses.  Keeping track of your annual expenses is the best way to budget how much you can afford to spend on new equipment each year.

Lessons Learned

Our first year far exceeded our expectations in terms of sales.  We were able to pay ourselves back the money we invested in the farm (this money will be needed for a down payment for property) and make a few major purchases, like our John Deere 820 tractor.  In the coming years we want to focus on labor and back-saving equipment.

Without our prior farming experience and the guidance of the farmers we worked for, we would not have been able to begin our farm.  Our internships gave us an automatic production framework which made it possible for us to move to a new location and fruitfully produce a crop our first year.  Not every technique was transferable, but the basic skills and understandings were.  We adapted what we already knew to meet the current situation.

Before we started, thinking of starting our own farm was an overwhelming prospect.  There are many avenues to consider: record-keeping, tillage, post harvest handling, pest control, irrigation, marketing, greenhouse work, harvesting, and unanticipated circumstances.  We tackled each situation as it arose, and tried not to get bogged down with the constant list of chores and work.  The important fact to remember is that you only have one first year.

We hope prospective farmers have gained new insight into questions to ask their farmer-mentors.  If you are really serious about becoming a farmer, try to get as much as exposure to each phase of the operation as possible.  When you have your own operation, the work will not be all planting, weeding, and harvesting.

Likewise, we hope this article helps farmers teach their interns how to bridge the gap between the idea farming and the reality of farming.  Farming is so labor-intense that it can be easy to focus on getting the work done.  But if you are truly trying to grow farmers as well as crops, remember your own first year and what lesson you wish someone had shared with you.

The most important lesson we learned last year was how much we love farming.  We would not trade a day in the sunshine transplanting, hearing words of encouragement from our customers, or spotting the first tomato of the season for any other profession.

Emily and Mike can be contacted at farmers@threespringsfarm.com for more information or support on getting started.

© Mike Appel and Emily Oakley 2005

Oakley, E. and M. Appel.  2006.  Growing a CSA from scratch: creating community and improving your farm’s bottom line.  Acres USA, Vol. 36, No. 4.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs enable many small-scale growers throughout the country to maintain economic viability, develop strong relationships with their customers, and provide an alternative marketing outlet to corporate food systems.  CSA farmers commit to producing food, and community members pledge to buy it, throughout a growing season.  Each party shares in the risks and rewards of farming.  Members pay an up-front fee to supply the farmer with much-needed capital at the beginning of the season, guaranteeing an outlet for his or her products.  In exchange, members get fresh, local produce picked just for them, and an intimate connection to the people growing their food.  This article explores the steps necessary to start a CSA program on your farm.

Why Start a CSA?

The greatest benefit to CSA farmers is capital received at a time of year when expenses are high and cash-flow is low.  This upfront money makes it possible to avoid borrowing for seasonal start-up costs, such as seeds and compost.  CSAs are a consistent income that takes some of the gambling out of farming.  When farmers’ markets are rainy and sales are slow, a CSA can help stabilize your monthly earnings.  In addition, by selling directly to the consumer farmers’ gain a price advantage over wholesale.  CSAs are also a great avenue for distributing bountiful harvests.

A CSA is not only good for you; it is also good for customers.  Besides forming a connection with the farm, they experience the joys of eating fresh, healthy food.  Along with the produce, most CSAs give members a newsletter containing recipes, photos, and stories from the field.  For many customers, a CSA is a convenient way to get produce and encourages them to try new foods.  Each week brings new food surprises, creating awareness about eating with the seasons.

The Mechanics of Getting Started

Growing for a CSA

The most important aspect of CSA success is a knowledgeable and experienced farmer.  A CSA requires the ability to plan and project estimated harvest yields.  You need an accurate idea of how much of each item must be grown, when you can expect to begin harvesting, and for how long it will produce.

CSAs generally deliver produce on a weekly basis.  First, you must define the length of your season.  We suggest giving yourself enough flex room on either end of the season so that your fields are well into production by the time the CSA starts and harvests are still abundant by the time it ends.  Next, you must determine how much food you aim to deliver each week based on the length of the CSA season and the number of customers.  This will help you decide how much of each item you should grow and when.  Succession planting helps maintain a prolonged harvest of staple crops.

Diversity is essential!  Few people want to eat cabbage for ten weeks in a row, so growing a wide a variety of crops is important in retaining customers from one year to the next.  Plan to grow spring, summer, and fall crops.  Stretching the seasons can be a good way of maximizing selections.  Always give yourself plenty of wiggle room in the numbers and types of crops you have growing at any given time so that you have enough “inventory” to work with in determining weekly offerings.  This will help avoid repetition and keep customer’s interest.

Where to Find Customers

A great place to start looking for customers is with a previously established consumer base, such as farmers’ market clients.  These people already know what you grow, how your operation works, and what to expect.  A CSA can make a good customer even better by giving them the chance to make a bigger, more regular commitment, helping you generate new revenue.

Drawing in new customers is best done through big venues, particularly those whose members are likely to be interested in your product.  Local civic groups, churches, and businesses can be good places to reach out to large numbers of people at one time.  Host informal meetings to discuss your CSA, answer questions, and sign up members.  Passing out an informational brochure gives potential members a quick run-down of what the CSA program has to offer and how they can join.

Advertising Your Product

The key to attracting customers is educating them about the benefits of what you are selling.  In this case, it is both a tangible product and an idea.  Most people who join CSAs care about how their food is being grown and by whom.  Customers generally want fresh, high quality, and organic or sustainably produced food from someone they know and trust.  These are the three things they cannot buy at the grocery store.  Do not be shy about highlighting those unique benefits when promoting your CSA program.

Determining Basket Contents

Keep track of what is put in each basket from week to week with a spreadsheet system.  This will allow you to both review and project basket contents.  When deciding what to put in the baskets, find a balance between delivering enough produce for the share price, but not so much as to overwhelm customers with more food than they can use in a week.  Remember, this is their primary or sole source of vegetables each week, so plan basket contents by intentionally thinking through how they can use it each item.  Aim for seven to nine items per week for a family of two.

A typical basket might include:

Spring…                                  Summer…

* bunch of beets                       * 1# tomatoes

* bunch of greens                     * bunch of basil

* bunch of carrots                     * 1/2# sweet peppers

* 1# broccoli                            * 1 melon

* 1# cabbage                           * 1# summer squash

* bunch of parsley                    * 1# green beans

* head of lettuce                       * 1# eggplant

* 1# new potatoes                    * 1 slicing cucumber

Delivering the Weekly Basket

CSAs often encourage members to pick up their produce at the farm in order to help community members gain a closer understanding of how the farm functions.  However, most farms are not within quick driving distance of urban centers.  In these instances, it makes more sense for the farmer to deliver the produce to several centralized locations in town for customer pick up.

Produce can be delivered in grocery bags, boxes, or baskets.  In choosing a method, think about protecting the produce during packaging and transportation.  Once arranged into individual containers, it helps to display each item in an attractive manner.  If you use something permanent such as baskets, be sure to have two for each member so that one can be taken home and one can be packed into for the next week.

Creating a flexible pick up schedule is an important part of meeting customers’ needs.  Offer at least two different days of the week, and two or three pick up locations.  In arranging locations, be attentive to plentiful parking, easy access, and familiarity.  But also keep your needs in mind.  Do not overextend yourself by providing more flexibility than is necessary.  A successful routine for our farm has been coordinating the CSA pick up with our two weekly farmers’ markets.  One is on a Wednesday afternoon while the other is on a Saturday morning.  This gives people a range of options and also helps keep our trips to town to a minimum.  We package everything for the CSA at the farm, and then transport the CSA items in separate containers to the market.  We assemble the CSA baskets while setting up our market display.

Packing and Post-Harvest Handling

It goes without saying that you must always provide healthy, fresh, and clean produce.  Unlike farmers’ market customers, CSA members do not get to select their own produce.  They are relying on you to give them the highest quality possible.  We like to grade for the CSA first.  Keep produce cool in a cooler until just before delivery.  Wrap perishable items in plastic bags to preserve freshness, and protect fragile vegetables and fruits in paper bags.  Customers do not always know which items should be refrigerated, left on the counter, or need to be put into bags so giving them tips about storage helps them preserve freshness.

Pricing

Originally, CSAs were priced by dividing up the entire farm’s expenses by the number of customers the farm could support to arrive at a distribution of the costs.  This works only when the farm sells exclusively through the CSA.  Now, most CSAs project a figure based on the amount of produce they anticipate delivering over the course of the season to each member.  Pricing is generally based on local farmers’ market prices, while giving some discount as thanks for the commitment to your farm.  We like to give a 10% bonus over the course of the season.  In a sense, the discount reflects “interest” on their initial investment.

One way of creating an annual membership price is to decide upon an amount of produce you would like to deliver each week multiplied by the number of weeks of delivery.  For example, on our farm, the share fee is based on a weekly basket of produce worth $15.00.  The $15.00 dollars is multiplied by 20 weeks of delivery for an annual share price of $300.

Payment

Typically, CSA members make an annual payment at the beginning of the season.  Some CSAs allow for quarterly or monthly payments.  Although this may seem like a good way of being sensitive towards tight finances, you can end up with customers who pay late or cancel their membership mid-season.  Limit the number of installment payments you allow so as to ensure you have enough winter income.  You can also invite more fortunate customers to contribute towards a financial aid account.  Many CSAs offer “work-shares” in which members trade labor for some or all of the cost of a share.

Make the up front payment easier on customers by sending them reminders in early winter so that they can begin saving for the share price.  This does double-duty as a method of keeping in touch with them over the long off-season.

Communicating With Customers

Newsletters keep customers informed about what is going on at the farm.  They are also ideal for educating them about the trials and joys of farming, the significance of supporting local agriculture, and what it means to be environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable.  Newsletters should also include recipes that call for the items in their basket.  Recipes are particularly useful for unique crops that people might not be familiar with.  They also inspire new uses for old stand-bys.  Photos are a wonderful means of sharing the weekly activities of farm life.

Surveys of customer likes and dislikes are indispensable for refining your program.  Ask questions about variety preferences, pick-up schedules, pricing, produce quality, and ways of improving the program.  Offer farm tours so members can see you and their food in action.  Finally, provide customers with a member handbook to answer frequently asked questions.  Content can include: a definition of CSAs, customer and farmer benefits, pick-up instructions, tips for using veggies, what to do when a customer goes is on vacation, and a sample harvest calendar.

Beginning Your First Season

Keep the membership size to a manageable number the first year.  Think about the number of acres available, labor (especially on harvest days), and how much diversity you can comfortably predict.  Will you have new operating costs?  How much income do you anticipate generating?  Will you earn enough revenue to justify the effort?  Do you have the right equipment?  Be certain to have these questions answered as you want to ensure a personally and financially rewarding experience and avoid burn-out.

Take time to meet with local CSA farmers, interview them about their methods, and visit them on a CSA delivery day if you can.  Seeing another CSA in action will help you in designing your own system.

CSAs offer the chance to secure income, connect with customers, serve as an educator and leader, and share the passion of farming.  They tap into the increasing consumer demand for real food experiences, and are a great way to expand a business.

Emily and Mike own Three Springs Farm in Tulsa, OK, and are in their third year of production.  They have a 36 member CSA on their two and a half acre operation.

Resources

ATTRA.  Community Supported Agriculture-Current Topic.  Katherine L. Adam.  February 2002.  www.attra.org.

Henderson, Elizabeth with Robyn Van En.  Sharing the Harvest: A Guide to Community Supported Agriculture.  Chelsea Green Publishing Company; White River Junction, Vermont.  1999.

Van En CSA Center.  Website: www.csacenter.org.

© Emily Oakley and Mike Appel 2006

Oakley, E. and M. Appel. 2005. Are supermarkets cheaper than farmers’ markets? Growing for Market. Vol. 12, No. 9.

We love almost all aspects of farming. There is one challenge we are never quite sure how to deal with. Most of you have probably confronted this issue as well at some point—farmers’ market customers who complain about the price of local food.

The overwhelming majority of our customers are extremely loyal, supportive, and excited about the opportunity to purchase farm-fresh produce. They make farming joyful, and their positive comments far out-shadow the few skeptics. We frequently hear encouraging remarks such as, “what a bargain”! Yet each season there are a handful of customers who feel our prices are too expensive when compared with the supermarket. We have even had the same gentleman return two years in a row around the start of tomato season to try to pick a fight about the price of our just-off-the-vine, juicy, ripe tomatoes. “I can go to Wal-mart and get these for a lot less”, he tells us. Does he know the tomatoes in the grocery store were picked green?

We have tried several different responses to complaints. These include explaining that we must charge a price that enables us to make a living, asking how much our prices vary from what they pay in the grocery store, or gently suggesting they grow a home garden. Most of the time, however, we just bite our lips.

A few weeks ago a regular customer to the farmers’ market came by our stand to see the size of our basil bunches and to ask how much we charge. We held up our lush, half pound bunches and told her they are $2.00. She raised her eyebrows in disbelief and exclaimed, “$2.00 for something that grows like a weed!”, and then stormed off. She probably does not realize how hurtful she is being. Surely she has never toiled out in the Oklahoma heat during July’s 100 F + weather, and does not know what a struggle it can be to keep the grasshoppers and other pests from demolishing those enticing green leaves.

Listening to criticism about local food prices bothers us on more than just a personal level. We have chosen farming as our profession in order to give our community an alternative to the often environmentally and socially unjust food available in grocery stores. When someone grumbles about prices, it hurts more than our feelings. It hits right at the soul of why we do what we do.

We began to wonder, are our prices really that much more expensive? They do not seem outrageous to us. We decided to put that question to the test.

We selected three area supermarkets with which to compare our farmers’ market prices: an organic/health food chain, Wild Oats, as we grow organically (though not certified); the most widespread grocery store in town, Albertsons, as it has eleven locations throughout the city; and Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market with their reputation of low prices. We visited all three stores once in May and once in July of 2005. We went to each store on the same afternoon, as we realize produce prices fluctuate from day to day. With each visit, we made a list of the items on our farmers’ market table that week and noted the grocery store’s price.

We started our project in early May with the Wal- Mart Neighborhood Market. The first item on our list was romaine lettuce. At the lettuce section of the produce aisle we saw that they were charging $1.38 a head while we were charging $2.50 (which includes sales tax). On the surface, Wal-Mart seemed cheaper, but those were tiny lettuce heads. We took the lettuce over to the scale, and were shocked to find it barely weighed one pound. Our romaine weighed three pounds, and was greener, had fewer culled outer leaves, and had none of that tale-tell sign of old produce-wilt. Thus, we refined our research by noting both the price and the weight of each item. When adjusted to a price per pound basis, Wal-Mart’s lettuce would have cost $4.49 if it weighed as much as ours did.

Of course, there are the specialty items not grown commercially and only found at our market stand that we could not compare, such as mizuna or baby lima beans. Not every store had the same selection. Overall, Wal-Mart had fewer items than Albertsons or Wild Oats. We compiled the weight and price of 22 spring items and 20 summer crops that we and the grocery stores offered in common. From this data we created a table that calculated the price per pound.

Our farmers’ market is located in Tulsa, OK, and as an average American city in the middle of the country, it seems like a suitable reference point. All of our prices include sales tax, therefore sales tax was figured into the table’s metric. However, we are still not dealing with a level playing field with Wal-Mart and Albertsons produce as it is not, for the most part, organic. And needless to say, the difference in quality and freshness of local produce is priceless, as evidenced by the photo of the collard greens we could not help ourselves from buying from Wal-Mart.

Analyzing the data on a price per pound basis yielded interesting results. While much of what people buy in the grocery store has a cheaper price tag than what they purchase at our market stand, in nearly every case the grocery store food weighed significantly less. This gives meaning to the expression, “you get what you pay for”. Additionally, not everything has a cheaper price tag in the grocery store, such as basil and heirloom tomatoes which are both dramatically higher.

For the spring crops, the cheapest option was our own produce. Eleven of the 22 items were cheaper at our stand. Two were most expensive at our stand—broccoli and cauliflower. Albertsons was second with 5 items being cheapest at their store. Wal-Mart and Wild Oats were tied for third with 3 items being cheapest at each of their stores. When we were most expensive, it was never by more than $1. On the other hand, each grocery store charged over $3 more for butterhead than we did.

For the summer crops, Wal-Mart lived up to its reputation with 7 of the 20 items being cheapest there. But we tied with them for first place with 7 of our items also being cheapest. Albertsons was third with 5 and Wild Oats came in last with one item being the cheapest there. Again, two of our items were most expensive, watermelon and okra and neither was more than $0.75 higher. The best buy was by far the basil, since it can only be purchased in packages of less than an ounce in the grocery stores. The yellow peppers were more than twice as expensive in the grocery store.

The results reveal that perceptions rather than facts influence the false assumptions that grocery store food is always cheapest. It turns out that even that gentleman who thinks he can get vine-ripened tomatoes for less at Wal-Mart was wrong. But the point of this article is not to convince the public that local food is cheap too. Your local farmer is NOT the place to look for a bargain. If anything, we should be getting a premium for providing the invaluable serve of food truly picked fresh. When farmers’ market prices are too cheap, the farmer is in essence subsidizing his/her customer’s grocery bill, making their food artificially discounted.

Moreover, the grocery store prices do not include the hidden costs of that food. Conventional produce in particular is subsidized by university and industry research, health care and clean up costs of pesticide pollution, and substandard wages for farm laborers. Much of the organic produce comes from a similar agribusiness model that takes advantage of low wages and minimal regulatory oversight in developing countries.

Education is a major part of what we do. Since conducting this research we have started sharing the surprising finds with those few customers who protest our prices. We have also begun disseminating a local foods factsheet.

This article helps establish that grocery store food is not as cheap as some customers believe it to be. Nor is local simply for the wealthy–it is competitively priced since our research showed grocery stores’ low posted prices tend to hide lower weight and quality.

The reasons for buying locally-produced food are compelling. These include the benefits of eating fresher, tastier, and more nutritionally intact food, reducing air pollution and fossil fuel consumption through decreased transportation miles, greater variety selection, preserving farmland and open space, and keeping money within the local economy. Grocery store food from half-way around the world can never compete with the benefits of eating food from your neighborhood.