Subject: Good advice, Re: Bad Advice!

From: "Elizabeth Pike" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2000 06:19:14 -0500

Cheri, I'm sorry if you viewed my post as negative.  My intention was
one of caution.  I encourage you in any endeavor with your farming-as
I have said before I'm not the one to tell "not" to do something-just
playing devil's advocate.  To me,  CSA is an art and science, the most
vitally important aspect in the long range permanence and maintenance
of family farms-be they large or small.

Hopefully, the previous owner & the members will be able to assist you
in making this transition!  Here are some resources that may help:
(I'm sure I've listed some you've already read ; ), but we need to get
them into our archives, so I'm posting them anyway.)

(Not to direct anyone away from this list-but these archives are too
valuable-you will see a listing for the current archives, 1999
archives, and first archive from 1996-early 1999.  They are from a
different CSA list that has become somewhat inactive.  An indepth
education into CSA-the best resource available.)

http://csf.colorado.edu/archive/csa.html

Growing For Market's book, Marketing Your Produce, a collection of
articles with various strategies for selling your goods other than a
CSA, though it has an excellent chapter on those, too, with examples
from individual farms.  You can order it from 785-748-0605.

Center for Sustainable Living
Wilson College
1015 Philadelphia Ave.
Chambersburg, PA 17201
Wilson College has several resources for farmers who want to start a
CSA. Brochures to hand out to prospective members are available for 10
cents each; an information packet costs $2; an 88-page CSA handbook is
$10; a 15-minute video describing CSA to prospective members is $10; a
slide show with 22 text slides is $12.50; a slide show with photos
taken at CSA farms is $25.

University of California Cooperative Extension, Placer County and UC
Small Farm Center. 1995. Community Supported Agriculture...Making the
Connection. 198 pages, binder format.
The best single manual you can buy. This takes a potential grower
through the process involved in starting a CSA, including designing
the CSA, recruiting members and marketing, creating production and
harvest plans, setting share prices, and legal issues. Available for
$25 plus $5 shipping/handling from:
UCCE
11477 E Ave.
Auburn, CA 95603
916-889-7385
Make checks payable to UC Regents.

Gilman, Steve (ed.) 1997. 1997 CSA Farm Network. CSA Farm Network,
Stillwater, NY.
A collection of farm profiles and research reports. Articles about
CSAs that failed and why members don't renew. Includes a directory of
CSAs in the Northeast and a list of resources for CSA farmers
nationwide. Available for $12 from:
CSA Farm Network
130 Ruckytucks Rd.
Stillwater, NY 12170
518-583-4613
Make checks payable to Gilman--CSANET.

Gregson, Bob and Bonnie. 1996. Rebirth of the Small Family Farm. IMF
Assoc., Vashon Island, WA. 64 p.
A handbook for starting a successful organic farm based on the CSA
model. Available for $9.95 from:
IMF Associates
PO Box 2542
Vashon Island, WA 98070
Make checks payable to IMF.

Groh, Trauger and Steven S.H. McFadden. 1998. Farms of Tomorrow
Revisited. Bio-Dynamic Literature, Kimberton, PA. 310 p.
The 1998 edition is an updated version of Farms of Tomorrow, printed
in 1990. The new edition contains information on economic, spiritual,
and legal questions faced by CSAs, the development of community, the
role of animals in a CSA, and farmer observations. Available for $21
from:
The Wisdom Conservancy
Merriam Hill Educ. Center
148 Merriam Hill Rd.
Greenville, NY 03048

Maynard, Donald M. and George J. Hochmuth. 1997. Knott's Handbook for
Vegetable Growers, 4th ed. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 582 p.
Information on yields, row spacing, crops, nutritional content of
vegetables.
Widely available.

Basic Formula to Create Community Supported Agriculture, Robyn Van En.
1992. An 80-page handbook/start-up manual including sample budgets,
job descriptions, community outreach tactics, bibliography, list of
CSA projects throughout North America and more. $10 each. Available
from Van En Center For Community Supported Agriculture. See Orgs.

Community Related Agriculture, Brochure outlining the organization and
planning of community farms, CSA and subscription Farms. 10 pages.
$1.00 + SASE. Available from the BioDynamic Association, PO Box 550,
Kimberton, PA 19422. (800) 516-7797.

Maximizing Shareholder Retention in Southeastern CSAs: A Step Toward
Long-Term Stability, Deborah Kane. 1997. Available from the Institute
of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-2202. E-mail:
[email-masked].

Sharing the Harvest: Community Supported Agriculture in America, by
Elizabeth Henderson with the late Robyn Van En. March 1998. Currently
back ordered with Fedco Seed Catalog, P.O. Box 520, Waterville, ME
04903-0520. Other organizations should carry it soon. This book is a
follow-up to the first how to manual by Robyn Van n and much expanded.
Many examples of how different CSA farms succeed plus great historical
background and context.

To Till It and Keep It: New Models for Congregational Involvement with
the Land, Dan Guenther. 1995. $5. Available from the Land Stewardship
Project, 2200 Fourth St., White Bear Lake, MN 55110. (612) 653-0618.

What's Your Share Worth? Some Comparisons of CSA Share Cost vs. Retail
Produce Value, J.P. Cooley and D.A. Lass. 1996. An extract of Cooley's
Master's thesis covering three CSA farms in Massachusetts over one
season. Available from CSA Farm Network, 130 Ruckytucks Rd.,
Stillwater, NY 12170. (518) 583-4613.

The Community Farm: A Voice for Community Supported Agriculture, 3480
Potter Road, Bear Lake, MI 49614. Jim Sluyter and Jo Meller editors,
$20/year subscription. Practical information on CSA. 616-889-3216
CSA: Making a Difference, Van En Center for CSA c/o Wilson College,
1997, $10. Available from Center for Sustainable Living, 1015
Philadelphia Ave., Chambersburg, PA 17201. (717) 264-4141 ext. 3247.
It's Not Just About Vegetables, Downtown Productions and Jan
Vandertuin. 1986. $35. Available from Downtown Productions, 22
Railroad St., Great Barrington, MA 01230. (413) 528-9395.
Shared Farming: Towards a Sustainable Community, CSA Canada. $20.
Available from CSA Canada, Box 353, St. Adolphe, Manitoba, Canada
R5A1A2.

Kelvin, Rochelle. 1994. Community Supported Agriculture on the Urban
Fringe: Case Study and Survey. #RU-94/01. Rodale Institute, Kutztown,
PA.
Results from a study that examined the growth of CSA and the potential
for CSA farms to help bridge the gap between rural and urban
communities. Highlights some of the barriers and opportunities facing
CSA farmers today. Available for $4 from:
Karin Clifford
Rodale Institute Research Center
611 Siegfriedale Road
Kutztown, PA 19530
Make checks payable to Rodale Institute.

****************************

Over on the mf list, Marcie is compiling another listing of books on
farming in general which you may find helpful.  This is one I sent her
yesterday.  Successful Small-Scale Farming, An Organic Approach, by
Karl Schwenke.  The author gets down to the nuts & bolts of family
agriculture, whether you're earning a full or part time living from
your land.  Everything is included from charts & tables to diagrams of
how to plow your fields.  Essential farmsteading skills, such as
driving fence posts, managing a woodlot, & haying are included.
Something I keep in my truck for continual reference-a virtual
encyclopedia on sustainable small-scale agriculture.
************************************

Again, I reiterate that my "bad" advice was not meant to discourage
you-just make you aware of the volatile nature of our profession-one
minute you survery flood & wind damage in shock,  the next you stand
in awe as the sky dances with the pearlescent shades of sunset.  Then
there's the unusual insect your children bring you, in your grandma's
antique cut crystal serving bowl, or the snake that falls down your
back in the chicken coop, or the thrill of seeing tomato horn worms
covered with tiny cocoons.  When I'm in the middle of a field at
daybreak, I'm in Mother Nature's chapel under the sky.  Truly
awesome....  From this, I would never discourage anyone.

Liz
Morningstar Gardens
Pollocksville NC

----- Original Message -----
From: Cheri Shelnutt <[email-masked]>
To: community supported agriculture <[email-masked]>
Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2000 1:17 AM
Subject: Re: Bad Advice!

> Dear Art,
> Thanks so much for those words.  Was feeling very discouraged after
some of the
> negative emails I have received.  Yours was a breath of fresh air.
I used to
> live in Marysville, WA - miss it terribly.
>
> Thank you again for taking the time to encourage someone new.
> Blessings,
> Cheri Shelnutt
> Sweet Hollow Farm
>
> [email-masked] wrote:
>
> >  If you grow a CSA the community will come.
> >
> > Good luck and planning,
> >
> > Art Biggert
> > Ocean Sky Farm
> > Bainbridge Island, WA
>
>
> ---
> You are currently subscribed to csa as: [email-masked]
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From: Cheri Shelnutt <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2000 01:17:13 -0500

Dear Art,
Thanks so much for those words.  Was feeling very discouraged after some of the
negative emails I have received.  Yours was a breath of fresh air.  I used to
live in Marysville, WA - miss it terribly.