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SUBSCRIBE CSA-L Lawrence London



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Frequently Asked Questions

CSA-L Networking E-mail List

http://www.prairienet.org/pcsa/CSA-L/FAQ.html




1.What is CSA-L?
2.What is Community Supported Agriculture?
3.How do I subscribe to CSA-L?
4.How do I unsubscribe to CSA-L?
5.What is appropriate to post to CSA-L?
6.How do I post to CSA-L?
7.Who subscribes to CSA-L?
8.Where can I find archives of CSA-L?
9.How can I find a CSA where I live?
10.What are some useful CSA organizations?
11.What are some good books, articles, and videos of CSA?
12.What are some CSA Related E-mail Lists?
13.Getting CSA-L in Digest Format



1. WHAT IS CSA-L?

The e-mail list "CSA-L@prairienet.org" is for networking on Community
Supported Agriculture. We
hope to see discussions on goals, distribution styles, outreach tools,
member retention, educational
work, connections with non-CSA organizations, etc. We also would like to
see the exchange of
newsletter articles and information about resources on CSA such as
networking organizations, books,
journals, videos, audio tapes from conferences, speaker tours of interest
to CSAs, etc. In short, we
would like to take advantage of the collective knowledge of as many CSA's
as possible to help the CSA
movement grow and strengthen!

The listowners are John Barclay (jbarclay@prairienet.org) of Prairieland
CSA in Champaign, Illinois
and Sarah Milstein (milstein@pipeline.com) of Just Food in New York, New York.



2. What is Community Supported Agricutlure

Community Supported Agriculture is a partnership between farmers and
consumers. In CSA,
consumers buy products directly from the farm, and pay for them in advance.
Farmers do their best to
produce sufficient quantity and quality of fresh, nutritious food for their
customers' needs and palates.

In some CSAs, people pay in advance to support a farm for a season. In
return, these 'shareholders' or
'sharers' receive a share of whatever the farm has ready to harvest each
week. In other CSAs, also
called subscription farms, people subscribe to a share of a given value,
prepaying monthly or quarterly.
Content and quantity of shares vary throughout the season.

CSA gives non-farmers a chance to get more involved in producing and
distributing their own food.
Farms sponsor tours, workdays, and even 'workshares' to bring shareholders
out to the farm. CSAs
also often ask shareholders to help deliver shares, sponsor drop-off sites,
manage shareholder lists,
write newsletters, and more



3. HOW DO I SUBSCRIBE TO CSA-L?

Send a message to "listproc@prairienet.org" with "subscribe CSA-L Firstname
Lastname" in the
message. Put your first and last names in place of Firstname and Lastname
and omit the quotes. You
may leave the subject line blank.   You may also fill out the form at
http://www.prairienet.org/pcsa/CSA-L/subscribing.html



4. HOW DO I UNSUBSCRIBE TO CSA-L?

Send a message to "listproc@prairienet.org" with "unsubscribe CSA-L" in the
message. Omit the
quotes. You may leave the subject line blank. If this doesn't work, send an
e-mail to
jbarclay@prairienet.org and I will unsubscribe you. You may also fill out
the form at
http://www.prairienet.org/pcsa/CSA-L/subscribing.html



5. WHAT IS APPROPRIATE TO POST TO CSA-L?

All messages should meet the following criteria:

   Messages should be related to the purpose of the list.
   Messages should have a clear subject heading.
   Messages between individuals should not go to the entire list unless the
information in them
   may be of interest to the list.
   Messages should include a good signature which includes your name, any
organization that you
   represent, and where you are located geographically.
   Questions that are answered in the Frequently Asked Questions Postings
(FAQs) should be
   avoided.

These guidelines are to improve the quality and effectiveness of the list
as a networking tool. As the
number of subscribers to the list grows, the success of the list will
depend on the quality of our
postings.



6. HOW DO I POST TO CSA-L?

To post a message to the whole list, send it to CSA-L@prairienet.org

In order to post to CSA-L, you must be subscribed to the list and send the
message from the account
name that you are subscribed on. In other words, If you have several e-mail
accounts or aliases, you
need to send e-mail from the account you subscribed from.



7. WHO SUBSCRIBES TO CSA-L?

Over 200 farmers, CSA members, students studying CSA, and other interested
parties from around the
world. To get a list of the subscribers send a message to
"listproc@prairienet.org" with "recipients
CSA-L" in the body and a current list will be sent to you. Some subscriber
biographies are available on
the CSA-L web page.



8. WHERE CAN I FIND ARCHIVES OF POSTINGS TO CSA-L?

On the world wide web at: http://csf.colorado.edu/sustainability/plants/csa/



9. HOW CAN I FIND A CSA WHERE I LIVE?

A listing of CSAs is available on the web at http://www.umass.edu/umext/csa/.

Call the Bio-Dynamic Farming and Gardening Association toll-free CSA/BDA
Consumer Hot Line
(1-800-516-7797) to request a free list of the CSA/BDA farms and/or gardens
in your state.

CSA West is a resource for finding CSAs on the west coast of the U.S.,
especially California.
(408/459-3964).



10. WHAT ARE SOME USEFUL NATIONAL AND REGIONAL
RESOURCE ORGANIZATIONS ON CSA?

CSA OF NORTH AMERICA (CSANA), founded by the recently deceased Robyn Van
En, will be one
of the lead organizations in the Northeast CSA Conference, scheduled for
January 1998. Tel:
413.528.4374. http://www.umass.edu./umext/CSA

THE BIODYNAMIC FARMING AND GARDENING ASSOCIATION, Inc. is a major promoter of
CSA in North America, especially in the Northeast. Located in Kimberton,
PA, the Association
publishes a bi-monthly newsletter, sponsors a CSA conference every winter
and maintains a large and
remarkably comprehensive database of established CSAs in North America. On
request, the Association
will provide a list of CSAs for any given area. They also sell Louise's
Leaves. They can be reached at
1.800.516.7797 or PO Box 550, Kimberton, PA 19442.
http://www.biodynamics.com/.

JUST FOOD. Just Food is building connections between urban communities and
regional small farms.
During the 1996-97 season, we were instrumental in enabling six new CSAs to
begin delivery in New
York City. For the 1997-98 season, Just Food will be focusing on low-income
residents' access to
CSA. We are not a core group, BUT WE ARE HERE FOR YOU, AND WE CAN HELP YOUR CSA
TAKE ROOT AND GROW IN THE CITY. Contact Sarah Milstein or Kathy Lawrence,
at any point &
with any questions: 290 Riverside Drive, #15D, New York, NY 10025-5287;
Tel: 212/666.2168; Fax:
212.531.4849; Email: milstein@pipeline.com

CSA WEST. CSA West was founded to expand the CSA movement by offering
regional information to
farmers, prospective and current CSA members, the media, student/interns,
and related non-profit
organizations. CSA projects are very much the product of a grassroots
movement, where farmers and
other CSA organizers swap information among themselves. We strive to expand
this exchange of new
ideas, tried-and-true practices, and helpful tips on running CSAs among
new, old, and potential
participants in the western United States. csawest@caff.org. 916-756-8518,
extension 27; fax:
916-756-7857 US mail: CAFF, PO Box 363, Davis, CA 95617.
http://www.caff.org/caff/programs/

RFarms has a listing of CSAs with web pages at
http://www.jps.net/rfarm/csa.html.



11. WHAT ARE SOME GOOD BOOKS, ARTICLES, AND VIDEOS OF
CSA?

FARMS OF TOMORROW REVISITED: COMMUNITY SUPPORTED FARMS, FARM
SUPPORTED COMMUNITIES, by Trauger Groh and Steven McFadden. Published in
1998. A very
comprehensive book on CSA. Available from the Biodynamic Farming and
Gardening Association (see
above).

COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE. . . MAKING THE CONNECTION. A 1995
HANDBOOK FOR PRODUCERS. Presented by University of California Cooperative
Extension Placer
County and Small Farm Center, UC Davis. 198 pages ** binder format. MAKING THE
CONNECTION pulls together the experience of many innovative projects. While
describing the
diversity of CSA, this handbook for producers also addresses common
questions and concerns
including: What is CSA?, Developing a CSA, Finding and keeping members,
Production for CSA,
Managing the shares. $25. Contact UC Cooperative Extension at 916-889-7385
for ordering
information or on the CSA-L web page or e-mail ceplacer@ucdavis.edu.

THE NORTHEAST REGIONAL FOOD GUIDE, published by cornell coop extension, has
excellent
information and tips On eating local, seasonal produce. To order, call
607.255.2080.

GROWING FOR MARKET is a monthly newsletter that has articles by and about
CSA farmers. Good
ideas and honest discussion abound. Subscriptions are $27/year. Gfm,
fairplain publications, P.O. box
3747, Lawrence, KS 66046; Tel/fax: 913.841.2559.

"The Community Farm" is a quarterly newsletter for anyone interested in
community supported
agriculture. Our goal is to provide a forum for the CSA movement in which
farmers, farm members and
other interested persons can exchange news, views, ideas and more.
Subscriptions $20/yr. 3480 Potter
Rd., Bear Lake, MI 49614. fsfarm@mufn.org



12. What are some CSA Related E-mail Lists?


Newsgroup alt.sustainable.agriculture.

SANET (Sustainable Agriculture Network) has an archive of its e-mail list
and subscription directions at
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/san/htdocs/hypermail/hypermail.html.

BD Now!  (http://www.igg.com/bdnow/ ) is an evolution of the internet's
first biodynamic discusstion
group, BD-L.



13. Getting CSA-L in Digest Format

The CSA-L list may now be obtained in digest format. If you choose to
receive CSA-L in digest format
you will receive the entire set of messages from the previous day at 2:00am
in one single message. The
advantage to this is that it keeps your e-mail box uncluttered. The
disadvantage is that there is up to a 24
hour turnaround on messages so you may unknowingly repeat what someone else
has posted.

To receive CSA-L in digest format, send an email addressed to
listproc@prairienet.org with no subject
line and only SET CSA-L MAIL DIGEST in the body of the message.

i.e.
    To: listproc@prairienet.org
    From: jbarclay@prairienet.org
    Subject:
    ----------------------------
    SET CSA-L MAIL DIGEST



To turn off digest format, simply send the same message replacing SET CSA-L
MAIL DIGEST with
SET CSA-L MAIL