What is Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)?

What is a CSA?

Community supported agriculture (CSA) has been around since the 1980’s. The model was originally focused on vegetables and most CSAs are still vegie focused. Members of the CSA buy shares at the beginning of the growing season and then receive a specific number of boxes loaded with whatever happens to be ready for harvest that week. All types of variations exist on this model but the basics are the same. The consumer (member) and the farmer form a partnership. The member is investing in the farmer by providing needed capital to raise the crop to harvest. The member takes on some of the risk with the farmer. If the yield is low the member may get less than they had hoped. But if it is a great season the member gets a share of the bounty.

CSA at Wild Haven Farm

Wild Haven Farm has chosen to make this model available to our community. We believe it is important for consumers to be able to become members and have a shared ownership in their food production. Those who join us as members (aka subscribers) get first access to all of our farm products. For example, as egg production naturally declines in the deep Winter, our members get the available eggs and we only sell to non-members if there is a surplus. As we add more farm products we will continue this model and your membership in the CSA will become more and more valuable and exciting.

Our primary CSA share right now is, of course, the eggs. We experimented with a few CSA-like models and found the simple monthly subscription to be the easiest to understand and manage since it is a year-long product. We would love to hear your feedback and ideas. What models would work best for you? What foods would you like to have from the farm? Where would you like to see a drop site? The CSA model is all about your involvement. We are not just here to sell you products, we are here to help you raise the healthy, delicious food you want to eat.

FAQ

The following questions just scratch the surface of what you may want to know. Don’t see your question below? Just reach out.

Is goat meat available?

Right now, we do not have meat goats. Our focus with goats is on species preservation. We occasionally sell live goats for breeding purposes and to help populate homesteads. Rarely, we have a goat that needs to be culled that isn’t suited to being adopted to another homestead. Normally, these go into our own freezer. We do have a waitlist and will call down the list when extra goats are available.

Wild Haven Farm does not do custom butchering on the farm (state laws). However, we have worked with local butchers who can process for you.

How much is an egg CSA?

Our prices are posted on our shop page.

Can I cancel my CSA?

Our egg CSA runs on a simple monthly subscription and can be canceled anytime. We certainly understand things change so we won’t take offence. However, please let us know why you are canceling. We can’t improve if we don’t get feedback.

For CSAs which require a deposit (e.g. broiler chickens), deposits are non-refundable.

Can items be returned?

Please see our return/refund policy. The short answer is: we want to make this right for you. If something went wrong give us a call and let’s figure it out.

What are my risks?

With anything there is risk, farming, perhaps more so. In the prvailing capitalistic model of farming the farmer assumes all risk. They finance the land, equiment, seed/livestock, and time. If there is a drought or avian flu, the farm may loose everything for that year. People I talk too outside the farming community often point to government crop insurance. However, this isn’t available to small food farmers (“specialty crops” as the government calls food). Crop insurance is typically only available to bio fuel crops, large commodity crop producers, and large dairy. These are almost never the farmers who use a CSA model to partner with their community.

Your risk as a member of a farming CSA is real. At Wild Haven Farm, an avian flu outbreak could completely wipe out the flocks for the coming year. The government offers us no insurance for that. So what would happen to you? Your risk is that you would need to go to the store and buy eggs off the shelf. We ask very minimal up-front deposits and short subscription windows to help limit your risk. In most cases, we can offer credit for shortages (e.g. short supplies of eggs in deep Winter).

There are no guarentees in farming so we can make few as the farmer. All we can do is try to take every reasonable step to protect your food supply and do right by you, our members.

Do I have to volunteer on the farm?

No, but you are always welcome here! Traditional models of CSA often required members work a certain number of hours on the farm. Many CSAs, including ours, have gotten away from the sweat equity aspect. However, as a member we always welcome you on the farm anytime. Just to tour or to lend a hand, the farm is an amazing place to spend an hour or a whole day.

We hold several events through the year where you can come help out in very tangible ways. Our annual tree planting in the Spring and poultry processing in late Summer are great examples. Watch our social media or sign up for our newsletter to stay informed of upcoming opportunities.