Community Supported Agriculture

 

 

Arizona Resources

Colorado Resources

New Mexico Resources

Utah Resources

Organizations and Web Resources

Beginning a CSA Operation

Finding a CSA

CSA Marketing

CSA Management Techniques

Economic Viability of the CSA Model

CSA Success Stories

CSA Funding Opportunities

 

 

*Each resource within the Four Corners region will be marked with an asterisk

 

See also:

 

 

Arizona Resources:

 

*Fresh, Local & Sustainable Foods of Canyon Country

The Center for Sustainable Environments of the Northern Arizona University has published the fourth edition of a sustainable foods directory for Canyon Country, otherwise known as the Colorado Plateau or Four Corners region. The directory includes information about CSA operations in Arizona.

http://www.environment.nau.edu/Publications/FoodDirectory/Localfoodsdirectory.pdf

 

*Prescott College CSA Program

In the PCCSA members sign up for a share, (either seasonal or year-long) and then pick up their produce once a week. Because the PCCSA is a cooperative CSA, meaning that the food comes from more than one farm, more farmers are supported from around the state and in turn provide a variety of produce throughout the year

http://www.prescott.edu/highlights/csa.html

 

Colorado Resources:

 

* 2008 Colorado Farm Fresh Directory

The 2008 Farm Fresh Directory is now being compiled. Forms to be listed in the directory are available on the main page of: www.coloradoagriculture.com. The link below will take you to the 2007 directory. The farm and farmers' markets in the directory feature the highest quality, Colorado-grown produce. Inside you will also find information about county fairs, agricultural festivals, extension offices as well as a crop calendar.

http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobheadername1=Content-Disposition&blobheadername2=MDT-Type&blobheadervalue1=inline%3B+filename%3D743%2F501%2FFarmFreshforweb.pdf&blobheadervalue2=abinary%3B+charset%3DUTF-8&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1191378605612&ssbinary=true

 

*Colorado State University CSA

In 2005, the Specialty Crops Program at Colorado State University initiated a campus CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). The CSU CSA provides people who become members a wide variety of local organic produce. The farm is tended by CSU students who are passionate about organic agriculture and who want to share their bounty with the local community.

http://www.specialtycrops.colostate.edu/SCP_csu_csa_home.htm

 

*Community Supported Agriculture: The Producer/Consumer Partnership
This is a booklet that discusses the benefits of CSAs in connecting local farmers with local consumers, maintaining a regional food supply and economic base, and honoring the craft of small farmers. The booklet is available for $5 on the following website:

http://cerc.colostate.edu/titles/XCM189.html

 

New Mexico Resources:

 

*New Mexico Organic Producers Marketing Guide

This guide is designed to help you explore which markets might work best for you and give you some ideas about how to access those markets. Marketing topics include Farmers’ Markets, CSAs, Selling to Retail Outlets, Selling to Restaurants, and Selling to Wholesalers.

http://nmocc.state.nm.us/pdf/MarketManual.pdf

 

Utah Resources:

 

*Utah Food and Agriculture Directory

This publication, produced by the State of Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, includes listings of CSAs throughout Utah.

http://ag.utah.gov/marketing/AgDirectory.pdf

 

*Slow Food Utah: Directory of Utah CSAs

The Slow Food Utah website has a complete directory of CSA programs in the state.

http://www.slowfoodutah.org/main_csa.html

 

*Utah’s Own

Utah’s Own website has a list of active CSAs in the state.

http://utahsown.utah.gov/CommunitySupportedAgriculture.htm

 

Organizations and Web Resources:

 

The Community Farm Newsletter

A quarterly newsletter for people interested in community supported agriculture. $20 for four issues (either print or e-mail versions). Some articles from past issues are available online.

http://csafarms.org/csaresources.asp

 

Local Harvest

Local Harvest has a complete CSA farm finder for the United States.

http://www.localharvest.org/csa/

 

The Robyn Van En Center for CSA Resources

The Robyn Van En Center provides a national resource center about Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) for people across the nation and around the world.  The Robyn Van En Center also offers outreach and works to gain publicity about CSA farms in order to benefit community farmers and consumers everywhere. 

http://www.wilson.edu/wilson/asp/content.asp?id=804

 

Organizations and Web Sites Related to Community Supported Agriculture

This resource list put out by the National Agricultural Library’s Alternative Farming Systems Information Center lists numerous organizations and web sites with resources for CSA operations.

http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csaorgs.shtml

 

Beginning a CSA Operation:

 

Community Supported Agriculture

This ATTRA publication reports on the history of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in the U.S. and discusses the various models that have emerged. Information includes resources, research, handbooks, and success stories.

http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/PDF/csa.pdf

 

*Community Supported Agriculture: The Producer/Consumer Partnership
This is a booklet that discusses the benefits of CSAs in connecting local farmers with local consumers, maintaining a regional food supply and economic base, and honoring the craft of small farmers. The booklet is available for $5 on the following website:

http://cerc.colostate.edu/titles/XCM189.html

 

CSA Resources for Farmers: Selected Books, Reports, Articles, Periodicals and Videos Focusing on the Business of CSA Farming.

This is a very comprehensive listing of publications including books, reports, and articles to helps farmers with CSA marketing and business management.

http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csafarmer.shtml

 

CSA’s World of Possibilities

This is an article about the history of CSA’s in the United States as well as the important keys that make them successful business operations.

http://www.newfarm.org/features/0204/csa2/part2.shtml

 

The Handbook of Regulations for Direct Farm Marketing: The Green Book

While this handbook focuses mainly on regulations of Washington state, it is a helpful resource guide for various direct marketing strategies. Topics include; farmers’ markets, CSAs, farm to cafeteria, internet marketing, mail order sales, agri-tourism and other direct marketing options.

http://smallfarms.wsu.edu/wsu_pdfs/056-Greenbook-web.pdf

 

Finding a CSA:

 

Local Harvest

Local Harvest has a complete CSA farm finder for the United States.

http://www.localharvest.org/csa/

 

The Robyn Van En Center for CSA Resources

The Robyn Van En Center provides a national resource center about Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) for people across the nation and around the world.  The Robyn Van En Center also offers outreach and works to gain publicity about CSA farms in order to benefit community farmers and consumers everywhere. 

http://www.wilson.edu/wilson/asp/content.asp?id=804

 

CSA Marketing:

 

Direct Marketing

Emphasizing niche, specialty and value-added crops, this publication features many farm case studies, as well as information on enterprise budgets, promotion/publicity, and the implications of Internet marketing and e-commerce for agriculture. Also available in hard copy by calling 1-800-346-9140.

http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/directmkt.html

 

Growing for Market

GFM is a monthly magazine about small-scale farming, sustainable agriculture and farm direct marketing. It covers farmers markets, farm stands, Community Supported Agriculture, and selling locally to restaurants, supermarkets, natural food stores and florists.

http://www.growingformarket.com/

 

Marketing Strategies for Farmers and Ranchers

This is a publication of the USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program, highlighting various creative marketing strategies for small scale farmers. Included is a section on CSAs.

http://www.sare.org/publications/marketing/marketing.pdf

 

Managing a CSA Farm 2: Community, Economics, Marketing and Training

Community supported agriculture (CSA) farmers need communication and management skills to meet a variety of challenges in building a community of members, balancing income and expenses, marketing their farm, and obtaining training.

http://www.cias.wisc.edu/archives/1999/03/01/managing_a_csa_farm_2_community_economics_marketing_and_training/index.php

 

CSA Management Techniques:

 

Community Supported Agriculture Farms: Management and Income

One critical goal of the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) movement is to sustain farm families economically. This report shows the results of a survey of various CSAs.

http://www.cias.wisc.edu/archives/2004/01/01/community_supported_agriculture_farms_management_and_income/index.php

 

Managing a CSA Farm 1: Production, Labor and Land

Farmers using the community supported agriculture (CSA) model can expect both rewards and challenges in this intense, diversified, community-oriented approach. A solid understanding of CSA and effective management will help CSA farmers overcome challenges in production, labor, and conserving and securing land.

http://www.cias.wisc.edu/archives/1999/03/01/managing_a_csa_farm_1production_labor_and_land/index.php

 

Economic Viability of the CSA Model:

 

CSA 2001: An Evolving Platform for Ecological and Economical Agricultural Marketing and Production

This study set out to examine the economic viability of CSA farms in the US. The study also wanted to look at the particular characteristics that encourage a successful CSA farm operation.

http://www.nesawg.org/pdf/CSA_2001_report.pdf

 

Managing a CSA Farm 2: Community, Economics, Marketing and Training

Community supported agriculture (CSA) farmers need communication and management skills to meet a variety of challenges in building a community of members, balancing income and expenses, marketing their farm, and obtaining training.

http://www.cias.wisc.edu/archives/1999/03/01/managing_a_csa_farm_2_community_economics_marketing_and_training/index.php

 

CSA Success Stories:

 

CSA Across the Nation: Findings from the 1999 CSA Survey. By the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems (CIAS) of the University of Wisconsin at Madison

http://agmarketing.extension.psu.edu/ComFarmMkt/PDFs/csasurveyresult.pdf

 

Community Supported Agriculture

This publication reports on the history of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in the U.S. and discusses the various models that have emerged. Information includes resources, research, handbooks, and success stories.

http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/PDF/csa.pdf

 

Publications about Community Supported Agriculture

This list has been compiled by the National Agriculture Library’s Alternative Farming Systems Information Center. The list contains numerous titles of publications that relate to CSA operations.

http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csapubs.htm

 

CSA Funding Resources:

 

Value-Added Producer Grants

Grants may be used for planning activities and for working capital for marketing value-added agricultural products and for farm-based renewable energy. Eligible applicants are independent producers, farmer and rancher cooperatives, agricultural producer groups, and majority-controlled producer-based business ventures.

http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/coops/vadg.htm

 

See also:

  • Financing for general resources to help fund agricultural marketing ventures.