I looking for anyone's opinion regarding setting up a csa or farmers marketing? Has anyone done either of these and what are the advantages of each and what are the drawbacks? I'm trying to devise a way of getting out of the rat race and marketing my abundance of farm produce, with of course increasing my acres of garden vegetables.

Location, location, location. That's probably your biggest consideration, Arlee. Are you in an area where customers can easily come to your farm? Or are you in a somewhat central location between several large farmers markets and auctions that include produce? Do you value the solitude of your farm or look forward to visitors throughout the day? Visitors to the farm also means you'll have to stop working to wait on them...

There is a great book titled Backyard Market Gardening that would give you lots to consider.

Good luck!

Hi Arlee,

We started a CSA on our farm this year and have had mixed results. We absolutely love the relationship with our customers. The words of encouragement and support are great. The enthusiasm was high, everything seemed like a great year was ahead. Then reality hit. We had a slow start to the spring, bad weather at bad times, and since many of our members were new to the CSA concept, some of them had a hard time grasping the idea that you share the risk with the farmer of the harvest. A few unhappy emails can just ruin your entire week.

A few things to ponder: A CSA model should only be started after two or three SUCCESSFUL seasons of growing produce. Getting enough items to fill those boxes week after week can be very challenging. We are able to supplement our boxes with produce from our neighbors, so that is a bonus. The downside to that, of course, if the cost. Start the CSA at a level below what you think you can handle, and then work up. We started with too many members, and the crops didn't turn out the way we had hoped. It takes so much labor to get everything done on the produce farm. I wore myself out early in the summer and still couldn't make it.

Start with a farmers market stand in a GOOD market, have a roadside self service stand as well if you are in a decent area for that, and check out your local food co-op or natural food store to see what they have from local growers. Don't be intimidated by a reply like, we already have local suppliers - from my experience, there is always something you can supply that isn't being done locally. You just have to see where and when you can get your foot in the door.

Getting the experience is pretty vital before starting a CSA, but I think it can be a cornerstone of a successful produce farm. See if there are any farms in your area that you can learn from, maybe even take a summer off and work for. And when you get ready to make the leap, put it off for one more year and work on weed control in that year during your spare time. Figure out what land you aree going to be farming, and keep it "black" that entire year. Rototill every two weeks to germinate those weed seeds and then ruthlessly slaughter them. The first of July plant buckwheat and it will act as a smother crop, plus rebuild some of that soil humus you would otherwise burn up with the constant tillage. But getting your weed control and amending the soil with the proper nutrients are vital before you start. It has been very frustrating for us this year as that is something we did not get done - and our fields have really suffered. Best wishes! Matthew

I'm doing both farmers' markets and CSA, arlee .. along with a roadside stand .. and I happen to like CSA best.

Reason I like CSA, is that the CSA members are tuned right in to all the economics of producing the crops, and so they are like partners, or at the very least, well-informed "subscribers". They are drawn to the farm because of a shared interest in "making it happen". I get a personal charge out of that.

Town markets are a drag for me. Too many people just there for "on demand" stuff, and price shoppers. They already have Wal Marts for that.

Where I am, right now, there is huge demand for CSA shares. You can set it up any way that you want, and likely there will be folks interested in participating.

But as Randle said .. your location and your personal preferences are key in making the decisions for how you feed people. The CSA model is sort of like a hedge against crop failure though. You might not get the ultra-premium price for the fanciest produce, as you may at the public markets and on your roadside stand, but your losses are minimized also, if it's set up in that way.

It doesn't have to be only one way, to the exclusion of all others, too. CSA members can also derive benefits linked to their participation from other markets, if it is collectively agreed upon to work it that way. Or not. So you could interlink all three programs .. roadside, farmers' markets, and CSA. And that's what has evolved here for us.

But I like the CSA aspect the best. If I had to choose any one way to get food to the people, that would be my choice.

For what it's worth!

BIG problem with csa's is the turnover of people. Better off just doing the market as you'd have much less to focus (fret) on.

My parents have a self service vegetable stand in a rural area on a state road. They get paid for less than half of what produce gets taken every day. The prices aren't high and the products are good but the local people aren't. You work to plant, cultivate, and harvest and some S.O.B. runs off with your product. The business isn't steady enough to pay a person to mind the stand but it sure does irritate you that people would steal from you. It's ok for extra cash but don't mortgage the farm to enter that venture unless you have a high traffic area or excellent CSA customer base and then farming is a gamble. Start small and see what happens.

If you want to focus on managing, motivating, and educating people, the CSA is for you. If you want to concentrate on production, don't. Most successfull CSA's have someone managing the farm and someone else managing and promoting the "sharers."