CSU CSA (Community Supported Agriculture)
Information for Growers
Introduction
The CSU CSA emerged from the development of the Rocky Mountain Small Organic Farm Project which emulates a prototype of a small organic farm. As the CSA marketing model has become more widely adopted by producers across the country, it became clear that this model would fit well into the objective of developing a prototype farm under which specific applied research projects could be undertaken. Within the CSA framework, enterprise budgets for specific crops will provide growers with information about the profitability of different crops and production techniques. Variety trials and production systems may be experimented with and demonstrated. Students will have the opportunity to experience production and marketing through the CSA. Local CSA owners and managers will have a research facility listening to their needs as producers, and helping them find solutions. Finally, and very importantly, the CSU CSA will increase the visibility of CSAs in the community, and help connect consumers and farmers.
CSU CSA Program Overview
During the growing season of 2005, approximately twelve student interns and workers participated in marketing, planning, producing, and distributing fresh, organically grown produce to campus families that participated in the CSU CSA. We provided 50 shares, each designed for a family of four. The cost of a share was $400. Many members split the shares with other families. The CSA lasted 22 weeks, from June 2nd - October 27th. Also available, in addition to the produce were fruit and flower shares for an additional cost. The produce and flowers were grown at the CSU Horticulture Research Center, northeast of Fort Collins, Colorado. The fruit was purchased from Colorado organic growers for re-sale to our members.
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The produce was transported to the CSU campus on Thursday afternoons for a buffet style pick-up. We kept in communication with our members through a weekly newsletter that included recent happenings at the farm, upcoming events, recipes, and farm intern profiles. We also hosted two field days specifically for the CSA members at the farm, one in August to showcase the vegetables in their glory, and another in late October so that members could have an opportunity to pick their own pumpkins. A survey was distributed to the members in mid-October for comments on their experience. We ended the season in October with a CSA potluck celebration for the members and the student interns. |
We will be continuing the CSU CSA in 2006. Click here for a link to the information that we provide to our members.
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Advertising and Marketing
In the end of March, 2005, we began the marketing process for our CSA by making a black and white brochure and a web page. On April 11th, we began distributing the brochures along with a small poster about the CSA to each of the department offices on campus. We also advertised on the campus daily activities e-mail (E-comment). We targeted faculty and staff members who would be more likely to be in town over the summer, more able to use a large amount of fresh produce, and more likely to be able to afford to join the CSA. We concentrated our advertising efforts on campus, to keep it a campus affiliated CSA. Our marketing process was undoubtedly made easier by having a ready audience (the university) to focus on.
We set a deadline of April 29, 2005 for members to join at the discounted $400 price to encourage early sign-up. After April 29th the price would increase to $425. Memberships came in slowly at first, but by April 29th we had all 50 shares sold. We encouraged additional interested parties to support and spread the word about other local CSAs (click here for a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet of other north central Colorado CSAs).
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Twenty-three of the 50 memberships were shared by two or more families. Members inquired about half shares. After much thought, we decided to offer only one size share to simplify logistics. In addition to the vegetable share, we sold 38 fruit shares ($50/each for 3 lbs. fruit for 10 weeks), and 16 flower shares (also at $50 each for one weekly bouquet for 10 weeks). |
The price for the $400 vegetable share was based on an estimate of what we would be able to grow and the equivalent value if the produce were purchased at a store. See the "Production" section below for more details on our estimates. Approximately half of the people who participated in our survey said they would have appreciated a way to divide up their payment rather than have to pay $400 all at once. In 2006 we will offer our members the option of paying in two or three installments.
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Production
Information about the CSA farm plot
The land used for the CSA included some experimental plots for broccoli and cauliflower variety trials and tomato, melon, spinach, broccoli, and lettuce plots which were also a part of the study entitled "Differentiating Small Farm Produce Offerings through Nutritionally Superior Cultivars, Marketing, and Extension Programs" - a USDA CSREES National Research Initiative Project.
The main CSA plot had rows running east/west with the drip irrigation submain running north/south through the center of the plot (click here for a map of the CSA plot - Microsoft Excel spreadsheet). We began planting closest to the submain and moved out so that the drip tape could be cordoned off at the end of the bed to keep from leaching the soil in the yet unplanted area. The use of drip tape connectors with valves also aided in being able to make more precise decisions about where and when to water. Two lines of drip tape per 30" wide bed were laid for direct seeded crops such as carrots, radish, beets, dill, and cilantro to aid in germination. One line of drip tape per bed was used for all other crops. We used Chapin 6 mil drip tape with 6" orifice spacing and 0.3 gpm/100' flow rate.
We tried to allow space for roads, especially near the heavier yielding crops such as melons, tomatoes, summer squash, cucumbers, and sweet corn. A major flaw in our design was having the majority of the flowers in one continuously long 450' row making it difficult to assemble bouquets in the field without having to walk a long distance.
Planting schedule - actual versus projected
For planning purposes, we developed a spreadsheet for estimating the amount of each vegetable to plant. Click here for an example of the "CSU CSA 2005 Planning Schedule" spreadsheet with examples of the calculations used (Microsoft Excel spreadsheet).
Most of the seedlings were started in a greenhouse with radiant floor heating. This sped up the time to transplanting by at least one week. The actual killing frost date occurred relatively late on October 7, 2005 (September 21st is the average killing frost date for our area). This allowed us to provide some of the warm season crops later into the season than planned. Please see our "Techniques" web page for more information about production practices that we commonly use at the research farm.
Produce/fruit distribution - quantities and timeline
Click here for a spreadsheet of the "CSU CSA 2005 Weekly Distribution" (Microsoft Excel spreadsheet) showing the amount of produce and fruit distributed each week and the season totals with an estimated value of those products. We also had a considerable amount of extra produce, especially due to our research plots, which we donated to the Larimer County Food Bank. It was estimated that that 4,881 lbs of food valued at $7,321 was donated.
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Washing and Processing Station
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For an on-site washing and processing station, we used a hoop house structure with shade cloth over it to provide a cooler environment for cleaning, boxing, and bunching. The station was made using recycled materials. The sinks were bought at the local Habitat for Humanity thrift store and a table was constructed for them using an old metal table frame and scrap wood from a local door manufacturing company. |
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| Wooden floors were also made using this same scrap wood and lashed together with twine or nailed into a base to provide a non-muddy area to walk on. Municipal water was used to wash the vegetables with a hose. |
| For root crops, we soaked them in buckets or sinks of water, then we held them by the tops and hosed them off with a high pressure spigot. This was a much faster method than individually washing root crops. The roots were then bunched and boxed. |
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For leaf crops, we dunked entire waxed boxes of lettuce, chard, or spinach in cool water in a large sink. We let the boxes drain thoroughly and covered exposed areas with freezer or packing paper to prevent desiccation. This method, however, does tend to deteriorate boxes if they are re-used often; therefore, we began using re-useable plastic field totes instead of cardboard boxes. After processing, the produce was either immediately brought to campus for the CSA pick-up or stored temporarily in a cooler. |
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Produce Pick-up
| We decided to have a "buffet-style" pick up station for our members instead of boxing the product ahead of time. The produce was laid out on tables and customers were instructed on the quantities they were to take for each share. Share members could choose the produce that they wanted from what was laid out and it allowed for more interaction time with the CSA staff. For example, we could answer questions regarding varieties, preparation, and why we did or didn't have certain items. Besides, as 2005 member Gailmarie Kimmel said "Rubbing shoulders is half the fun!". |
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In our survey, most members indicated that they would have liked to have had a "trading box" where they could leave produce they didn't want and trade it for something in the box they wanted. We will experiment with this in 2006. Ann Little, a 2005 CSA member, indicated however that "I enjoyed the creative challenges of cooking with things I might not have chosen to purchase myself".
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Efforts were made to display the produce artfully and to keep everything fully stocked to provide members with as much choice as possible. It took share members anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes to go through the entire "buffet" line. Rain days caused us to move the pick-up location indoors at times but we preferred to have it outdoors to give it more of a "market" feel. |
We chose a pick-up day of Thursday. This allowed us plenty of harvest time before the pick-up day but was close to the weekends when share members would have more time to process or store their vegetables. A pick up on the weekend was not considered since many people travel on the weekends and we felt it would be a difficult time for members to pick up regularly. Pick-up time was from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. so that most staff and faculty members could get their share on their way home from work.
We asked customers to sign in each week for each of their shares to keep track of who had already come through the "buffet". There were often "alternate picker-uppers" as we affectionately called them, so this sign up process helped keep track of shares in case two people accidentally arrived to pick up the same share. We provided one mesh grocery bag with each membership and encouraged people to recycle and bring their own extra grocery bags at subsequent pick-ups. Some members voluntarily brought in extra bags for others to use. |
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Fruit and Flower Shares
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In addition to the main vegetable share, we offered optional fruit and flower shares. The flower share was $50 to receive one bouquet a week for ten weeks (mid-July to mid-September). We cut the bouquets that morning and stored them in buckets in a cooler until pick-up time. We found that assembling them as we cut them to be the most efficient way and caused the least damage to the flowers. Click here for a list of the cut flowers varieties that we had in our bouquets (Microsoft Excel spreadsheet). We attempted to provide an array of styles and colors of bouquets. |
The fruit shares were also $50 for 10 weeks worth of fruit (3 pounds/week). We purchased the fruit in bulk from Colorado Western Slope organic growers and bagged it into 3 lb. shares ourselves. The ten weeks were not consecutive but spread out over the season starting in the end of June with cherries and ending in October with apples. Click here to see the "CSU CSA 2005 Weekly Distribution" (Microsoft Excel) spreadsheet for details on the fruit distribution.
One week we gave every share a packaged dried fruit snack made by a local company. Members enjoyed receiving a surprise product and we were able to educate our members on another source of local food products.
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Budgets and Finances
Enterprise budgets will be developed in the future based on production and labor costs. We have decided to raise the price of our share in 2006 to $500 to more accurately reflect the value of the amount of produce provided and to also be more comparable to other local CSAs. All of the money that we raise with the CSA goes directly back to the CSA and to the Rocky Mountain Small Organic Farm Project research program.
Labor Time Estimates
We spent over 1700 man and woman hours on the CSU CSA in 2005. This included planning and marketing, newsletter writing, production and processing, and pick-up time. Our labor time is probably significantly more than a commercial enterprise due to the learning curves of students and the addition of new workers at peak harvest time when many students return to classes. While actual labor hours may not be representative of a private operation, the relative amount of hours spent on the different crops is interesting. See the graph below for a rough estimate of the number of hours spent on each crop - this number includes field preparation, seeding, transplanting, weeding, harvesting, cleaning, and bunching or boxing.
Unlike a traditional CSA, we did not have share members volunteer at the farm because of the ongoing research on many of these crops and specific production protocols associated with the research.
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Member Communication
We informed our members about the vegetables in their share, recipes, events at the farm, intern profiles, and other interesting farming tid bits in a weekly newsletter distributed with each share. Click here to see past newsletters.
We also communicated with the members primarily by e-mail to let them know about changes in pick-up location, availability of extra fruit or tomato shares, or to solicit comments. All members were university employees that had access to e-mail and checked it regularly so this was a good avenue of communication for us.
| We held two Field Days primarily for the CSA members at our research farm, one in early August, and one in the end of October. The field day in August was lightly attended, but the pumpkin picking field day in October was very popular. Both field days included educational tours of the research plots and treats. In August kids of all ages were invited to sweep for insects with a collection net or to have their face painted or make potato stamps. A good time was had by all! |
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End of the Season Survey and Survey Results
In mid-October, when there was two weeks left for pick-ups, we distributed a survey to the members. Click here to see the survey (Microsoft Word document). We received responses from 25 members. Click here to see the summary of responses (Microsoft Word document).
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Overall, share holders felt we had too many beets, but not enough carrots, garlic, onions, and spinach. Some members were overwhelmed by the amount of produce, especially at the peak of the season and needed more information on knowing how to process and store it all.
While the harvest and pick-up days could be long and tiring (see left), the majority of the customers were very appreciative of the CSA and the opportunity to buy their produce directly from the grower. All survey respondents had already recommended the CSA to others, and 17 of the 25 respondents wanted to be involved again in 2006. |
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Resources for CSAs
The Rodale Institute's "The New Farm" website has a great list of CSA Resources. Click here for the link to that web site.
Two resources that we used quite frequently were:
Henderson, E., with Van En, R. 1999. Sharing the Harvest: A Guide to Community Supported Agriculture. Chelsea Green Publishing Company. To order go to: http://www.csacenter.org (select "Ordering").
Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition (MACSAC). 2004. From Asparagus to Zucchini: A Guide to Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce. Jones Books, Madison, WI. 3rd Edition.
We offered this book to our members who wished to purchase it as well. To order: contact Doug Wubben at 608-226-0300 or log onto www.macsac.org.
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In closing, a haiku from a 2005 CSA member:
Eat, eat, eat, like the
Locusts and worms of the Field
Enjoy CSA
-Elizabeth Munson-
Last updated 3/1/06
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