Community Supported Agriculture
Contents
- Introduction
- Find Local Food and CSAs Near You
- What is Community Supported Agriculture?
- Marketing through Community Supported Agriculture
- History
- Surveys and Statistics
- Where to Find More Information
- Eating Seasonally and Regionally
- Community Food Systems: Farm-to-School, Food Circles, and Farmers’ Markets
- The Sustainable/Organic Agriculture Connection
Introduction
Community Supported Agriculture consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation so that the farmland becomes, either legally or spiritually, the community's farm, with the growers and consumers providing mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production.
In a traditional CSA model…
- Members share the risks and benefits of food production with the farmer.
- Members buy a share of the farm’s production before each growing season.
- In return, they receive regular distributions of the farm’s bounty throughout the season.
- The farmer receives advance working capital, gains financial security, earns better crop prices, and benefits from the direct marketing plan.
"Current business models for CSAs are diverse and innovative. Producers have adapted the CSA model to fit a variety of emerging direct marketing opportunities, including:
- Institutional health and wellness programs;
- Multi-farm systems to increase scale and scope;
- Season extension technologies; and
- Incorporating value-added products, offering flexible shares, and flexible electronic purchasing and other e-commerce marketing tools."
T. Woods, M. Ernst, and D. Tropp. Community Supported Agriculture – New Models for Changing Markets. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, April 2017. Web: https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/CSANewModelsforChangingMarketsb.pdf
Find Local Food and CSAs Near You
- Local Harvest
https://www.localharvest.org/csa/ - AgMap
http://agmap.psu.edu/
Search the Business category for the term Community Supported Agriculture or use the Advanced Search to find a local CSA. - Wilson College, Robyn Van En Center, CSA Farm Database
http://www2.wilson.edu/CsaSearch/
Search State and regional farm directories
- Local Food Directories. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service.
Includes directories of farmers markets, on-farm markets, CSAs, and food hubs.
https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/local-regional/food-directories - Local Food Directories. ATTRA - The National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service.
https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/local_food/search.php
What is Community Supported Agriculture
- Community Supported Agriculture – New Models for Changing Markets. Timothy Woods, Matthew Ernst, and Debra Tropp. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service. April 2017.
https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/CSANewModelsforChangingMarketsb.pdf - Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). Kathleen M. Kelley, Lynn F. Kime and Jayson K. Harper. Penn State Extension. 2013.
https://extension.psu.edu/business/ag-alternatives/marketing/community-supported-agriculture-csa - Community Supported Agriculture: An Introduction. Biodynamic Association.
https://www.biodynamics.com/content/community-supported-agriculture-introduction-csa - Community Supported Agriculture. From: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community-supported_agriculture - Defining Community Supported Agriculture. An excerpt from "Community Supported Agriculture (CSA): An Annotated Bibliography and Resource Guide". U.S. Department of Agriculture, Alternative Farming Systems Information Center (AFSIC). 1993.
https://pubs.nal.usda.gov/defining-community-supported-agriculture
Marketing through Community Supported Agriculture
- Decision Tools. University of Kentucky. Center for Crop Diversification.
http://www.uky.edu/ccd/tools - A Farmer’s Guide to Marketing through Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs). Megan L. Bruch and Matthew D. Ernst. University of Tennessee. Institute of Agriculture. December 2010.
https://extension.tennessee.edu/publications/documents/pb1797.pdf - Understanding Community Supported Agriculture. Mary Holz-Clause. Iowa State University. Reviewed August 2009.
https://www.agmrc.org/business-development/operating-a-business/direct-marketing/articles/understanding-community-supported-agriculture/ - What is Community Supported Agriculture? M.E. Swisher, Rose Koenig, Jennifer Gove and James Sterns. University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agriculture, Extension Service. Revised June 2006. Reviewed July 2012.
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/cd019 - Community Supported Agriculture. University of California Small Farm Program. November/December 1993. An excerpt from Eric Gibson's Sell What You Sow! The Grower's Guide to Successful Produce Marketing. (Auburn, CA: New World Publishing, 1994)
http://sfp.ucdavis.edu/pubs/SFNews/archives/93111/
History
- "The History of Community Supported Agriculture, Part I: Community Farms in the 21st Century: Poised for Another Wave of Growth?" (2004) NewFarm.
https://www.newfarm.org/features/0104/csa-history/part1.shtml - "The History of Community Supported Agriculture, Part II: CSA‘s World of Possibilities." (2004) NewFarm.
http://www.newfarm.org/features/0204/csa2/part2.shtml - "Eating for Your Community: A Report from the Founder of Community Supported Agriculture," by Robyn Van En. (1995) In Context, Fall 1995, p, 29.
https://www.context.org/iclib/ic42/vanen/ - "History of Community Supported Agriculture," Unit 3.1 In Teaching Direct Marketing and Small Farm Viability: Resources for Instructors. (2016) Center for Agroecology Sustainable Food Systems, University of California, Santa Cruz.
https://casfs.ucsc.edu/about/publications/Teaching-Direct-Marketing/units-1-9.html - It's Not Just About Vegetables. 1986. A video documentary of Indian Line Farm, one of the first Community Supported Agriculture projects in North America. Produced by Mickey Friedman and John MacGruer. Great Barrington, MA: Downtown Productions, 2006
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXvk9k-hmlk
Surveys and Statistics
- Data collected in 2015 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture indicates that 7,398 farms in the United States sold products directly to consumers through a community supported agriculture (CSA) arrangement. CSA's accounted for $226 million (or 7 percent) of the $3 billion in direct-to-consumer sales by farms.
See: Direct Farm Sales of Food. Results of the 2015 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey. December 2016.
See: 2015 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey - Data collected in 2012 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture indicates that 12,617 farms in the United States reported marketing products through a community supported agriculture (CSA) arrangement, a .5 percent increase over the 12,549 farms marketing through CSAs in 2007. Information by state also is available.
- 2012
Table 43. Selected Practices: 2012. In 2012 Census of Agriculture - State Data. p. 558. (2014) U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.
See the column titled, "Marketed products through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) (farms)" to find the number of farms that answered yes to the question, "At any time during 2012, did this operation market products through a community supported agriculture (CSA) arrangement?"
See also: 2012 Census of Agriculture Highlights: Farmers Marketing
See also: 2012 USDA Census of Agriculture Publications - 2007
Table 44. Selected Practices: 2007. In 2007 Census of Agriculture - State Data. p. 606. (2009) U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.
See the column titled, "Marketed products through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) (farms)" to find the number of farms that answered yes to the question, "At any time during 2007, did this operation market products through a community supported agriculture (CSA) arrangement?"
See also: 2007 USDA Census of Agriculture Publications
- 2012
- Unraveling the CSA Number Conundrum. McFadden, Steven. The Call of the Land. Blog. January 9, 2012.
https://thecalloftheland.wordpress.com/2012/01/09/unraveling-the-csa-number-conundrum/ - 2009 Survey of Community Supported Agriculture Producers. (July 2009) Cooperative Extension Service, College of Agriculture, University of Kentucky. Analysis of survey findings on the business and marketing practices of 205 CSA farms in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
http://www.uky.edu/ccd/sites/www.uky.edu.ccd/files/2009csasurvey.pdf - CSA 2001: An Evolving Platform for Ecological and Economical Agricultural Marketing and Production. (2005) University of Massachusetts. Analysis and update of previous surveys, with emphasis on the U.S. Northeast.
http://api.ning.com/files/3FyohVhrK-m5eIn2G2jfkF2vpDUXaYlfQtSpRUvy4u2WE1tMaovZ673Tnfo*fd8T3ysBa9ncJb4Z81pTNEIQUaoTvYJIe6Qs/NESAWGCSA2001.pdf - CSA Across the Nation: Findings from the 1999 CSA Survey. (2003) Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems (CIAS), College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Provides the first comprehensive portrait of the CSA movement in the US. Findings from a 1999 national "census" survey show commonalities and diversity among CSA farms.
http://www.cias.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/csaacross.pdf - Community Supported Agriculture Entering the 21st Century: Results from the 2001 National Survey. (undated) D. Less, A. Bevis, G.W. Stevenson, J. Hendrickson, and K. Ruhf. Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems (CIAS), College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Presents the results of a 2001 survey of 300 Community Supported Agriculture farms in 43 U.S. states. Continues the 1999 survey as described in the report CSA Across the Nation: Findings from the 1999 CSA Survey, above.
http://www.cias.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/csa_survey_01.pdf - Community Supported Agriculture in the Mid-Atlantic Region: Results of a Shareholder Survey and Farmer Interviews. (2004) L. Oberholtzer. Future Harvest-CASA. Research from the Small Farm Success Project.
https://www.scribd.com/document/7806331/community-supported-agriculture-in-the-mid-atlantic-region - Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in the Midwest United States: A Regional Characterization. (2005) Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1151&context=leopold_pubspapers - Community Supported Agriculture on the Central Coast: The CSA Member Experience. (2003) Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS), University of California.
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5wh3z9jg - Marketing Your Organic Products. In Final Results of the 4th National Organic Farmers Survey: Sustaining Organic Farms in a Changing Organic Marketplace. p. 48-51. (2004) Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF). Survey conducted in 2002.
https://ofrf.org/sites/ofrf.org/files/docs/pdf/4thsurvey_results.pdf
Where to Find More Information
- Publications, guides and tools from the Cooperative Extension Service.
Search AGRICOLA, the National Agricultural Library (NAL) Catalog.
AGRICOLA (AGRICultural Online Access) is a bibliographic database of citations to the agricultural literature created by the National Agricultural Library (NAL) and its cooperators. Records describe publications and resources encompassing all aspects of agriculture and allied disciplines. [Learn more about AGRICOLA.]
- Search AGRICOLA using Open AGRICOLA:
- Find books, articles, electronic documents and other formats
- Example search terms / phrases: ("community supported agriculture") OR ("community supported farm?") OR ("CSA farm?") OR ("subscription farm?") OR (teikei)
- Subject browse in AGRICOLA:
- Articles: Subject Search Then, select the Subject tab. Enter: "community supported agriculture" and select "hit the Enter key.
- Books: Subject Search. Then, select the Subject tab. Enter: "community supported agriculture" and hit the Enter key.
Review Community Supported Agriculture - Automated Database Searches to search additional resources.
Additional Information for Farmers
- "Community Supported Agriculture," Unit 3.0 In Teaching Direct Marketing and Small Farm Viability: Resources for Instructors 2nd Edition. (2015) Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems, University of California, Santa Cruz.
https://casfs.ucsc.edu/about/publications/Teaching-Direct-Marketing/index.html - CSA project reports from the SARE database of funded projects.
https://projects.sare.org/search-projects/ 1. Select "Advanced Keyword" Search Option, check "CSA" in the Economic/Marketing category, then select Search. Or, 2. Select "Advanced Keyword" Search Option, select Phrase Search, enter the search string Community Supported Agriculture, then select Search. - Farmers Markets and Direct-to-Consumer Marketing.
https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/local-regional/farmers-markets-and-direct-consumer-marketing - Guide to Financing the Community Supported Farm. Ways for Farms to Acquire Capital Within Communities. University of Vermont Center for Sustainable Agriculture, University of Vermont Extension. 2012. 62 p. Describes alternative financial arrangements and basic legal issues to consider for community supported farm development.
http://www.uvm.edu/newfarmer/business/finance-guide/Guide%20to%20Financing%20the%20Community%20Supported%20Farm_March2012.pdf - Local Harvest: A Multifarm CSA Handbook. (Revised 2010)
https://www.sare.org/Learning-Center/SARE-Project-Products/Northeast-SARE-Project-Products/Local-Harvest - Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE). SARE resources include Marketing Strategies for Farmers and Ranchers; and Building a Sustainable Business: A Guide to Developing a Business Plan for Farms and Rural Businesses.
https://www.sare.org/Learning-Center - CSA Resources for Farmers. (updated 2011) U.S. Department of Agriculture, AFSIC. List of selected books, articles, videos and web links focusing on the business of CSA farming.
https://pubs.nal.usda.gov/csa-resources-farmers
Eating Seasonally and Regionally
- Eating Local: A Matter of Integrity, by John Ikerd. (2005) University of Missouri.
http://web.missouri.edu/~ikerdj/papers/Alabama-Eat%20Local.htm - Dietary Guidance. USDA, Food and Nutrition Information Center, National Agricultural Library.
https://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/dietary-guidance-0
Community Food Systems: Farm-to-School, Food Circles, and Farmers’ Markets
- Local Food Systems. U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library, Alternative Farming Systems Information Center.
https://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/local-food-systems - Community Food Systems. U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library, Food and Nutrition Information Center. Links to dozens of publications, programs and Web sites.
https://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/community-food-systems - Farmer's Markets. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service. Includes a state-by-state directory.
https://www.ams.usda.gov/local-food-directories/farmersmarkets - Food Circles Networking Project. Connecting Farmers, Consumers, and Communities. University of Missouri.
http://foodcircles.missouri.edu/ - Food Security Learning Center. World Hunger Year (WHY)
https://whyhunger.org/category/articles/welcome-to-the-food-security-learning-center/ - Local Food Systems: Concepts, Impacts, and Issues. (May 2010) S. Martinez, M. Hand, M. DaPra, S. Pollack, K. Ralston, et. al. USDA. Economic Research Service. "'This overview of local food systems explores alternative definitions of local food, estimates market size and reach, describes the characteristics of local consumers and producers, and examines early indications of the economic and health impacts of local food systems."
https://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details/?pubid=46395 - Local and Regional Food Systems. (2015) ATTRA. National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service.
https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/local_food/
The Sustainable/Organic Agriculture Connection
Information from USDA
The U.S. Department of Agriculture supports three major programs that offer sustainable agriculture information and assistance. Whether you are a farmer, an educator or a researcher seeking more information about sustainable agriculture in general, about a specific crop, or help with a specific problem, these programs can help. Contact information for each program and a description of each program's area of specialization are provided below.
- Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program
Provides grant opportunities; maintains diverse portfolio of research projects; synthesizes research results and on-farm experiences to develop books, introductory bulletins and educator guides.- See: What is Sustainable Agriculture?
https://www.sare.org/Learning-Center/SARE-Program-Materials/National-Program-Materials/What-is-Sustainable-Agriculture
- See: What is Sustainable Agriculture?
- ATTRA - The National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service, a program of the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT)
National information service answers questions about specific farming practices and innovative marketing approaches, including organic production.
https://attra.ncat.org/- See: What is Sustainable Agriculture?
https://attra.ncat.org/fundamental/
- See: What is Sustainable Agriculture?
- Alternative Farming Systems Information Center (AFSIC)
Collects, organizes and distributes information on alternative agriculture and provides high-level searching and reference services from the National Agricultural Library's vast collection and world-wide databases.
https://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic- See: Sustainable Agriculture: Definitions and Terms. (1999)
https://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/sustainable-agriculture-definitions-and-terms
- See: Sustainable Agriculture: Definitions and Terms. (1999)
Archived AFSIC resources on Community Supported Agriculture include:
- 1993 Community Supported Agriculture (CSA): An Annotated Bibliography and Resource Guide. 1993
- CSA Resources for Farmers. 2011
- Organizations and Web Sites Related to Community Supported Agriculture. Updated January 2006.
AFSIC staff
The Alternative Farming Systems Information Center
National Agricultural Library
U.S. Department of Agriculture
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Reviewed September 2018