Community Supported Agriculture

Community Supported Agriculture  http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csa.shtml 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. Typically, members or “share-holders” of the farm or garden pledge in advance to cover the anticipated costs of the farm operation and farmer’s salary. In return, they receive shares in the farm’s bounty throughout the growing season, as well as satisfaction gained from reconnecting to the land and participating directly in food production. Members also share in the risks of farming, including poor harvests due to unfavorable weather or pests. By direct sales to community members, who have provided the farmer with working capital in advance, growers receive better prices for their crops, gain some financial security, and are relieved of much of the burden of marketing. AFSIC also has developed specific resources on this topic. They include: 1993 Community Supported Agriculture (CSA): An Annotated Bibliography and Resource Guide. 1993 Resources for Farmers. 2006 Organizations and Web Sites. 2006 Automated Database Searches. 2006 Defining Community Supported Agriculture. 1993 Publications about Community Supported Agriculture. 2001
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	Find a CSA Farm Search National farm databases by city, state, or ZIP Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association CSA listings http://www.biodynamics.com/csa.html Local Harvest http://www.localharvest.org/csa/ NewFarm Farm Locator http://newfarm.org/farmlocator/index.php Wilson College, Robyn Van En Center CSA Farm Database http://www.wilson.edu/wilson/asp/content.asp?id=804 The Eat Well Guide http://www.eatwellguide.org/ Search State and regional farm directories Local Food Directories. (2006). ATTRA – The National Sustainable Agriculture Informtion Service. http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/localfood_dir.php
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	What is Community Supported Agriculture? Defining Community Supported Agriculture From Community Supported Agriculture (CSA): An Annotated Bibliography and Resource Guide. (1993) U.S. Department of Agriculture, Alternative Farming Systems Information Center (AFSIC): http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csadef.shtml From “Community Supported Agriculture,” OCD Technote 20 (2001). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Community Development: www.rurdev.usda.gov/ocd/tn/tn20.pdf From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community-supported_agriculture Surveys and Statistics 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/pdf/csaacross.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://www.smallfarm.org/nesawg/pdf/CSA_2001_report.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. http://www.winrock.org/wallacecenter/documents/wc-CSAReport.pdf Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in the Midwest United States: A Regional Characterization. (2005) Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/pubs/staff/files/csa_0105.pdf Community Supported Agriculture on the Central Coast: The CSA Member Experience. (2003) Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS), University of California. http://zzyx.ucsc.edu/casfs/about/Brief_1_CSA.pdf Marketing Your Organic Producee. 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. http://www.ofrf.org/publications/survey/Final.Results.Fourth.NOF. Survey.FastView.pdf History “The History of Community Supported Agriculture, Part I: Community Farms in the 21st Century: Poised for Another Wave of Growth?” (2004) NewFarm. http://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. http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC42/VanEn.htm “History of Community Supported Agriculture,” Unit 4.1 In Teaching Direct Marketing and Small Farm Viability: Resources for Instructors. (2005) Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems, University of California, Santa Cruz. Lecture Outline and Appendix: The Ten Founding Principles of the Teikei System in Japan. http://zzyx.ucsc.edu/casfs/instruction/tdm/download/4.1_CSA_History.pdf
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	Where to Find More Information Organizations and Web Sites Related to Community Supported Agriculture, updated January 2006. http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csaorgs.shtml Publications About Community Supported Agriculture. http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/csa/csapubs.htm Search AGRICOLA, the 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. The records describe publications and resources encompassing all aspects of agriculture and allied disciplines. [Learn more about AGRICOLA.] Search strategy: (“community supported agriculture”) or (“community supported farm???”) or (“CSA farm???”) or (“subscription farm???”) or (“box scheme?”) or (“teikei”) books | articles Subject browse: Community Supported Agriculture   browse Tip: To browse AGRICOLA using other terms, go to http://agricola.nal.usda.gov/. Under the NAL Catalog or the Articles Database column, select “Browse,” select “Subject Browse,” enter a subject term in the box labeled “Find,” and then select “Submit.” See Community Supported Agriculture – Automated Database Searches to search additional resources. Additional Information for Farmers CSA Resources for Farmers. (updated 2006) U.S. Department of Agriculture, AFSIC. List of selected books, articles, videos and web links focusing on the business of CSA farming. http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csafarmer.shtml Organic Agricultural Products: Marketing & Trade Resources. (2005) U.S. Department of Agriculture, AFSIC. http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/AFSIC_pubs/OAP/srb0301.htm Selected Chapters: Regulations, Laws and Legislation Marketing and Trade How-to Guides Marketing and Trade Research Tools Online Industry and Government Sources: Reports, Data and Analysis Market and Consumer Studies (2000-2005) Support Organizations Marketing, Business & Risk Management publications from ATTRA – The National Sustainable Agriculture Informtion Service. http://attra.ncat.org/marketing.html Publications from the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. Publications include Marketing Strategies for Farmers and Ranchers; and Building a Sustainable Business: A Guide to Developing a Business Plan for Farms and Rural Businesses. http://www.sare.org/publications/ CSA project reports from the SARE database of funded projects. http://www.sare.org/reporting/report_viewer.asp [Enter "CSA" as a search term] Extension Publications Missouri Alternatives Center (University of Missouri Extension) database of full-text publications from many states. http://agebb.missouri.edu/mac/links/index.htm [select "C", then "Community Supported Agriculture" for links to 14 documents] Farmer Direct Marketing Bibliography – 2001. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. http://www.ams.usda.gov/directmarketing/bibliography.htm Direct Farm Marketing Resources. USDA, Agricultural Marketing Service. State-by-state directory of contacts. http://www.ams.usda.gov/directmarketing/DM_states.htm National Directory of Farmers Market and Direct Marketing Associations 2001. USDA, Agricultural Marketing Service. http://www.ams.usda.gov/directmarketing/associations.htm
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	Eating Seasonally and Regionally The Northeast Regional Food Guide. Cornell University Cooperative Extension. http://www.nutrition.cornell.edu/foodguide/archive/index.html “Quiz: Are You a Regional or Seasonal Eater?” http://www.nutrition.cornell.edu/foodguide/archive/quiz.html “”Seasoning” Your Kitchen” http://www.nutrition.cornell.edu/foodguide/archive/seasoning.html Where Does Your Food Come From? FoodRoutes. http://www.foodroutes.org/ Eating Local: A Matter of Integrity, by John Ikerd. (2005) University of Missouri. http://www.ssu.missouri.edu/faculty/jikerd/papers/Alabama-Eat%20Local.htm Nutrition and Your Health: 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/dga/index.html
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	Community Food Systems: Farm-to-School, Food Circles, and Farmers’ Markets 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. http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/etext/000061.html Community Food Security. World Hunger Year (WHY) http://www.worldhungeryear.org/fslc/ria_040.asp?section=1&click=1 Food Circles Networking Project. Connecting Farmers, Consumers, and Communities. University of Missouri. http://foodcircles.missouri.edu/ “Edible Connections: A Model to Facilitate Citizen Dialogue and Build Community Collaboration.” (2001) Journal of Extension, 39:2. http://www.joe.org/joe/2001april/a5.html Eat Smart – Farm Fresh! A Guide to Buying and Serving Locally-Grown Produce in School Meals. (December 2005 Working Draft) U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Guidance/Farm-to-School-Guidance_12-19-2005.pdf How Local Farmers and School Food Service Buyers Are Building Alliances: Lessons Learned from the USDA Small Farm/School Meals Workshop, May 1, 2000. (2000) U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service. http://www.ams.usda.gov/tmd/MSB/PDFpubList/localfarmsandschool.pdf Farmer’s Markets. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service. Includes a state-by-state directory. http://www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/
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	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: Exploring Sustainability in Agriculture http://www.sare.org/publications/exploring.htm ATTRA – The National Sustainable Agriculture Informtion 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. http://attra.ncat.org See: What is Sustainable Agriculture? http://attra.ncat.org/fundamental.html 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. http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/ See: Sustainable Agriculture: Definitions and Terms. (1999) http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/AFSIC_pubs/srb9902.htm