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Re: can CSA provide a living?



I think most CSA's are a second income-type deal. Food prices are held artificially low (oil defense budget, highway subsidy, water subsidy, child and exploited labor, and so on and so on), so I still feel we're trying to build the alternative for when that system collapses (not many calories in money). But in the short run, the vegetable growers I know rank financial compensation on the negative side, against the many positives that keep them doing it.

There are larger farms that are closer to reasonable (Harmony Valley, Roxbury...), but its a growing/learning process to get there, it seems.

Jeff Hall, Ames IA

-----Original Message-----
From: Karen Rains <krains@onysd.wednet.edu>
To: Community Supported Agriculture <CSA-L@prairienet.org>
Date: Wednesday, September 02, 1998 7:02 PM
Subject: can CSA provide a living?


>I am wondering...
>for those of you already in production and actually working your farms,
>can you make a reasonable living at this?
>I went to the library and checked out a book on small scale farming (it
>was negative) and made it sound like there was no way a person could
>find ANY profit in this business.
>To be honest, my goal is to pay my property pmts and taxes and pay the
>bills generated by farming. Is this an unreasonable expectation or are
>those of you out there able to achieve this?
>Please let me know.
>Thank you.
>--
> Karen A. Rains          krains@onysd.wednet.edu 
>Board of Directors      Onalaska School District #300
>    D E D I C A T E D   TO   S U C C E S S
>    http://www.onysd.wednet.edu/board/ 
>