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Re: can CSA provide a living?



Hi Karen,
     We are in the third year of our CSA operation and have finally reached a
point where I can leave my winter job as an advanced practice nurse clinician.
We consider our organic food production as genuine health care reform.  We
grow produce and flowers for 55 subscribers on raised beds on an acre and a
half.  We started with 20 subscribers and increased yearly as our efficiency
improved.
     The CSA is not enough to pay the financial obligations of owning land and
operating a farm.  This year we started producing herbal soaps and skin creams
as an added value product from our herb beds.  Wow!  Did that move liberate us
from the golden hand cuffs of treating illnesses as nurses so we can work to
prevent them as organic farmers.  
      We could not give away the fresh and dried herbs we grew the first two
years.  I frequently challenged my partner about the lack of income generated
by the herb garden space.  We just needed to find the most profitable means to
market our herbs.
      Our operation is as vertically integrated as any agribusiness.  I sell
organic chicken feed as a local distributor. Because there were no local
distributors when I needed organic feed for my layers.  I free range the
chickens in portable chicken tractors as part of my integrated pest management
program (they love slugs, asperagus beatles, etc.).  They also take down and
turn in crop residues while distributing excellent phosphorus and nitrogen
fertilizer.  Their byproducts are eggs and meat.
       Most of our soil inputs are recycled wastes from the community where we
live.  Coffee grounds, grass clippings, stable bedding, etc.  These inputs are
a disposal problem for the community.  But, there are restrictions on what
materials we will accept.  We accept stable bedding only from stables that use
straw instead of wood chips.  Straw composts much faster and better than wood
chips.  People who pay the extra money for straw don't have to pay to get rid
of their waste.  Those who try and save a little money on wood chips spend
five times as much in trucking and dumping charges. 
     When we grew to our current production level, we offered two
apprenticeships in order to teach others how to become urban farmers while
receiving some much needed labor.  each apprentice commits to working a four
hour day once a week for 25 weeks.  In return, the apprentice receives a great
education and a CSA subscription.  We found that an apprenticeship could stear
us away from labor laws and insurance liabilities.
      These are just highlights of an integrated sustainable urban CSA.  Its
possible to make a living from a CSA.  We earn about 20% of what we made as
health care professionals.  But our quality of life as improved expotencially.
      By the way, we started out by researching our business plans and asking
our county extension office and conservation district agents for input.  We
only received put downs from them.  Try not to be too discouraged by their
warnings. No one will try to discourage you from living your dreams more than
those who have abandoned theirs.
      Good luck,             Art Biggert
                                   Ocean Sky Farm
                                   Bainbridge Island, WA
 >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 
  >>