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Re: price structure



> We feel we are giving a lot of really beautiful vegetables at cut-rate prices, and we don't even know if our shareholders realize what a deal they are getting. 

Leigh -

In response to the above: remember, shareholders have agreed UPFRONT to
take whatever it is you have to offer - even if they wind up not getting
their favorites and have to eat a lot of their less-than-favorite
veggies instead.  If they took their money and went to the farmer's
market they could buy EXACTLY what they want; no one would say you have
to buy this stuff you don't necessary want, too, in order to buy my
tomatoes.

Also, with CSA you've eliminated the overhead associated with a farmer's
market - no stall or weekly fees or work requirements, no worrying about
how you're going to sell, and at what price, all those tomatoes when
everybody else has a bumper crop, too.  Will you bring home money or a
pile of produce headed for the compost heap (after you've frozen or
canned anything and everything you can use in this lifetime and left a
lot smiles at the local soup kitchen).

CSA is a reciprocal arrangement - yes, if its a good year shareholders
can make out like bandits.  You, on the other hand, knew upfront how
much money you were going to make and didn't have to worry about selling
whatever grew to a frequent fickle public.

Shareholders generally have a good sense of the value they receive. 
However, just because you put something in a share doesn't mean it has
value to the shareholder.  If they don't really like beets, and
therefore wouldn't normally buy them, the beets don't have much value to
them.

One final thought: I note that you give fresh flowers as part of the
share (so do we).  This is the item that troubles me; there's a lot of
time involved in growing, picking and arranging flowers, and flowers are
top money makers at the farmer's market.  At $3 per small bouquet over
20 weeks of deliveries, share price should go up a corresponding amount.
We've built a small amount into our share price for flowers, and also
don't give flowers every week.  Flowers are a real positive addition,
though - we get many, many comments from sharholders about them - so
we're not inclined to do away with them.  We've considered having a
seperate "weekly flowers" share, but ...

Hope this is useful -

Debbie Teeter
A.J. Teeter Farm
Ithaca, NY


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