Connecticut farmers have been a few steps behind other New England states when it comes to hopping on the Community Supported Agriculture bandwagon. But CSAs — which offer consumers a pre-paid share of fresh, locally grown produce — are catching on in every part of the state.
Under a CSA program, consumers buy a “share” or a “half-share” from the farm at the beginning of the growing season. The farmer then supplies the customer with a weekly bag or box of food picked fresh — typically that day — from the farm, for about 20 to 25 weeks each growing season.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 102 Connecticut farms offered CSAs in 2007, the most recent numbers available. That compares with 221 in Massachusetts and 164 in Vermont. Emily Brooks, founder of the non-profit Connecticut’s Edible Advocates Alliance, said while the number of CSAs has jumped exponentially here, Connecticut still lags other New England states as far as kinds of products to market.
“As a business opportunity, it almost makes Connecticut the wild, wild west,” said Kathy Dunai, owner of Cupola Hollow Farm in West Suffield. “There are tons of business opportunities. Someone who wants to come up with a business plan and really think it through can put a good-sized dent in the marketplace.”
Waldingfield Farm in Washington was among the early adopters of the CSA concept. Patrick Horan said his older brother, Dan, launched the farm’s CSA when they began operations 21 years ago.
“The reason that the CSA was so important for us, and why we found it slightly interesting that other growers weren’t hitched to it, was the simple fact that we were getting money up front to help absorb the early start-up costs,” Horan said.
Brooks agreed that’s a major motivating factor for farmers.
“Farmers and producers have to expend a considerable amount of money,” she said. “It’s a front-heavy business operation. You have to plant, tend the soil and spend tons and tons of money before anything grows. With a CSA model, if you prepay in March, it is really, really helpful to farmers, and they’re gravitating toward it really quickly.”
Since farmers are paid up-front before the growing season, it creates a “shared gamble” for farmers and consumers that puts less risk on the farm as a business.
Last year, when farms such as Waldingfield were hit with tomato blight and hail storms, it was one of the rare times when consumers who took the risk didn’t make out so well.
“Collectively taking the hit makes it a lot easier on the grower,” Horan said. “Last summer was the first time we really experienced that our shares had to learn that was really part of the deal, and most of them got it because home gardens weren’t growing well.”
CSAs also allow farms to diversify their offerings. Traditionally, farmers have reached out to consumers through farm stands and farmers’ markets.
“For our small farmers and producers, the only thing we’ve given them is a farm market venue, and with popularity (in farmers markets) increasing, so has the cost,” Brooks said. “You have to get a town vendor license, a permit license, a booth fee in some areas, costing as much as $800 just to get your spot.”
Farmers’ market participation also requires the farmer to pack up his produce, drive to the market, stand there for hours and hope consumers choose his products over what the 10 to 20 other farmers are offering that day.
With a CSA, there’s increased efficiency.
“The consumers will go to the farm to pick up their food,” Brooks said. “That’s more time-efficient for our producers because they don’t have to sanitize, label, load, drive and display the product.”
At Cupola Hollow Farm in West Suffield, CSA shares were offered for the first time this year. They began accepting applications from customers in late winter, Dunai said, and all of 40 shares were sold by spring.
In addition to the benefit of being paid up front, Cupola Hollow took advantage of its location and the fact that Connecticut has been slower to catch on to CSAs.
“We are right on the state (Massachusetts) line, and we get a lot of traffic (from Massachusetts residents who work in Connecticut),” Dunai said. “We put a sign up front and a lot of people in this area are very well versed to what it is.”
Dunai said she’s pulled people from western Massachusetts towns such as Westfield and Agawam, who are familiar with established CSAs in towns like Northampton and Amherst, but may prefer the convenience of Cupola Hollow.
Dunai said Cupola Hollow worked extensively on putting together a strong business plan, but as always with farming, they’ve learned to expect the unexpected. The stretch of several hot days with no rain in late June and early July forced the farm to install a slow drip irrigation system to make sure crops weren’t lost.
Brooks said with so many farms starting to offer CSAs, she fears the market may soon be saturated. She said farmers ought to differentiate their models — either by service, cost or product offerings — in order to increase the likelihood of success.
“I think there are many ways to start differentiating the models, maybe by doing almost a shopping list, and customizing your crop by what your customers pre-order,” Brooks said.
While that’s not happening yet at Cupola Hollow Farm, Dunai said her farm stands out through its unique offerings and products made in its on-site commercial kitchen.
“We didn’t want ours to be a normal, run-of-the-mill CSA,” she said. “With the certified kitchen, with their quart of strawberries, we were also able to offer strawberry walnut bread.”
Dunai said the farm gave customers a list of what they planned to grow before the season started.
