Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

Community Supported Agriculture
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Definition
Community supported agriculture consists of a partnership in which customers contract or buy shares in farm products in advance and producers commit to supply a range of products over the entire season. Customers may have the option to participate in planting, care and harvest.

Advantages

Risk of crop failure is shared between customers and producer
Crop pre-sold before growing season starts – working capital is created at planting time
Reduced labour costs
Crop waste is reduced through market driven production

Disadvantages

Increased management requirements due to proper crop planning and co-ordination of deliveries
Increased time necessary to identify and develop customer base
Most time spent in educating and communicating with customers
Poor yield years may limit customer re-subscription

Getting Into CSA
This one-day workshop provides information for producers interested in adding a community supported agriculture venture to their farm operation. The workshop was offered on November 18, 2014 in Lacombe.

Getting Into CSA - Setting the Stage and Regulations - Eileen Kotowich and Karen Goad - 706K pdf
Pricing for CSA - Christine Anderson - 683K pdf
Getting Started in CSA Tipsheet - Karen Sollid, Sunhill Gardens - 131K pdf

Explore Local Fruit and Vegetable Production You-Tube Videos

Billyco Junction: William Biel shares their story of switching from a conventional hog operation to a mixed fruit and vegetable operation that includes acres of bush and berry crops, vegetables, a thriving Community Shared Agriculture (CSA) program and a bed and breakfast.

Webinars

The Bumble Beets Way: A Young Farmer Shares How to Start a CSA and Keep It Going
Box It Up! Twelve Years of Success with Community Supported Agriculture
Community Supported Agriculture - John Mills, Eagle Creek Farms. Learn the ins and outs about starting and operating a CSA in Alberta. Presentation handout

Other Resources

Alternative Farming Systems Information Centre - This CSA information resource is a cooperative effort between the Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service (CSREES) and the National Agricultural Library (NAL) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
A Farmer's Guide to Marketing through Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) - This publication developed by the Institute of Agriculture at the University of Tennessee is a quick guide to starting a CSA.
Community Supported Agriculture: New Models for Changing Markets (April 2017) - This publication, developed by the University of Kentucky and the USDA, provides an analysis of the emerging marketing and business strategy trends of CSAs in the US.

For more information about the content of this document, contact Eileen Kotowich.
This document is maintained by Delores Serafin.
This information published to the web on November 10, 2016.
Last Reviewed/Revised on April 24, 2017.