Local Harvest

A MULTIFARM CSA HANDBOOK

Jill Perry
Scott Franzblau
This book was produced with a grant from the Northeast Sustainable
Agriculture Research and Education (NESARE) program. The opinions
and information expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the
opinions of SARE or USDA. Mention, visual representation, or inferred
reference of a product, service, manufacturer, or organization does not
imply endorsement by USDA or SARE. Exclusion does not imply negative
evaluation.

Revised 2010

Cover design by Adam Walko

Printed in the U.S.A.

Signature Book Printing, www.sbpbooks.com
 CONTENTS

1 WHAT IS MULTIFARM CSA?......................................................1

From CSA to Multifarm CSA: The Story of Local
Harvest
Where Did CSA Come From? A Brief History
! Seeds are Sown
! Philosophy in Practice
! Coming to America
! Becoming a Movement
! Teikei & the Agrarian Myth
Multifarm CSA or Cooperative CSA?
! Cooperative Principles
Works Cited

2 BENEFITS OF MULTIFARM CSA………………………… 23

Growers
! Up-Front Payment
! Guaranteed Market
! A Direct Link
! Control Over Pricing
! Specialized Crop Production
! Convenience
! Low Risk Participation for New or Small Growers
! Community Building Among Growers
! Safety Net
Members
! Healthy, Safe Food
 ! Competitive Pricing
! Buying Local
! Reconnecting to the Land
! Decreased Risk for Members
! Convenience

3 THE BIG PICTURE………………………………………35

Cooperative Board of Directors
! Meetings
! Positions
Produce Distribution
! Pickup Site Selection
! Pickup Day Structure and Schedule
CSA Staff
! Administrative Staff
! Site Staff
! Budget

4 CROPS AND BIDS……………………………………… .49

! Crop Coordinator Position
! Bidding for Crops in Year 1
! Retail Price List
! Squaring the Bid Sheets & Budget
! Packing Standard
! How Many Shares & at What Price
! Bidding by Crop & Leaving Room in the Budget
! Before the Growing Season
! Growing Season
! Weekly Call-In & Mid-Season Changes
! Late Season Changes
! Dividing the Membership for Distribution
! Gray Areas: High Value Crops whose Values Change
Over the Season
! Buying Products from Non-Local Harvest Growers
! Fairness in Bidding
5 LEGAL FRAMEWORK……………………………………68
! Legal Framework
! Decision to Incorporate as a Cooperative
! Cooperative Board
! Articles of Incorporation
! Bylaws
! Marketing Agreement
! Cooperative Profits
Works Cited

APPENDIX A:
MULTIFARM CSA AROUND THE COUNTRY…………………79
The Food Basket
! Highlights
! A Well-planned Project
! The Food Basket System
! Challenges Moving Forward
Grown Locally
! Highlights
! A Unique Bidding System
! Direct Marketing: Online Ordering
Grow Alabama
! Highlights
! Incentives to Conventional Growers
! Outreach Efforts
Rolling Prairie Farmers Alliance
! Highlights
Chequamegon CSA
! Highlights

APPENDIX B:
DOCUMENTS RELATED TO LOCAL HARVEST CSA…………92
o First 5 Weeks Planning Sheet
o Example of Crop Totals
o Marketing Agreement
o Packing Standards
o Articles of Incorporation for State of NH
o Local Harvest CSA By Laws
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK three groups of people for

making this project complete:

Inspirers

The farmers of Local Harvest CSA who keep on keeping on and

have inspired the many requests nationwide for a book to explain
just how they are getting it done.

Collaborators

David Trumble, for his contributions to each stage of the project:

approaching us with the idea, supporting the grant proposal, serving
as a listener, reading many versions of each chapter, and writing the
foreword.

Pamela Angulo, for her editing work, meticulously examining the

style, organization, grammar, and syntax of our first draft.

Dale Riggs, our SARE advisor, for her patience and guidance
throughout the project.

Adam Walko, for his beautiful interpretation of our concept.

Supporters

Our friends and families, who will be relieved to receive their

copies.
 FOREWORD

THIS BOOK OFFERS YOU A CHANCE to become a part of the

future of agriculture. CSA farming has taken hold in the US and
around the world. The connection between the consumer and the
farmer is so genuine that what was once considered a “fad” has
developed real respectability. In many ways, CSA farming has sown
the seeds for an entire movement, bringing us back to our roots,
which are embedded in local agriculture.
The question for CSA farmers is not how do I get one started, but
how do I keep it going? The amount of work and the level of
responsibility to your CSA members can be tremendous. A lot of
CSAs have dealt with that responsibility by adding more acreage
and more customers to get to the point where they can have two or
three full-time year-round farmers. This book provides you with
another option. You can work together with other farmers
(experienced and beginners) to create a cooperative CSA. This will
allow you to remain a one-family farm and in the process, build a
community of farmers.
Farming is sometimes a solitary occupation and having CSA
customers interested and sometimes assisting in your daily tasks can
make it more enjoyable. Working together with other farmers to
create a second layer of community is deeply rewarding and
fulfilling in ways that transcend being appreciated. It creates a
brotherhood and sisterhood of like-minded souls. It can make you
and your farm stronger by giving you new opportunities to work
together, share ideas, and help each other out.
This book will give you the how-to’s and nuts and bolts of
setting up and operating a cooperative CSA. It is a clear and
comprehensive work on cooperatives and CSA farming. The
authors, Scott Franzblau and Jill Perry, have seen this from multiple
sides. They have both been farmers in the Local Harvest CSA (an
eight-farm cooperative CSA) and have worked for the CSA as site
managers. They have also researched several other cooperative or
multifarm CSAs in the United States. This book will give you the
ability to turn your ideals for agricultural reform into working
realities.
This book will also be of interest to anyone who runs a one-
farm CSA. There is a wealth of perspective and thought about the
many decisions that every CSA farmer faces. I know you will learn
a great deal from this book. It will hopefully lead you to a fresh
outlook on community-based farming and inspire you to reach out
to your farming neighbors and together begin to build a new and
lasting community.

David Trumble
Good Earth Farm
Weare, New Hampshire
 1
WHAT IS MULTIFARM CSA?

What is the definitional core of a CSA? Is it people coming to the farm, or

is it the commitment between farmers and consumers? Whether you work off
half your share or pay it in full, it is the essential equal sign of committing to
one another.
—David Trumble, Local Harvest CSA grower

COMMUNITY-SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE (CSA), an arrangement

whereby customers pay growers in advance of the growing season
for a guaranteed share of the season’s harvest, is a concept that has
taken many different forms. Since 1985, when the idea was planted
in North America, CSA has grown in ways as varied as the growers
and community members who pioneered it. The idea that first grew
from the rocky soils of New England has adapted to meet the needs
of farms and communities throughout the United States and around
the world. As it has spread and flourished, one thing is for certain:
CSA has a quality that resonates in communities.
Local Harvest CSA—a multifarm CSA that consists of eight
growers who have joined together—was born from this energy and
versatility. Diligence, commitment, and overwhelming community
support has made Local Harvest what it is today, and these features
are common to several multifarm CSAs in other parts of the
country. These operations have been profitable for growers and
supported by local customers. As CSA evolves into multifarm CSA
and other variations, the dialogue between growers and customers
continues, carefully examining the motivations and circumstances
that compel CSAs to exist.

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 As we set out to prove, multifarm CSA is a profitable way for
growers to make a living, but it is more than that. It also is a unique
and creative way for farms and communities to become more
sustainable. It is an excellent way for people to support local farms
and get the freshest food in return. It is a way for children to learn
about where food comes from. It is a way for growers to benefit
from each other’s knowledge.
It is all of these things and more, and they can all be boiled
down to the “essential equal sign” that David Trumble talks about.
Multifarm CSA is a connection between a group of growers and
local customers. It is the union of two basic concepts: cooperation
among growers, and commitment between growers and local
customers.

From CSA to Multifarm CSA:

The Story of Local Harvest

I don’t think we could have skipped over those hard early years. The only
way to get around that is to have a single leader who makes all the decisions.
That would not have been a true cooperative. So, looking back, I’m glad that
we spent a year coming up with the paperwork and making rough plans, and
also feel that the first three or four years of “discussion” have paid off. Now, we
have all agreed and bought into the system that we have created, and we all have
a sense of ownership. That has been the glue that has held us together.
—Dave Trumble

In 2004 I was the site coordinator for Local Harvest CSA. I

would arrive early at the site where members pick up their
vegetables to set up tables, make signs, and arrange bins before the
growers arrived with their produce. I would prop open the doors of
the cool dark hall, allowing sunlight to stream in. Reliably, a
silhouette would soon appear in the doorway, carrying a sensibly
sized box and trailed closely by two smaller forms.

2
 Even before their faces became visible, I knew the figures were
David Trumble (a grower from Weare, NH) and his two children.
Trip after trip, David would bring in his produce while the children
played, their clear voices echoing in the hall. Just before they were
to depart, David would say, with an appreciation that I didn’t quite
understand, “Wow, this looks great; this is really great.”
I now realize that for David those CSA pickup days represented
the culmination of years of time and effort. The taste was sweet. He
finally had a market that was profitable and secure, afforded him
the efficiency required to be a grower and a full-time parent, and
provided a community of growers from whom to draw knowledge
and friendship.
Jill Perry, 2006

In the late 1980s many organic farms in the United States

embraced the CSA concept. Coast to coast, farms launched all
kinds of CSA programs. Some memberships were small, others
large; some CSAs required a deep commitment from members,
whereas others required only payment; some had several growers
working together, and others were operated by a single grower or
family farm. As it happened, many of these early CSAs—and many
that exist today—are in the latter category: a single grower or a
family farm. Because the CSA concept was developed in the United
States by two different groups of growers working together to maintain
a CSA, it may have been hard to predict the unique challenges faced
by someone who wanted to start one alone.
Trumble formed a CSA in 1989. As a wholesale grower for the
Deep Root Organic Truck Farmers’ Cooperative, he already had
years of growing experience when he heard about CSA. He was
eager to try the system because it promised up-front payment for
produce. That year, his 56-member CSA was a success. Reflecting,
Trumble says, “I began to see the CSA as a better alternative
financially than wholesale growing. I had more control over pricing
and was not at the mercy of the huge wholesale market.”

3
 Trumble’s Good Earth CSA grew to 120 members, of which
approximately half were local and half were from Boston. Each
week, Trumble made deliveries to several locations so members
could conveniently pick up their food. “The members really liked
the idea of taking part in a farm,” he says. “Even if they never came
to the farm, they liked supporting it.” Trumble also liked growing
for the CSA; he was making a living doing what he loved most and
felt that the members appreciated his efforts.
But after several years of this pace, things began to change. In
the late 1990s he and his wife built a new farm and welcomed two
children. By 2002, with his wife working off the farm, they had
scaled the CSA back to only 25 members so that Trumble could be
the stay-at-home parent. “We had reached a tough point,” Trumble
explains. “From a high of five sites, we began eliminating deliveries
to drop-off spots. We dropped Manchester and then Concord and
then the two in Boston. We were down only to pick up at the farm.
The economics of it were not making a whole lot of sense. I still
had the stress of growing six crops of broccoli, 12-plus crops of
lettuce, etc., but not enough volume to make much of a profit. I’m
not sure what we would have done.”
Looking back, Trumble reflects, “We were dealing with a
broken system.” The labor of successive plantings and daily
harvests, combined with the care of two young children and the
isolation of being a grower, was not sustainable for him. He was
doing too much work for too little money. Thankfully, he did not
give up. Rather, these challenges prompted the creative ideas that
would eventually become Local Harvest CSA.
In 2001, Trumble read about a cooperative CSA in Growing for
Market, an agricultural publication from Kansas. Featured was the
Rolling Prairie Farmers Alliance: a growers’ cooperative that ran a
CSA-style vegetable subscription service. For the small growers of
Rolling Prairie, this cooperative multifarm CSA was a solution to
marketing difficulty in an area where “get big or get out” agriculture
was the at the forefront. For Trumble, who wanted to reduce the
number of crops and successive plantings he was growing as a
single-farm CSA without entirely giving up a relationship with his

4
food customers, it seemed like a great idea. From his experience as
a member of the Deep Root Organic Cooperative, he also knew
that a community of growers could share knowledge, friendship,
and even farm implements.
Wasting little time, Trumble called Lynn Byczynski, editor of
Growing for Market and a member of Rolling Prairie, who offered lots
of encouragement and was willing to share information about how
the group got started. Trumble says that Byczynski also gave good
advice: “Sit down in advance of actually selling anything and work
out all of the rules, including how to deal with growers who don’t
fit in the group. Take a year to do this, and it will pay off in the long
run.”
Yet what Byczynski was suggesting was a huge investment of
time and energy without any guarantee that New Hampshire
growers and customers would be interested. So, Trumble enlisted
the help of Elizabeth Oblenus, program and membership
coordinator of the New Hampshire chapter of the Northeast
Organic Farming Association (NOFA-NH). NOFA-NH, and
Oblenus especially, was a great resource for Trumble, who recalls,
“I had some definite ideas about how to organize the co-op, and
Elizabeth had great people skills to work on finding growers and
customers.”
With the help of NOFA, Trumble applied for a Sustainable
Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) grant from the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) Cooperative State Research,
Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) that would allow them
the necessary planning time. In the spring of 2002, Trumble and
Oblenus were awarded $7,200 to spend the next year finding
interested growers; working out legalities, such as the articles of
incorporation; and creating a cooperative structure, complete with
agreements about marketing and crop production.
Over the next year a small group of interested people gathered
monthly at the NOFA office in Concord. Although only a few
members of the original group ended up participating in the CSA,
their ideas shaped the structure of the cooperative that exists today.

5
The group debated everything from cooperative and CSA
philosophy to practicalities such as taxes and insurance. As the year
progressed, it became clear that the system was not for everyone.
Oblenus recalls, “A couple of them were very small growers, and I
think they thought it would be too much for them. I was a small
grower too, but Dave convinced me that this was the perfect way to
get started.”
The final group heading into the 2003 season was an eclectic
group of growers, farming varied lands, with a range of experience:
Jennifer Ohler and Bob Bower of Kearsarge Gore Farm, who had
been growing on the slopes of Kearsarge Mountain for 20 years;
Steve Fulton of Blue Ox Farm, who had been taking advantage of
the fertile Pootatuck soil of Enfield for 4 years; John Hermann,
farm manager of the long-standing Nelson Farms in Strafford;
Roger Noonan, a pilot-turned-grower tending the fields and
pastures of Middle Branch Farm in New Boston; Elizabeth
Oblenus, a self-proclaimed “new” grower, carving her quarter-acre
Serenity Garden on a hillside in Meredith; veteran gardener Larry
Pletcher of the Vegetable Ranch on Tory Hill in Warner; Eero
Ruuttila and Lianna Eastman, experienced and savvy managers of
the nonprofit Nesenkeag Cooperative Farm on the banks of the
Merrimack River in Litchfield; and David Trumble, former co-op
and CSA grower, minding the rocky upland loam of Good Earth
Farm in Weare.
Initially, the group had hoped to recruit 60 members, but
membership quickly expanded as the CSA received positive
feedback in the Concord area. By the first produce pickup day in
June 2003, there were 128 members and a considerable waiting list
forming for the next year.
The 2003 season was very successful overall. As members
learned what CSA was all about, it became clear that some families
were a perfect fit, whereas others were not. Many exclaimed week
after week, “This is just like Christmas!” or “These carrots are so
sweet my kids eat them instead of cookies!” Meanwhile, others were
wearied by “worms in the broccoli,” and one woman lamented, “I

6
just like shopping too much; I miss going to [the] farmers market
and picking out whatever I want.”
Over the 2003–2004 winter, growers regrouped at monthly
meetings, using member surveys to evaluate their successes and
failures and formulate goals for 2004. Together they decided to
expand to 180 members and discussed many issues, including which
crops to provide more of and less of, employee accountability,
pricing, vegetable packing standards, long-term visions for the co-
op, and whether to enter the technology age by adding a Web site
and cell phone.
The 2004 season consisted of fine-tuning the practices begun in
2003. For growers, the crop bidding process was clarified as they
became accustomed to the CSA’s expectations of produce quality,
packaging, and delivery time. For members, those who returned
knew the idiosyncrasies of the pickup site and were able to assist
new members. Also, the employees managing the pickup site (who
were also growers for the CSA) made modifications that
streamlined operations on pickup day.
After the 2004 season, the CSA’s cooperative board of directors
(the growers) began planning for 2005 while considering the long-
term goals of the group. At a winter retreat meeting, growers came
prepared to share ideas about how they wanted to see the CSA
progress. Most agreed that healthy, realistic growth was ideal;
however, ideas of what constituted healthy, realistic growth varied.
Some growers expressed concern that the CSA would soon
outgrow its pickup site, suggesting that they would like to see the
CSA operate its own distribution site in the future. Others wanted
to work on improving the business and marketing plans, whereas
still others thought the priority was to improve cooperation and
decision-making skills among growers.
For the 2005 season, the growers decided to aim for 280
members. The feeling among the group was that this goal was
ambitious, but one that growers could handle. Like in past years,
memberships trickled in during early spring and finally picked up in
June, as the first CSA pickup date neared. The final count was 244

7
members, and after the season began, most growers felt that that
was plenty.
A few big changes were made between 2005 and 2006. One was
that two growers decided not to return. Although the group was
sorry to see them go, these losses opened the door for other
growers to take on more crops and for two new small growers to
join. This change has been seen as positive as the new growers
bring new talents and energies to the CSA.
Another change was that the CSA decided to forgo expansion
and stay with approximately 250 members. This decision reflected
the growers’ primary goal during that time: for the CSA to “become
a well-oiled machine,” as grower Bob Bower put it. Trumble added,
“We are trying to get good and stay good at what we do. This
means that everyone is willing to have a similar vision and then
execute the plan.”
During these years, Local Harvest was getting better at what it
did. Member retention from 2005 to 2006 increased substantially
from around 50 percent to more than 65 percent, for two reasons,
according to Trumble. One was that the CSA was trying hard to
match the selection of crops with the preferences that members had
indicated on surveys. Another was that it found the “‘CSA folks—
people who like the scheduling and eating with the seasons.”
In the years since 2006, the CSA has fine-tuned its methods.
Sticking with the same distribution site, and solidifying a group of
five evenly balanced (in terms of percentage of the co-op) larger
farms and three smaller ones, Local Harvest has been able to
seamlessly expand to 300 members, while retaining between 60 and
70 percent of members year-to-year. After the 2009 season,
Trumble noted that, “Size does matter. When we were 200
members, we were just barely able to pay our bills. At 250
members, we ran smoothly and ended up with a small profit
(patronage dividend). At 300 members, we are able to run the
business and not have to worry about whether we can afford a site
assistant, or to pay an employee who has worked a few hours over
time.”

8
 The future for Local Harvest CSA is bright. The considerable
time and effort that everyone involved has put into the CSA is truly
worthwhile. Growers spend more time in the fields and with their
families because meetings are shorter and logistics are clearer than
in previous years; members seem happy to benefit from a system
that has undergone trial and error, vision and revision.

Where Did CSA Come From? A Brief History

CSA is not the conception of any one person. It is a response
and a solution to the disconnect that industrialized societies face
from the land that feeds them. At a time when markets are almost
always “super,” and “fresh” means flown from halfway around the
globe, it is not easy to find a connection between the field down the
street from you and the dinner on your table. CSA changes that.
CSA unites people who are passionate about farming with people
who are passionate about healthy food, healthy families, and a
healthy earth.

Seeds Are Sown

Rudolph Steiner was a European philosopher who developed
many ideas in his lifetime, including two concepts that contributed
to the formation of CSA: anthroposophy and biodynamic
agriculture. Born in 1861 in what is now called Slovenia, Steiner
took part in the peasant agriculture that shaped the countryside
when he was young. During his lifetime, Steiner watched as much
of this earth-aware peasantry moved to the cities to work in
factories. Although he spent most of his life in academia, Steiner
carried with him the identity of a peasant farmer: “I beg you to
consider me as the small peasant farmer who conceived a real love
for farming; one who remembers his small peasant farm and who
thereby, perhaps, can understand what lives in the peasantry, in the
farmers and yeomen of our agricultural life” (Moore). This identity
allowed Steiner to apply his education in a unique way. As a student,
Steiner studied the scientific writings of Johann Wolfgang von

9
Goethe, the German poet whose less-known approach to science is
holistic, rather than mechanistic (Holdredge). This experience and
others provided Steiner with the fodder to develop his own spiritual
and agricultural ideas. Steiner’s anthroposophist and biodynamic
theories laid the foundation for the CSA system used today.
Anthroposophy, defined as “wisdom of the human being,” is a
nonreligious philosophy that seeks to access and guide human
spirituality toward a kind of universal spirituality via the path of
modern arts and sciences (Goethanum). For Steiner, this
philosophy was manifest in some very pragmatic ways, including
the development of Camphill Communities, Waldorf education, and
associative economics (Brown, p. 4.1.3).
Biodynamic agriculture is a system of farming that extends the
principles of organic farming to create a farm that is managed as a
living organism. In order to manage a farm this way growers must
mimic natural principles of sustainability as observed by Goethe
and Steiner (Background). Community-supported agriculture builds
upon this idea of the farm as a whole organism by integrating the
customer of the farms goods: by educating and involving the farm
customer in the work of the farm, the customer helps to regenerate
the farm in a way that is more meaningful than simply providing
monetary support.

Philosophy in Practice
Associative economics, an approach that “fosters interaction
among producers, traders, creditors, and consumers where
appropriate price, true human needs, the eradication of poverty,
greater social equity, and environmental impacts are explicitly
addressed,” was a natural precursor to CSA because, in its most
general sense, CSA aims to accomplish these goals as well. In
Germany in the late 1960s, three men developed a land trust based
on associative economics that included a farm. The farm was
supported by loans from a group of nonfarming community
members that they called an “agriculturally cooperating

10
community.” One of these trust developers was Trauger Groh, who
eventually moved to the United States (Brown, p. 4.1.4).
Because of the overlapping nature of Steiner’s theories, many
people who were interested in associative economics also became
interested in biodynamics, and vice versa. When Jan Vander Tuin,
an American, went to western Europe in the early 1980s to study
agricultural systems, he found a dedicated and rich culture forming
in response to Steiner’s ideas. While in Switzerland, Vander Tuin
helped to start a producer–consumer food co-op in Zurich. The
Zurich co-op was a blend of Steiner’s associative economics and
inspiration from Chile’s cooperative movement during the 1970s.
Using what he calls “an ancient Swiss farm” and a store front in
town, Vander Tuin and others created a system whereby members
of the co-op could pick up a share of vegetables twice a week and
could shop for other locally produced foods, such as olive oil and
citrus fruits, while there (Vander Tuin).

Coming to America
Groh and Vander Tuin effectively brought the CSA concept to
the United States in the early to mid-1980s. Groh met and wed a
woman from New Hampshire and moved there to be with her. He
found fertile ground for his agricultural ideas in the likes of Lincoln
Geiger and other families in the New Hampshire towns of Temple
and Wilton. In Farms of Tomorrow: Community Supported Farms—Farm
Supported Communities, Groh discusses the evolution of the Temple–
Wilton Community Farm. He quotes Geiger: “Many people don’t
want to use the land they have, but they would like to see it farmed.
They make their land available so that growers without land can
care for it in their name. Under such an arrangement no one gets
rich, but then again, no one starves either.”
A year and a half after Vander Tuin returned to the United
States, he met Robyn Van En (1948–1997). Van En and her son
had moved to Massachusetts from northern California in 1983, and
by 1985 she was growing all the winter vegetables for a local food-
buying club. Van En was dissatisfied with the arrangement, though,

11
because she was investing all her money and labor into the crops
and hoping they would be successful so she could get paid for her
work. To her, the risk was problematic. In Sharing the Harvest: A
Guide to Community Supported Agriculture, she writes, “In the middle of
my second growing season, as I pondered this agricultural
conundrum, Jan Vander Tuin visited the farm. … After talking only
a few minutes, Jan and I knew that we should do [what Vander
Tuin had done in Switzerland] at Indian Line Farm” (Henderson, p.
xiv).
At that point, the concept that Vander Tuin and Van En were
talking about had no universally understood name. The first season,
they called their system “share the costs to share the harvest,” and
as Van En notes, “No one had ever heard of being paid for
vegetables in advance.” It was 1985. A group that included Van En
and Vander Tuin as well as Susan Witt of the E. F. Schumacher
Society; John Root, Jr., of a local group home for handicapped
adults; and grower Hugh Ratcliffe met that winter to discuss and
formulate the concept. Of this, Van En writes, “We didn’t take any
step of this process lightly. We discussed and debated long into the
nights the necessary policies and procedures, besides the possible
names for the project that would convey its full intent and
purpose.” They understood that language is loaded and sought
words that would honor the concept and still be accepted in our
society and others. Together, they decided on community-supported
agriculture, which could be inverted as agriculture-supported communities.
“CSA to ASC,” Van En writes, “was the whole message”
(Henderson, p. xiv).
By 1986 both Indian Line Farm and the Temple–Wilton
Community Farm had developed systems that radically altered the
relationship between grower and consumer, whereby a local
consumer commits to a local grower for a given period of time and
shares the inherent risks throughout that period. Yet, beyond this
commonality, these two farms developed CSA in different ways. In
a 2003 article written about the origin of CSA, writer Steven
McFadden quotes Anthony Graham: “The folks in western
Massachusetts had their approach, and we had ours.”

12
 At Indian Line Farm, CSA developed many of the attributes
that we associate with the concept today: Members pay a fixed
amount up front, members may help with labor, and members get a
fixed amount of produce (a “share”) each week of the growing
season.
The Temple–Wilton farm, greatly influenced by Groh’s
experience in Germany, developed a system in which each member
pledged an amount toward a share of the community farm rather
than paying a fixed cost. In this way, member expenses were
determined by the amount of food they would take and their ability
to pay (Groh, p. 44).

Becoming a Movement
Thanks to the dedication of the founding farms, the CSA
concept spread rapidly in North America. In 1990, representatives
of both of these groups published literature about CSA. Groh and
neighbor Steven McFadden co-authored Farms of Tomorrow, the
aforementioned text in which Groh contributes essays on
agricultural philosophy and McFadden chronicles the stories of
several extraordinary farms, including the Temple–Wilton
Community Farm, Indian Line Farm (originally called the CSA
Garden at Great Barrington), the Kimberton CSA Garden, and
others.
Van En wrote Basic Formula to Create Community Supported
Agriculture, a manual that discusses the philosophy and basic
parameters of CSA. Around this time she also founded CSA North
America (CSANA), a nonprofit organization that aimed to network
and support CSAs, and traveled widely to give speeches and lead
discussions about CSA.
In the 1990s, U.S. farms from Orcas Island, WA, to Tampa,
FL—small and large growers and community members who were
committed to sustainable agriculture—tried out the CSA system.
Although thrilled with the development of CSA in the United

13
States, both of the originating groups kept a close watch on the
evolution of their ideas.
In 1998, Groh and his neighbor, writer Steven McFadden,
published Farms of Tomorrow Revisited, which recounts their own
growth of ideas as well as the range of diversity within the CSA
movement. Van En had already begun updating her text when she
died tragically of an asthma attack in 1997. Grower and writer
Elizabeth Henderson took over the project, and the resulting book,
Sharing the Harvest: A Guide to Community Supported Agriculture, is a
premier text for anyone interested in CSA.

Teikei and the “Agrarian Myth”

Teikei is an inspirational movement that began in Japan in the
1960s around the time that associative economics was developing in
Europe. There is no originating link between the concepts, and
teikei appears to have been born from a unique set of Japanese
circumstances. The literal translation of teikei is “partnership” or
“cooperation,” but as Van En points out, “According to teikei
members in Japan, the more philosophical translation is ‘food with
the farmer’s face on it’” (Henderson, p. xvi).
In the 1960s Japanese citizens were beginning to feel the effects
of industrialization on their lives. In a climate of Minimata disease
(methyl mercury poisoning) and food scares, the Japanese
housewives who were traditionally responsible for feeding their
families united to discuss food safety and community issues.
Together, the women appealed to local growers for organically
grown, additive-free food. The system became known as Teikei.
(Brown, p. 4.1.3)
In an article published by the Rodale Institute, Steven
McFadden gently takes issue with the fact that teikei is constantly
misrepresented as the origin of the CSA movement. The most
blatant example of this happens to be the 2003 TIME magazine
article that elevated CSA into the national dialogue. The article

14
stated that, “The CSA movement began in Japan some thirty years
ago with a group of women alarmed by pesticides” (McFadden).
As McFadden reveals and research into the matter supports, the
members of the founding U.S. CSA farms—including Groh and
Vander Tuin—were not aware of teikei when they began their
endeavors. McFadden quotes Anthony Graham of the Temple–
Wilton Community Farm: “We all went to a conference in
Kimberton, PA, as well as a group from South Egremont including,
I believe, Robyn Van En. This was after both of our farms had
started, maybe a year later. A speaker at the conference mentioned
what was going on in Japan, and that was the first any of us learned
about it.”
Philosophically and practically, teikei and CSA have many
features in common. Once this commonality was discovered in the
1980s, the door opened for the Japanese and North American
communities to learn from one another. Indeed, since that time,
many speakers have visited colleagues on the other side of the
Pacific. Even though teikei and CSA developed independently, it is
compelling and affirming that two different cultures, thousands of
miles apart, sought a direct connection to growers and agricultural
land as a solution to problems that arose from conventional
agriculture and an industrialized world.

Multifarm CSA or Cooperative CSA?

CSA has evolved into many different structures—several kinds
in New England alone. In some cases, the difference may appear to
be simply semantic; “multifarm” and “cooperative” could mean the
same thing. Yet some very real differences exist.
Local Harvest is a multifarm CSA because several farms
contribute to its operation. It is also a cooperative CSA because the
participating farms are joined in a cooperative arrangement. More
than growers simply working together, the group is guided by
cooperative principles and exists within an established legal
framework.

15
 Cooperatives have existed in Europe and the United States
since the mid-18th century. Attempting to leverage power against
an overbearing mill company, a group of textile workers in
Rochdale, England, developed the structure and cooperative
principles that Local Harvest uses today. Growers formed many
early American cooperatives for purchasing supplies such as feed,
equipment, and seed; large-scale marketing; or processing foods
such as grain.
In 1926 the U.S. Congress passed the Cooperative Marketing
Act, which authorized government support for cooperatives in the
form of research, funding, and technical assistance. Even today, the
Rural Business–Cooperative Service division of the USDA aims to
provide assistance for the improvement of existing rural
cooperatives and the development of new ones. (Applicants should
send a formal letter requesting assistance to the state or national
Rural Development Office. More information can be found at
www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/coops/csdir.htm).
During the Great Depression cooperatives became popular as
citizens joined together to increase food security. Due to provisions
of the New Deal, technical assistance to urban cooperatives became
available, enabling many consumer cooperatives to form. One of
these was the Hanover Consumer Cooperative Society in Hanover,
NH, which has grown to represent more than 30,000 individuals
(Zimbelman).
A unique feature of cooperatives is that they are owned and
controlled by their members. They can be formed by groups of
consumers, workers, businesses, or producers. Local Harvest CSA
is a producer cooperative. Each farm has a member on the
volunteer Board of Directors, and several growers are also
employees.
New Hampshire law allows for incorporation as an agricultural
cooperative; many states have similar laws. Legally, the cooperative
is unique because it “is viewed as an extension of the producer-
members’ own farming operations. A cooperative operates at a cost
by funneling earnings to its patrons. That way, the cooperative has

16
no real income to be taxed. As such, patrons should realize these
cooperative earnings are taxable income (Cook)”. The legal options
for multifarm CSAs are described in detail in Chapter 5: “Legal
Framework.”
Yet multifarm CSA can take many other shapes. Both of the
founding U.S. CSAs were multifarmer operations, with several
growers working together on a shared piece of land. In at least two
cases (the Temple–Wilton Community Farm and Cold Pond
Community Land Trust of Acworth), a land trust was formed in
order for the land to be shared and legal. In one case in Alabama, a
single grower acted as a broker, buying produce from several farms
to support a large CSA. (For detailed information about some other
multifarm CSAs, see Appendix A: “Multifarm CSA Around the
Country.”)
The legal structure that a multifarm CSA takes depends greatly
on the values and beliefs of the growers and potential members.
For Local Harvest CSA, navigating the cooperative structure has
been a challenge, but from this successful navigation has come deep
friendships among growers and a thriving community of CSA
members.

Cooperative Principles
(As identified by the International Co-operative Alliance)
• Voluntary and open membership: Cooperatives are voluntary
organizations, open to all persons able to use their services and
willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, without
gender, behavioral, racial, political, or religious discrimination.

• Democratic member control: Cooperatives are democratic

organizations controlled by their members, who actively
participate in setting policies and making decisions. Men and
women serving as elected representatives are accountable to the
membership. In primary cooperatives members have equal

17
 voting rights (one member, one vote) and cooperatives at other
levels are also highly organized in a democratic manner.

• Members’ economic participation: Members contribute equitably

to, and democratically control, the capital of their cooperative.
At least part of that capital is usually the common property of
the cooperatives. Members usually receive limited
compensation, if any, on capital subscribed as a condition of
membership. Members allocate surpluses for any of or all of
the following purposes: developing their cooperative, possibly
setting up reserves, part of which would be indivisible;
benefiting members in proportion to their transactions with the
cooperative; and supporting other activities approved by the
membership.

• Autonomy and independence: Cooperatives are autonomous,

self-help organizations controlled by their members. If they
enter into agreements with other organizations including
governments, or raise capital from external sources, they do so
on terms that ensure democratic control by their members and
maintain their cooperative autonomy.
• Education, training, and information: Cooperatives provide
education and training for their members, elected
representatives, managers, and employees so they can
contribute effectively to the development of their cooperatives.
They inform the general public, particularly young people and
opinion leaders, about the nature of the benefits of healthy
cooperation.

• Cooperation among cooperatives: Cooperatives serve their

members most effectively and strengthen the cooperative
movement by working together through local, national,
regional, and international structures.

18
• Concern for community: Cooperatives work for the sustainable
development of their communities through policies approved
by their members.

Many have argued that in order for us to know where we are

going we must first understand where we have been. Chronicling
the evolution of the CSA concept is useful for those interested in
the philosophical underpinnings of a cooperative or multifarm CSA.
Yet it is also essential for anyone considering growing for or joining
a multifarm CSA to consider the benefits that come from this
involvement. The following chapter, Benefits of Multifarm CSA
will discuss the benefits of this marketing model for both growers
and members.

19
 Works Cited

“Anthroposophy.” Goethanum Homepage. Goethanum, Dornach,

Switzerland. 27 Jan. 2005 <http://www.goetheanum.org
/87.html?&L=1>

“Background.” Demeter USA Website. 2006. Demeter United

States Branch. 20 Feb. 2007. <http://demeter-
usa.org/?page_id=6>

Brown, Martha, and Albie Miles, eds. Teaching Direct Marketing

and Small Farm Viability: Resources for Instructors. Santa
Cruz: Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food
Systems at the University of California, 2005.

Groh, Trauger M., and Steven S.H. McFadden. Farms of

Tomorrow: Community Supported Farms, Farm Supported
Communities. Kimberton, PA: Bio-Dymanic Farming and
Gardening Assiciation, 1990.

Henderson, Elizabeth, with Robyn Van En. Sharing the Harvest:

A Guide to Community-Supported Agriculture. White River
Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing, 1999.

20
Holdredge, Craig. “Seeing Nature Whole: A Goethean Approach.”
Home page. The Nature Institute. 27 Jan. 2005.
<http://www.natureinstitute.org/nature/index.htm>

McFadden, Steven. “Community Farms in the 21st Century: Poised

for Another Wave of Growth?” The New Farm. 2005. The
Rodale Institute. 27 Jan. 2005.<http://www.newfarm.org
/features/0104/csa-history/part1.shtml>

Moore, Hilmar. “Rudolph Steiner: A Biographical Introduction for

Farmers. Biodynamics. Nov. 1997. Biodynamic Farming
and Gardening Association. 8 Jan. 2005.<http://www.
biodynamics.com/steiner.html>

Zimbelman, Karen. “History of Cooperatives.” Cooperative Life

Homepage. Cooperative Life. 30 Jan. 2005. <http://
www.cooplife.coop/coophist.htm>

VanderTuin, Jan. “Zurich Supported Agriculture.” Rain Magazine

Winter/Spring 1992: 6

21
22
 2
BENEFITS OF MULTIFARM CSA

There are advantages to sharing the work and sharing the risk … once a
solid group of farms has formed, the possibilities… are limitless. Networks of
small and medium-sized farms, whether farmer-, consumer-, or organizer-
instigated, can become the backbone of a sustainable local economy.
—Elizabeth Henderson, Sharing the Harvest

ELIZABETH HENDERSON IS RIGHT. When farms work together

they can have a profound impact on the local food buying
economy. Within the past few years the discourse surrounding
sustainable food has shifted somewhat from “organic” to “local.”
In this way CSA and multifarm CSA have become even more
relevant, and with greater numbers of people thinking hard about
their food choices, the interest in local food will surely continue to
grow. As growers take on more of the responsibility for feeding the
community, a multifarm CSA could be an attractive way for both
growers and members to work together to foster a healthy local
economy.
The following chapter discusses the essential benefits of a
multifarm CSA as cited by the growers and members of Local
Harvest CSA. The first section of the chapter examines benefits for
growers and the second section examines benefits for members.

23
 Growers
We’ll continue to work with the CSA because we believe in both direct to
consumer sales, and the notion of farmers working in cooperation.
—Roger Noonan, Middle Branch Farm

Multifarm community-supported agriculture (CSA) is beneficial

to growers because it unites the most important attributes of CSA
with the unique advantages of partnering with other farms or
growers. As evidenced by David Trumble’s story in chapter one, a
multifarm CSA can make CSA more manageable and profitable by
spreading the burdens and risks associated with raising dozens of
crops among several growers. Yet this is only one of several
benefits we have identified.
Certain benefits of multifarm CSA are inherent in the CSA
concept: Upfront payment, a guaranteed market, a direct link to
customers, and control over pricing are all benefits of CSA that are
not lost in a multifarm model. The other benefits we have
identified—focused crop production, convenience, low risk
participation for small or new growers, community building among
growers, and the sense of a safety net and possibility of market
preservation during difficult times—we believe are unique to a
multifarm CSA.

Up-Front Payment
For many growers, payment in advance of the growing season is
a strong advantage of CSA. The average person may not realize
how much preparation is required to produce a bright red locally
grown tomato that reaches the dinner plate, but growers know it all
too well.
Each crop requires time and money, starting weeks—even
months—before it is harvested. A grower’s preseason costs might
include a seed order, potting soil for starting seeds, trays and pots
for seedlings to grow in, compost, fertilizer, heating for a

24
greenhouse, and hours of labor transplanting seedlings as they
grow. In addition to these preseason costs, most growers have fixed
year-round costs, such as those of raising animals and maintaining
farm equipment (tractors, trucks, and greenhouses) that must be
paid with their seasonal incomes. These costs add up quickly,
especially for growers in northern climates, where the growing
season is short.
For many growers, CSA has successfully balanced the equation.
Ideally, CSA members sign up and pay—a deposit, or in full—for
their share months before they will receive produce. Thus, growers
have support early in the season to invest the time and money it
takes to have a plentiful, successful growing season.
Multifarm CSA does not change or hinder up-front payment in
any way. A multifarm CSA can structure the up-front payment scale
to the needs of the group or particular growers. At Local Harvest
CSA, growers can choose to receive an “advance” (preseason
funds) or not, and they can choose how much they want to receive
(e.g., 10 percent, 20 percent). This way, growers get some help with
start-up costs and still get paid for fulfilling their produce
obligation. Yet, this is only one approach, and many options are
feasible (see Appendix A: “Multifarm CSA Around the Country,”
for some other examples of multifarm CSA).

Guaranteed Market
Another benefit to growers is a guaranteed market of an
approximate size, so growers can plan their crops accordingly.
Determining how much to plant can be difficult because markets
change, often dramatically, from year to year. Every grower has
been burned at one time or another by under-planting a crop that is
suddenly in high demand or, more commonly, over-planting and
watching beautiful produce go to waste. (Even a soup kitchen has
limits as to how much arugula it can take!)
With CSA and multifarm CSA, the guessing game can be
eliminated when it comes to planning. CSA growers can estimate

25
how much they need to plant to yield a crop that will meet the
demands of the group’s members. They can also rest assured that
much of what they grow will be eaten. When growers have a
guaranteed market, they are motivated to become better at what
they do. Having someone counting on you can create a feeling of
responsibility and obligation; this can be excellent motivation for
anyone, and growers are no different. Growers consistently rise to
the challenge of a guaranteed market while learning planning and
organization skills and increasing their profits.

A Direct Link
Direct grower-to-customer relationships have proven beneficial
for both parties, because the cost of a middleman is removed.
Growers receive higher prices for their goods than they would if
they sold wholesale to a restaurant or a grocer, and members also
may pay lower prices without the retail markup.

Control over Pricing

A CSA must offer competitive pricing; members will not pay
twice the price that they can pay for organic foods at the grocery
store or food co-op. However, growers can assign true value to the
crops they produce on the basis of the difficulty of growing that
crop.
For example, a CSA may want to offer a salad mix to its
members every week. Yet salad mix is a fickle, labor-intensive crop.
Greens require planting under the right conditions, healthy soil, and
plenty of (but not too much!) sunlight and water. At harvest, the
greens must be carefully cut, washed, dried, bagged, and
refrigerated. For these reasons, a CSA can assign a higher price to
greens than to crops that are less difficult to grow. Thus, growers
may find growing for a CSA worthwhile, because true costs are
more likely to be compensated.

26
Specialized Crop Production
Specialize? Is diversity not a mantra among people practicing
sustainable agriculture? Don’t worry; diversity remains a good idea
for many reasons, and we are not discounting its value in the least.
In contrast to a single-farm CSA, a multifarm CSA allows
focused crop production—this is to say, relative individual
specialization within a diverse whole-farm system. A single-farm
CSA may grow 30 to 70 crops to satisfy its members’ demand. Yet
some farms do not have the land, labor, ability, or knowledge
required to successfully grow so many crops. This wearying and
surely limiting factor may prevent many growers from seriously
considering single-farm CSA.
With multifarm CSA, each grower can grow as many crops as
desired without the responsibility for growing all the crops and
successive plantings; this responsibility is shared with other growers.
The actual amount of crops a particular grower grows for a
multifarm CSA depends largely on the organization’s crop bidding
process (see Chapter 4: “Crops and Bids,” for a discussion of how
Local Harvest structures this process). The objective is not for one
grower to grow all of one crop for the CSA (as in all of the beans,
or all of the tomatoes—that would be too risky), either, but for
growers to focus on the crops they are good at and enjoy growing.
“Each one of us can specialize in six crops and grow a lot of
them and grow them well,” explains Dave Trumble of Good Earth
Farm and a grower for Local Harvest CSA. “This allows each
farmer to make a decent return. I took in $12,000 in 2003 from my
(part of the) CSA, which provided root vegetables and greenhouse
tomatoes. My whole labor bill for that year was $800.” Although
most Local Harvest growers plant more than six crops, the basic
idea is wise: Grow larger quantities of fewer crops.
And Trumble practices what he preaches. His farm has two
different operations: a highly diversified spring greenhouse business
and CSA crops (which include large amounts of early greenhouse
tomatoes, carrots, beets, and onions and smaller quantities of
greenhouse cucumbers, leeks, and garlic). He chose the CSA crops

27
carefully to fit his lifestyle and equipment. Two greenhouses
support the bedding plants, and one has well-built soil that is
perfect for early tomatoes. Trumble’s early tomatoes are valuable to
the CSA because members expect to have them. Only one other
grower can support early greenhouse tomatoes, so these two
growers fulfill an essential niche for the cooperative.
The other crops Trumble grows are root and storage crops;
these too, are chosen to make best use of his land, time, and energy.
He likes carrots, beets, and onions because they can be harvested in
large quantities and stored in the barn until sold. These crops are
also forgiving when handled, and they allow his young children
many opportunities to help.
Many Local Harvest growers grow crops for other markets as
well as for themselves, but they focus on their specialties for the
CSA. Most are known for growing a particular crop well, but two or
three other growers also grow that crop in case of failure. In this
way, the arrangement honors specialty, shares responsibility, and
maintains diversity.

Convenience
For some growers, convenience is the most important benefit
of multifarm CSA. Because Local Harvest has a once-weekly
afternoon pickup, growers can harvest one day before or on the
morning of pickup day and then deliver their goods to the pickup
site. At the pickup site, growers or CSA employees facilitate the
transfer from growers’ box to members’ bag.
From the start, Local Harvest growers opted to pay a
percentage of their sales to run the cooperative; part of this
administration includes a small pickup staff. Thus, growers are
required only to harvest, clean, portion, and deliver produce, as they
would for a wholesale order. The difference, of course, is the direct-
to-customer relationship, which allows growers to earn more than
they would wholesale.

28
 Larry Pletcher of The Vegetable Ranch and vice president of
Local Harvest CSA says, “Local Harvest is a guaranteed sale that
easily fits into the rest of the week.” For growers who deliver to
several growers’ markets and wholesale outlets with minimal outside
help, a quick delivery of substantial quantity at fair prices is
convenient and profitable.

Low-Risk Participation for New or Small Growers

Ideally, a multifarm CSA can promote new or small organic
farms by allowing them to participate with minimal risk. Growers
can agree to grow crops and amounts of crops that they are
comfortable with and match their abilities. “I had been gardening
for only 2 years when [Local Harvest] formed, and … Dave
[Trumble] encouraged me to become a producer member,” says
Elizabeth Oblenus of Serenity Garden and a grower for Local
Harvest CSA. “I was very unsure about how I could perform, but I
was determined to learn how to produce for market, and he was
confident that I could contribute something.”
Unlike if they started single-farm CSAs, new or small farms will
not disappoint members if they are unsuccessful, because other
growers usually can make up the difference. In turn, a successful
small grower can take some pressure off the larger growers who
may fall short during part of the season or simply prefer not to
grow certain crops. Oblenus adds that the community of farmers
involved in a multifarm CSA can be an important resource for less
experienced growers: “I have worked with some amazing growers,
and it’s rubbing off on me.”
The learning opportunities can reap benefits for new and
experienced growers alike. One season, an opportunistic small
grower agreed to grow a large quantity of broccoli because few
other growers were interested; she figured that at a decent price per
head, she could make a profit. In the spring, she purchased
seedlings from two other Local Harvest growers, did some
worthwhile research, and planted 400 plants. During the season, she
asked questions and received advice from experienced growers,

29
who seemed happy to help. After all, her success would mean that
the CSA would be able to provide broccoli—a crop that few
growers wanted to grow but most members expected to find in
their shares.
In this way, the CSA helped a new grower learn about a crop,
gain confidence in her abilities, and take the responsibility off of the
growers who did not want to grow it. It was a win–win situation. As
long as the process of crop bidding (i.e., deciding who will grow
what) remains fair and just, these complementary relationships
should remain possible.

Community Building Among Growers

No one would say that farming is easy—backaches, 16-hour
days, fussy equipment and mischievous animals, early blight
nightmares, and lonely days spent searching for little green carrots
under big green weeds—yet, some aspects of a multifarm CSA can
make it all easier.
One particularly important resource is having a network of
people to fall back on for advice, help with a big project (like
building a barn or replacing greenhouse plastic), borrowing
equipment, and even help in the fields in times of emergency. Dave
Trumble finds the value in having made friends with whom you
share both practical skills and a passion in life: “In the end, … I feel
that I have made some real friends. That is a true blessing.”

Safety Net
Local Harvest recognized this important benefit only recently.
If one grower takes a season off for any reason, the infrastructure
of the CSA can remain completely intact, because so many growers
support it. As long as arrangements are made to everyone’s
satisfaction, the grower can return to the CSA later without having
lost his or her market and customers.

30
 Members
The wonderful veggies and fruit are definitely the main draw to the CSA,
but my reasons for staying run much deeper. I was taught at a young age to
always give back more than you take. I feel really good about knowing that the
food grown to nourish my family is not causing any further destruction to our
environment; in fact, it is probably healing the land, water, and air, one small
farm at a time.
—Cindy Taylor, Local Harvest Member

Members of a multifarm CSA enjoy many of the benefits

associated with the traditional CSA model. It is important that these
benefits—healthy, safe food; competitive pricing; guaranteed
organic produce; buying local; and reconnecting to the land—be
retained, otherwise the distinction between the CSA and a farmers
market or food cooperative may be lost. For example, a multifarm
CSA operation will require the produce pickup is in a central
location convenient to its growers and members. In order for this
to happen the pickup may not be able to be held on a farm. If this
is the case, growers may have to make a considerable effort to
create a connection to the farms and land, especially for members
who seek that connection.

Healthy, Safe Food

CSAs, farmers markets, and local food co-ops are among the
best ways to acquire healthy, safe food. CSA membership is a
guarantee to receive the freshest, highest quality foods. Such is the
reciprocal benefit of committing to the grower before the growing
season: The grower then is committed to providing members with
the choicest share of the harvest.
Another aspect of food safety is that members can seek out
farms and growers whose growing practices (e.g., sustainable,
organic, biodynamic, etc.) they support. Although this choice also
can be made at retail and farmers markets, CSA offers the added

31
benefit that members have access to the farm(s). Many single-farm
CSAs offer members the opportunity to do some garden work in
exchange for a food share, and many CSAs of all kinds plan potluck
dinners and farm tours for interested members.
One additional benefit of CSA is that of food security. Whereas
grocery stores are full of foods that have traveled thousands of
miles from where they were grown, knowing that dinner was grown
locally is comforting. If the corporate food system were to break
down, then CSA members would be better insulated against the
risks of food scarcity. Of course, one would rather not think about
such a terrifying scenario, but the majority of the U.S. food supply
is based on assumptions that may be more fragile than they appear.

Competitive Pricing
CSAs can offer prices lower than retail organic food stores
because of the direct grower-to-customer relationship. The
middleman is eliminated because the customer pays the grower
directly for the food, and the grower distributes the food directly to
the customer.
Certainly, a multifarm CSA involves several farms and many
members, and the exchange of produce from grower to customer
requires a lot of time and energy. Thus, growers can decide whether
to do the work themselves or use a certain amount of profits to pay
employees—which could be growers (or their families) acting as
employees or other people altogether—to manage the logistics of
food distribution.

Buying Local
CSA members are investing directly in the local economy. In
this way a CSA member can know the grower whose livelihood he
or she is supporting. The connection between food customer and
grower is an essential way to encourage healthy communities, both
socially and environmentally. In a healthy community with a strong

32
local economy growers and customers know each other; this
relationship creates a sense of responsibility for the other’s well
being. In this situation the food, the land, and the people are all
treated with greater respect.
Many communities across the United States are advocating
buying local campaigns. These kinds of campaigns focus on
supporting and encouraging patronage of local growers,
craftspeople, and businesses. Regardless of whether your
community has an official campaign, taking part in a CSA or
multifarm CSA is an excellent way to contribute to any local
economy.

Reconnecting to the Land

CSA truly offers its members the opportunity to reconnect to
the land that provides their nourishment. By making farms available
for members to visit and possibly participate in (through sweat
equity), CSA puts its members in direct contact with the land.
During Local Harvest’s first season one member was so inspired
that she decided to volunteer at a local farm. She and her family
became very close with the farmers, their animals, and their land,
and eventually came to be seen as one of their most trusted, capable
helpers. Several years later she still visits and helps out at the farm
several times a week.

Decreased Risk for Members

“For our family the most important thing is the quality,” says an
anonymous Local Harvest Member. “I like supporting local
farmers, but on a practical level, my kids will only eat veggies when
they are this fresh. And, I feel like with this many farmers, we’re
bound to get a good bag of produce every week. So far, we
definitely have.” This Local Harvest member surely speaks for
many others when they speak of the practical benefits. It is true
that with more growers, the members are more likely to receive a
well-rounded share each week.

33
Convenience
Local Harvest member Cindy Taylor says, “I like the central
pickup location because I’m working in Concord every Wednesday.
Otherwise, I probably would not have joined. Going to the farms
would be fun, but I couldn’t do it every week.” A central pick-up
location can be beneficial for members like Taylor, who have busy
schedules. Instead of driving miles out of her way, Taylor is able to
pick-up her CSA share during her lunch break or after work on her
way home. In this way she is able to support her value of small
farms without spending her precious free time in the car.

It is true that all these benefits do not come without some hard
work. In the next section we will focus on the practical details:
how does this all come together? From details about pickup site
selection to a full chapter on how to coordinate the growing
schedules of eight farms, the remainder of the book aims to convey
all that Local Harvest has learned in the past several years.

34
 3
THE BIG PICTURE

THUS FAR, WE HAVE EXAMINED the conceptual roots of

multifarm CSA, including the history and benefits of the concept.
Now, it’s time to get practical.
We wrote this book for growers and customers interested in
multifarm CSA who could benefit from our experience. Local
Harvest CSA has evolved through trial and error, long board
meetings, and professional advice. Each season is an opportunity to
make new mistakes and to learn new lessons. In the rest of this
book, we explain how Local Harvest CSA is organized and operated
so that you will know how and where to begin.
In this chapter we attempt to give the big picture: who does the
work, where the work gets done, and how Local Harvest spends its
money. The major sections of the chapter mirror the two basic
events of the CSA: board meetings and the produce distribution. A
copy of an early budget is included at the end of the chapter to
share all the details of how the system initially worked.

Cooperative Board of Directors

Under the CSA’s cooperative structure, each Local Harvest
grower holds a spot on the board of directors. Board meetings,
(initially monthly, but now less frequently) are held year-round at

35
the administrative office of the Northeast Organic Farming
Association, NH chapter (NOFA-NH). The board makes major
decisions about the CSA according to the cooperative principles
detailed in Chapter 1 to ensure “democratic member control;” thus,
board members make decisions by a democratic vote.
Some issues that the cooperative board of directors must
address include the following:

• Membership: How many members should the CSA have each

year?
• Crops: Which crops should the CSA grow, who should grow
them, and what should the prices and packing standards be?
• Work: Who will do the administrative and distribution work
that makes the CSA operational?
• Policies and procedures: How should the above decisions be
implemented?

Positions
The time that board members spend at meetings and visiting the
pickup site is entirely unpaid. This situation is not unusual though;
most cooperative and nonprofit board positions are unpaid.
Officer positions (president, vice president, treasurer, and
secretary) rotate by casual nomination from year to year and also are
unpaid. The officers’ specific responsibilities are listed in Article 4
of the bylaws in Appendix B: Documents Related to Local Harvest
CSA. In general, the Local Harvest president sets the agenda for and
facilitates meetings, serves as a spokesperson to the media, and may
help make small administrative decisions between meetings (e.g.,
issues with employees or with the crop coordinator [see description
below]). The vice president serves in a similar capacity. The treasurer
works as a liaison to the bookkeeper (see description below), tracks
finances and bank statements, creates a proposed annual budget,
and works with the bookkeeper to submit monthly reports to the
board. The secretary writes and distributes meeting minutes and
stores all CSA records.

36
 Produce Distribution
Every Wednesday during the growing season (usually from the
third week in June through the second week in October), Local
Harvest growers deliver their freshly harvested produce to CSA
members. This distribution is referred to as the pickup. All of the
hard work that goes into operating the CSA—meetings, marketing,
crop planning, and work in the fields—culminates in approximately
18 pickup days when growers bring their produce to a central
location called the pickup site. There, CSA employees, or site staff,
organize the produce so that CSA members can come pick up their
shares (i.e., portions of each farm’s weekly harvest for which
members have paid in advance of the growing season).

Pickup Site Selection

Many single-farm CSAs host pickup days at the farm. This
situation can be ideal because it is convenient for the grower and
allows CSA members the opportunity to visit the farm and know
precisely where their food comes from. However, a growing
number of households are interested in eating fresh, sustainably
grown food but cannot commit to working on a farm or driving
half an hour (or more) out of their way to pick up a weekly share.
Even a multifarm CSA may not have a centrally located farm able
to handle the volume or traffic of a large membership. As a result,
pickup site location is an important consideration for the
convenience of CSA members as well as growers.
All of the Local Harvest farms are located within approximately
50 miles of Concord, NH, which is a small state capital. Concord is
a geographically central location for growers to meet, and it makes
economic sense to focus marketing in an area with a relatively large
population (of residents and commuters). Thus, Local Harvest
chose Concord as the centralized distribution location. As it turns
out, many Local Harvest members live in the small towns
surrounding Concord but commute into the city daily. To narrow
the search for a pickup site within Concord, Local Harvest growers

37
prioritized locations that were affordable and that were aligned with
and supportive of CSA values.
Since the CSA began in 2003, the Local Harvest pickup site has
been a large hall at the Concord Unitarian Universalist Church. The
church has been willing to work with Local Harvest on several
issues:

• Storage: Each year, the growers construct a shed at the rear of

the church parking lot to store the bins, produce boxes,
whiteboards, and so on that are used on pickup days.
• Refrigeration: The CSA originally kept a small freezer in the
church hall to freeze the ice packs necessary for cooling
produce and sometimes uses space in a large refrigerator in the
kitchen abutting the hall to cool particularly sensitive vegetables.
• Cost: The CSA originally received a discounted rate for the hall
rental.
The church location has been reasonably convenient and the
space sufficient, though certainly not roomy, for Local Harvest’s
250 members. Moreover, the church has been supportive by
allowing the CSA to advertise to its members and welcoming the
CSA staff on pickup days.

When choosing a pickup site, Local Harvest considered several

important features of each location:
• Convenience: How convenient is the location for growers as
well as CSA members? How close is it to major roads? Are
roads nearby congested during rush hour, when many members
will be picking up their shares and hurrying to get home?
• Short-term storage: What refrigeration and cooling options are
available for pickup days? (This important quality-control issue
must be addressed because tender produce wilts rapidly on hot
summer days).
• Long-term storage: What storage options are available for
CSA supplies used on pickup day?

38
• Possibility for expansion: Does the site allow room for CSA
growth? If 20 more members join the CSA, will the site be at
maximum capacity? (A site that will enable growth for at least
2–3 years will prevent later site changes that may confuse or
frustrate returning members).
• Availability: Is the site available for other organizational
functions, such as annual meetings or community building
potluck dinners? (A site that offers the possibility of multiple
uses can help foster and maintain community between CSA
growers and members).

Pickup Day Structure and Schedule

Each pickup day, growers deliver their produce to the pickup
site during a two-hour window while the site staff are setting up
tables and signs. The site staff unpack the boxes of produce and
arrange items according to share size.
As detailed in the Local Harvest CSA brochure at the beginning
of this chapter, Local Harvest offers two produce share sizes: single
and family. A single share is enough produce for a couple or one
hungry vegetarian for one week. A family share is approximately
one and a half times the size of a single share and aims to supply a
family of four or five with enough produce for a week. Local
Harvest also offers a bread share, which includes a loaf of artisan
bread from a local baker.
Members may pick up shares over a four-hour period (2–6
p.m.). On arrival at the pickup site, CSA members check in with the
meeter–greeter (whose role is described below, under Administrative
Staff) and collect the weekly newsletter. Members then gather their
shares, buffet style, from bins in one of two lines (single share or
family share). During the first season, members were given canvas
bags to transport their produce; however, members have since been
responsible for bringing their own bags.
After gathering their shares, members may check out the week’s
market table offerings, which usually include breads and baked treats
from a local baker and grower specialties, such as fresh or dried

39
flowers, maple syrup, apple cider, or fruit. Members also can order
from a list of items that growers will offer in bulk quantity (e.g.,
seconds tomatoes, pickling cucumbers, and fruits for canning and
preserving) at the following week’s pickup.
Although Local Harvest attempts to schedule pickup hours that
are convenient for all of its members, a couple of options are
available for instances where a member cannot make it to the
pickup: A friend or relative may pick up the share, or the member
may pick up a share early or late at the discretion of the site
coordinator (whose role is described below, under Administrative
Staff). If a member has a recurring schedule conflict that cannot be
solved with a compromise, the member may withdraw his or her
membership for a partial refund.
At the end of most pickup days, some produce is left over (from
miscounts, members who were unable to pick up their shares, and
members who chose not to take particular items). Local Harvest
donates this surplus to a local food kitchen, whose volunteers have
been generous enough to come collect the produce at the pickup
site. After the food kitchen volunteers depart, the site staff cleans
up the hall according to the standards of the church rental contract.

CSA Staff
The cooperative board of directors and two categories of paid
staff (administrative and site) sustain the CSA through the work
that they perform.

40
Administrative Tasks
Crop Coordination
This year-round part-time position is described in detail in
Chapter 4: “Crops and Bids.” Working with the bookkeeper, the
crop coordinator oversees the annual crop bidding, determines the
weekly crop schedule, and ensures that growers get paid for what
they sell to the CSA. He or she is in constant contact with
administrative staff as well as growers and makes many small but
important decisions for the CSA. This position is allotted
approximately ten hours per week during the growing season.
Bookkeeping
In the past, a Local Harvest grower handled bookkeeping duties
for the CSA. However, Local Harvest now subcontracts payroll
duties and farmer payments to a local bookkeeper. The crop
coordinator calculates growers weekly totals and subtracts whatever
advance payment they may have received in the spring; the
bookkeeper simply writes the checks and keeps track of what
money enters and leaves the CSA account. The bookkeeper also
manages payroll for CSA administrative staff and prepares a
monthly financial report.
So far, this arrangement is working well. It seems better to have
a dedicated staff person (or contractor) do the books because the
growers get so busy during the growing season. Local Harvest
discovered the hard way that if you fall behind, it is difficult to
reconstruct what happened.
The general functions of a small business bookkeeper are to:

• Pay the bills;

• Track deposits;
• Maintain the budget;
• Supply financial reports or financial information for financial
reports to those running the business;
• Prepare taxes (ideally) or supply the relevant information to a
tax preparer.

41
The functions of the Local Harvest bookkeeper follow:

Paying growers:
• prepare and distribute preseason cash advances;
• write weekly checks during the growing season;
• make payments for baked goods, bulk produce, and other
specialty items sold on the market table (Note: this cash flow
has been challenging to manage; however, after several
years, the organization has found a system that works well);
and
• patronage dividends (see Chapter 5: “Legal Framework”
for more information about this).
Payroll:
• prepare and distribute paychecks to Local Harvest staff;
• calculate and pay quarterly income taxes, Social Security
fees, and NH state unemployment taxes for the CSA; and
• prepare and distribute or submit tax-related forms and
reports annually (e.g., W-2, W-3941/943, 990-C).
Accounts payable:
• pay monthly rent for pickup site, insurance premiums;
• over see for petty cash; and
• reimburse staff and consultants for out-of-pocket
expenditures.
Reporting to growers:
• maintain the budget created by the board; and
• generate monthly financial reports (e.g., how much money
the CSA has in the bank).
Note: The Local Harvest bookkeeper charges $20 to
generate each report, but the board has decided that this
information is well worth having at meetings; it saves
everyone time and enables the board to make educated
decisions).

42
 Membership Coordination
In 2006, Local Harvest combined the tasks of the following
four job descriptions into the part-time, year round position of
membership coordinator. Most importantly, the start-up multifarm CSA
has to be cognizant of the following sets of tasks:
Office Management:
• maintain the membership database;
• updates membership literature and coordinates mailings
• maintain a website;
• collect payments and makes bank deposits;
Meet and Greet:
• delivers a warm greeting to all members;
• informs members of announcements or upcoming or past-
due payments;
• collects payments
• helps new members or substitutes (non-members picking up
a share for a member) understand how pickup works;
Marketing:
• responsible for coordinating all efforts to achieve the
CSA’s target membership.
Newsletter:
• edits a weekly newsletter
Professional Help
Local Harvest has a contract with the Farm Credit Service of
America (formerly the Farmers Home Administration) and pays an
annual fee to be able to receive advice on legal and financial issues.
Site Tasks
Note on site staff: When Local Harvest began, enthusiastic
community members often volunteered to help with produce
distribution. Although this support was greatly appreciated, Local
Harvest CSA chose to create paid positions in order to understand

43
the fixed costs assigned to these necessary functions and determine
the true cost of operating the CSA. Further, the board created
several positions as “employees” to ensure that everyone working at
the pickup site is covered by the CSA’s worker’s compensation
policy and to obey IRS laws regarding the difference between
employee and subcontractor.
Site staff work together to distribute the produce from growers
to members on pickup day. These part-time employees work only
one afternoon per week, and only during the growing season. The
only exception is the membership coordinator (described earlier
under Administrative Staff), who works part time year-round.
As the people who coordinate pickup, site staff became the face
of the CSA to the community. For this reason, site staff must be
friendly, professional, and knowledgeable about produce. Because
these positions are so important to the CSA yet require so few
hours, they are often filled by growers (or friends or family of
growers). This arrangement usually works out well and further
strengthens the connection between members and growers.
Site Coordinator
The site coordinator essentially manages the pickup site, arriving
well before the growers to set up tables and pickup lines. When the
growers arrive, the site coordinator briefly checks the produce for
quality and quantity, then signs three copies of an invoice provided
by each grower: one copy for the grower, one to be sent to the crop
coordinator, and the other to be sent to the bookkeeper.
Realistically, because the site coordinator does not have time to
check and count each unit as the growers arrive—on average 3,250
units of produce pass from growers to members on a pickup day!—
problems with produce (e.g., undersized bunches or insufficient
quantity) are discovered late in the day, after more boxes are
opened. If problems with produce are found during the pickup it is
essential that the site coordinator make note of the extent of the
problem and from which grower the produce originated and then
pass this information along to the crop coordinator. The crop

44
coordinator will then speak with the grower and decide how
payment should be adjusted.
The site coordinator makes sure that produce is arranged so that
members can easily and quickly collect their respective shares.
While members are at the pickup site, the site coordinator’s primary
responsibility is to answer questions and address any problems. If a
problem does arise, the site coordinator usually consults with other
site staff to find a solution. After pickup, the site coordinator
oversees cleanup and ensures that food kitchen volunteers collect
the leftover produce.
The growers generally give the site coordinator the freedom to
make changes or implement new systems to streamline pickup.
Some changes might include purchasing whiteboards to
communicate to members, creating new signs for the produce, or
improving traffic flow by re-organizing tables.
In addition to the desirable skills mentioned above for all site
staff, the site coordinator should have strong organizational and
interpersonal skills. This position also has a minimum-lifting
requirement because it involves moving heavy boxes of produce.
Site Assistant
The site assistant’s primary priority is to ensure that the bins
remain full during pickup. His or her secondary priority is to assist
the site coordinator in answering questions and interacting with
members. This person usually assists with cleanup as well.
Market Table and Bulk Goods Coordinator
This person runs the market table and bulk goods orders, as
described earlier (see Pickup Day Structure and Schedule). Specifically,
this person is responsible for taking payment for market table items,
and taking and distributing bulk orders.
It should be clear from the job descriptions that a great deal of
work is done by board members and CSA employees at other times
of the week and during the off-season. The membership
coordinator and the crop coordinator are both involved positions

45
that require a substantial investment of time and very specific skills.
The crop coordinator in particular works closely with the growers
to ensure that they will be able to sell the crops they have bid on
while maintaining a diverse bag of produce each week for CSA
customers. For this reason a detailed description of the
responsibilities of the crop coordinator is the focus of the next
chapter, Crops and Bids.

Budget
We have included the 2006 Local Harvest draft budget and
projected income because how an organization earns and spends its
money says a lot about how it operates.
Local Harvest is designed to have as low an overhead as
possible. Although the goal is to keep operational costs at or below
20 percent of the growers’ commissions, the CSA faces many
challenges. Just as the pickup day requires a great deal of planning
and organization, so does the monetary exchange from 250
members to the CSA’s growers and employees. It requires a great
deal of administrative oversight.

46
 Example of Local Harvest Budget
(23 week season = 18 regular season + 5 fall share)

Item Expense Explanation

Job &/or Category
Administration
• Bank Fees 170
• Office Supplies & 1200
Expenses
• Cell Phone 500
Distribution
• General Liability 500
• Maintenance 200
• Site Rental 3220 140/week
• Site Supplies & 600 Produce Tubs, Towels,
Expenses Ice, Tablecloths
Income Tax 0
Marketing
• Brochures 1000
• Ads 500
• Mailings 500
• Newsletter Costs 500
• Potluck Dinner 100
Personnel
• Workmen’s Comp 900
• Unemployment 300
Comp
Payroll
• Newsletter Editor 1437 5 Hrs/ Week @ 12.50
• Site Coordinator 2300 8 Hrs/ Week @ 12.50
• Site Assistant 1325 7 Hrs/ Week @ 10.50
• Site Assistant 472 5 Hrs/ Week @ 10.50
Helper
• Site Greeter 1437 5 Hrs/ Week @ 12.50
• Bookkeeper 3000 250/ Month

47
• Production 2500 4 ! Hrs/Week@ 10.50
Manager
• Office Manager & 2000 167/ month
Membership
• Marketer 1700 136 Hrs/Year @ 12.50

Summary of Income & Expenses

Projected Total Income 155, 275
o 20 % Commission 31, 055
Total Expenses 29, 068
Profit 1,987
o Co-op Retains 80 % 1,590
o Returns to Farmers in Patronage 397
Dividend

48
 4
CROPS AND BIDS

THIS CHAPTER ADDRESSES THE not-so-simple task of

coordinating and distributing the freshest, healthiest food produced
anywhere in the world. We use the term “crops” explicitly and the
term “bids” to refer to the contract made between growers and the
CSA. This contract is developed before the season and is a map to
follow as weather and unanticipated surprises add to the flavor of
the season.

Crop Coordinator Position

As board members, the Local Harvest growers set policy and
are consulted with the major crop decisions. However, a paid, part-
time crop coordinator makes the important day-to-day decisions.
The crop coordinator conducts a great portion of the administrative
work: overseeing the annual crop bidding, determining the weekly
crop schedule, and ensuring that growers get paid for what they sell
to the co-op.
In practice, the crop coordinator is where the interest of the
individual growers meets with member interests, the cooperative
spirit, and a limited budget. The crop coordinator is also a crucial
hub of communication. The crop coordinator must know how
much money there is to spend (according to the budget), what the
produce quality and customer attitude have been (according to the
site coordinator), what the CSA will offer to shareholders each
week (according to the the planned schedule and to the seasonal
reality reported by growers), and where Local Harvest growers are
in their progress of meeting a bid.

49
 A broad range of experience is helpful to the person who holds
this position of crop coordinator:
• growing and selling market vegetables;
• operating a CSA;
• eating fresh, local foods; and
• knowing consumer preferences.
Organizational skills are crucial, because the crop coordinator
tracks the progress of each grower toward his or her bid. These
records have to be up to date and usable at midseason meetings.
Local Harvest CSA has consistently used its bids as a platform for
the growing season but has seen many changes during the regular
season due to human error and environmental reasons beyond our
control. The only way to harmonize all the changes and keep all the
growers happy is to have on hand, each week, the necessary records
to make good purchasing decisions.
The Local Harvest crop coordinator originally kept all the first-
year records on hand-written spreadsheets. This system worked
fine, but switching to Excel spreadsheets enabled quick and easy e-
mail transmission to the rest of the group so everyone could have a
copy before meetings (and without the time and expense of
photocopies and mailings). In the not-so-long run, computerizing
these spreadsheets saves a lot of time.
The crop coordinator encourages all growers to call in each
week at a designated time, on Monday between 7 and 9 a.m. The
purpose of these calls is for growers to communicate when crops
might be ready for harvest, even if they have nothing to offer that
week. This advance notice helps the crop coordinator plan a few
weeks ahead for the customers’ benefit and to help managing
growers to meet their bids.
If in a particular week the CSA is short on the expected crops,
the crop coordinator may ask a grower to harvest a crop earlier than
expected (e.g., baby beets vs. storage beets). After crunching the
numbers, the crop coordinator e-mails the week’s “crop list” to
most of the growers and calls those who don’t have e-mail by noon
of the same day.

50
 The crop list for the week must be established regularly so that
growers can have reliable advance notice of what crops they will be
selling to the CSA. A grower with other markets will constantly be
making spur-of-the-moment decisions about whether to sell a
particular, time-sensitive crop to the CSA.
The Local Harvest CSA crop coordinator has been especially
keen to report throughout the season on the group’s progress
toward meeting each bid. This helps growers who supply many
crops for the CSA, because the growing season does not allow
much time for collating all the information to track bids.

Bidding for Crops in Year 1

Several months before Local Harvest went public soliciting
membership in July of 2002, the crop coordinator mailed a
“Preliminary Crop Bid Sheet” to Local Harvest growers asking four
questions:

• What crops would the grower like to supply (in order from
most to least desirable)?
• How many weeks could the grower supply of each crop?
• What are the weekly volumes of crops the grower would like to
sell?
• In sum, what would be the growers’ total volumes to be sold for
the year?
Example responses:
• Carrots, one delivery in the fall, 400 pounds total;
• Tomatoes, 11 weeks from mid-July to end of
September, 40 pounds/week, 440 pounds total.

Retail Price List

The Local Harvest CSA crop coordinator started a price list
based on his knowledge of local organic retail prices and asked
growers to write down the prices they had in mind. Before the

51
bidding, each crop was discussed and prices agreed upon. Decisions
about price increases and decreases were made on the basis of
shareholder feedback and fairness to all the growers. Included in
the back of this chapter is a sample of Local Harvest crop totals by
pounds and value. Comparing values with a successful local CSA is
always a good place to start creating your own realistic bids.
Local Harvest CSA originally intended to adjust prices to
growers’ demands during each off season and then, once prices
were in line, give an across-the-board percentage price increase each
year. However, it seems as if that time of perfect price harmony will
never come. Instead, the CSA responds to grower demands in
response to real-world conditions (e.g., changes in seed supplies,
pests, and markets) and matches prices to the free market. This
approach usually means raising prices by groups of crops to prices
somewhere between retail and those of the farmer’s markets (for
more information see Appendix B: “Examples of Crop Totals”).

Squaring the Bid Sheets and the Budget

Tough decisions have to be made in this area. After the prices
are set, the Local Harvest crop coordinator creates a list of potential
quantities (Again, see Appendix B: “Examples of Crop Totals”).
From this list, the percentage of gross sales for each crop is
determined.
For example, Local Harvest decided to offer one type of lettuce
each week—head or salad mix. The cost of these two options
differed significantly (by $5 per customer, per week) because salad
mix is a higher-value item than head lettuce. The CSA had to come
up with the optimum proportion to please both growers and
customers while keeping within the budget (i.e., the gross sales
expected from 100 members). In this case, the solution was to
provide 10 weeks of head lettuce, 6 weeks of salad mix.
After this process was completed with the other major crops
(e.g., tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, and peppers), bids were

52
prepared (see Gray Areas near the end of this chapter for a
discussion on crops whose values change during the season).
Local Harvest asked growers to “bid conservatively but
realistically.” Later, the bidding motto became, “bid conservatively,
plant liberally.” Growers were told that there would be
opportunities to sell “bumper” crops to the CSA when other crops
failed to come in at the expected bid. This flexibility became
apparent as the season unfolded.

Packing Standards
Local Harvest CSA made a serious mistake in its first year in
not setting packing standards until after prices had been set and
bidding completed. Because farmer’s markets and wholesale
accounts do not necessarily have packing standards, each grower
has his or her own method. However, a CSA requires one standard
for distribution and accounting, and post-harvest handling can have
a substantial impact on the cost of crop production.
For example, Local Harvest CSA decided to mandate the
bagging of certain crops, to either maintain crispness in the
refrigerator over the week or distinguish one share unit. A good
“share unit” example is peppers. Most growers have never bagged a
pepper, but experience indicates that that weighing and bagging on
the farm is necessary to ensure even shares for all members. If not,
cumbersome scales must be set up next to each crop during pickup.
This function adds substantially to the labor cost of growing
peppers.
Cooling standards have evolved as well. Whereas Local Harvest
used to keep a chest freezer on site stocked with icepacks to keep
vegetables cool during the three-hour pickup, crops still wilted
because they hadn’t been cooled properly beforehand; in other
words, field heat had been retained. Now the CSA mandates that
crops arrive pre-cooled, and when they have been, icepacks have a
negligible effect on temperature. As a result, a freezer is no longer

53
kept on site; it is up to the grower to bring cooled vegetables (see
Appendix B: “Packing Standards”).

How Many Shares, and at What Price?

There is no one method for determining how many shares to
offer in your first or subsequent years. Many factors affect this
choice for Local Harvest CSA:
• how much each grower wants to “gross” in sales;
• distribution site limitations;
• desire to not exhaust all potential consumers too quickly;
• desire to find the proper balance of risk vs. potential success;
and,
• plan to use the first year as a trial to work out the kinks in the
system.

The prices of CSA shares vary tremendously from one region of

the country to another. Local Harvest CSA set its price on the basis
of regional prices plus a convenience factor (conveyed by locating
centrally in Concord, offering a wide range of produce, and
ensuring a bountiful harvest from a diversity of growers). Local
Harvest membership and share prices for 2003–2005 are listed in
the following chart.

Breakdown of Price & Total Sale

2003 107 x $425 21 x $635 $58, 810
2004 180 x $435 23 x $650 $93, 250
2005 250 x $445 25 x $665 $127, 875
2009 264 x $494 41 x $737 $160,633

Local Harvest CSA has a relatively simple system for projecting

income because only two plans are offered. A single share is
counted as one equivalent share, and a family share is counted as
1.5 equivalent shares. The sum of both is called “total equivalent
shares.” The ratio of single to family shares has been greater than
expected. In 2003 it was 107 single to 21 family shares. In 2004, 73

54
new single memberships but only 2 family memberships were
added. This trend has continued.

Determining “Equivalent” Shares

Year Single Share Family Share Total Members
members members (Total Equivalent
(Equivalent Shares) Shares)
2003 107 21 (x 1.5 = 32.5) 128 (139.5)
2004 180 23 (x 1.5 = 34.5) 203 (214.5)
2005 250 25 (x 1.5 = 37.5) 275 (287.5)

The Local Harvest family share price is a function of the single

share price (i.e., single share price multiplied by 1.5). The actual
quantity of produce in the family shares varies; it may be double
that of the single share for some items but one-and-a-half times the
quantity of or the same quantity as other items.

Bidding by Crop, and Leaving Room in the Budget

The Local Harvest crop coordinator works according to two
axioms:
1. We bid by the crop, not by the dollar.
2. We bid by the year, buy and sell by the week.
This approach may seem simple, but many issues arise from
these two concepts with so many farms trying to meet their bids
simultaneously. Therefore, after three years of experience, Local
Harvest CSA decided to build in a 10 percent discretionary fund for
the crop coordinator.
In practice, a membership goal is established midwinter, and
bids are based on 90 percent of that value. Local Harvest
accidentally stumbled upon this system in 2005, when membership
grew 10 percent after the grower bid contracts had already been
finalized.

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 Local Harvest asks growers to “bid conservatively, plant
liberally.” Growers are aware that there are opportunities to sell
“bumper” crops to the CSA when other crops fail to come in at the
expected bid.

Before the Growing Season

Midwinter, the Local Harvest crop coordinator e-mails growers
a list of the crops to be provided to members during the first five
pickup weeks. Planning for those first weeks is difficult because:

• produce options are limited and complicated due to the not so

predictable transition of winter, spring and summer;
• many produce options are similar or redundant (e.g., lettuce,
lettuce mix, braising mix, chard);
• the CSA gets only one chance to make a first impression. With
proper planning, members can have tomatoes, cucumbers,
carrots, potatoes, peas, and beets in addition to an abundance of
fresh greens.

At the board meeting following the e-mail (in 2005, it was held
in January), Local Harvest CSA works out a close approximation of
the first five weeks of harvest so that growers and the production
manager have a good idea of what is expected and the growers can
plan as early as possible for the early season (see Appendix B: “First
Five Weeks Planning Sheet”).

Growing Season
Local Harvest CSA expected weekly purchases to look like a
bell curve, similar to that of a small single-farm CSA. However, this
expectation was far from correct.

56
 As the graph shows, weekly purchases were fairly consistent
across each season. Fluctuations represent the crop coordinator’s
decisions (e.g., offering an extra item one week, then cutting back
the next) and one particularly tough June in 2005. This limited
weekly and overall fluctuation is a function of the resiliency of a
multifarm CSA. Shareholders will reap the fruits of a strong start
and a strong finish for the season.
The ability to provide a steady amount of produce seems to
keep the customers happy, because they are unlikely to receive a
glut of produce that will end up as waste.
Weekly Sales vs. Average, 2003
Week Actual Total Sales ($) Average($) Balance($)
18-Jun 3095 3267 –172
25-Jun 3215 3267 –52
2-Jul 2741 3267 –526
9-Jul 2689 3267 –578
16-Jul 3301 3267 34

57
 23-Jul 3026 3267 –241
30-Jul 2991 3267 –276
Total to
Date –1811

This is the chart that the Local Harvest CSA crop coordinator
maintains as a guide for making purchasing decisions. The
“Balance” column indicates how the CSA is faring by comparing
the actual weekly sales with the seasonal average. This chart reveals
that the CSA is consistently, slightly below average early in the
season. The reason is due to lack of available crops but also to be
conservative with the budget early on. The trick is that Local
Harvest CSA attempts to do this without the customers feeling that
they ever get a very lean weekly share.

Weekly Call-In and Midseason Changes

Each season is a new roll of the dice. The growers bid by the
year, but the CSA buys by the week, and each week presents its
challenges for the crop coordinator. Furthermore, the crop
coordinator’s buying focus changes over the season. In the early
season, the focus is on providing good shares from what is
available. A cold, wet spring in which growers can’t produce the
planned early-season crops leads the crop coordinator to make
purchases that were not planned or even imagined. Herein lies the
advantage of a multifarm CSA: It can come up with a good variety
of crops despite less-than-ideal seasonal conditions.
Even under ideal conditions, very little off-season planning can
be specified to the week. One complicated scenario is when one
crop is split between growers A and B. Grower A may be ready for
harvest before Grower B. Still, another Grower C may offer some
extra crop to make up for the supply deficit. Whether to accept the
third grower’s offer depends on how expensive the crop is and how
crucial it is for members to receive that item at that time. If this
situation arose during the first week and the crop was an extra half-

58
pound of spinach at $2.50 per customer to provide a full pound of
spinach per customer, then the crop coordinator would buy it.
Spinach would be considered timely—this very popular green is
highly coveted and is not too expensive to overbuy with the built-in
budget flexibility. However, if it was mid-season and the crop was
raspberries at $4.50 a half pint, the crop coordinator would have to
carefully consider the budgetary consequences of over- committing
to that very expensive item.

The following extract is taken from the Local Harvest

Marketing Agreement.

Crop Coordinator will base weekly crop decisions upon

the following criteria:
(1) The “bid” or production estimate of each grower;
(2) Providing the customers with a balanced mix of
vegetables each week;
(3) The weekly average value of the box and any surplus or
deficit in the running total for the year of this amount;
(4) In situations of excess production, preference shall be
given to growers who have already bid to deliver a
particular crop—and if two or more members have bid
on a particular crop, in proportion to their bid;
(5) Members who reliably deliver produce;
(6) Superior quality of the produce.

Late Season
Later in the season, the focus changes to meeting grower’s
target bid per crop. This focus can entail a lot of uncertainty, and it
is important to have fair systems in place to adapt to an unexpected
situation.
At each weekly call-in, growers continue to communicate to the
crop coordinator whether crops are coming along as expected. The
crop coordinator fully expects that each year some crops will not
come in due to natural causes (e.g., deer, frost, insects, and disease).

59
The major exception to excusing crop shortages is when a grower
chooses to sell product to another market. The crop coordinator is
entrusted to stray from bid-on crops when necessary and beyond
that is expected to bring a questionable issue to the next meeting.
Every year presents situations for which there are no clear
solutions.
Crop coordinator decisions are highly dependent upon when
each specific crop is desired. For example, timing is important with
alliums—members of the onion and garlic family. Scallions come
before green onions, which come before storage onions. So, Local
Harvest stipulates that the green onions must be delivered by a
certain date or will not be taken. The agreement provides incentive
for green onion growers to harvest and also allows enough time for
the storage onion growers to sell their crops.
At one midseason board meeting, the crop coordinator
distributes lists of each grower’s “unmet bids” and “overbids.”
Growers are asked to look at the “unmet bids” and realistically
estimate what bids they will not make. Because Local Harvest bids
by crops, not by dollar value, this process equates to giving up a
guarantee to a dollar value per crop but adds the cumulative benefit
of allowing other growers to pick up unfilled bids. For example, if
one grower cannot meet her bid on beans, she should say so at the
midseason meeting. If this honest, timely communication is spread
throughout the growers, then growers can re-bid on a fair amount
of crops and thus enable them to reach their target bid values by
covering for other’s losses.
Local Harvest CSA has discussed swapping crops in the past,
but people felt that it was not fair and that everyone should have an
equal opportunity to get in on a dropped crop. So, although that
could be a seemingly simple solution to some problems, it is not the
best idea in a cooperative market such as this one.
Inherent to the multifarm CSA is that early-season crops are
low risk and late season crops carry a much higher risk because the
CSA can run short on funds by the end of the season due to
unplanned events. The crop coordinator must track bids midseason

60
and make sure that growers are aware of where they stand toward
their target bid values.
For example, a grower who has early-, mid-, and late-season
crops but missed several early- and mid-season bids will not be able
to meet the original total dollar value with extra late-season crops,
because other growers have equal priority to meet their late-season
bids.
At the other extreme, growers who meet their early- and mid-
season bids and have many late-season crops while several other
growers fall behind may gross more than contracted for because the
CSA will honor late-season crop bids. In an ideal multifarm CSA
world—where the farms are in it for the long run—growers accept
that each year some growers make more than their bid and other
growers make less but that the profits should eventually even out.

Dividing the Membership for Distribution

In Local Harvest’s third year, the single shares were split into
two groups, alphabetically. Therefore, members organized
themselves in three distinct lines at pickup: Family, Single A–J, and
Single K–Z. Because so many members send a substitute person to
pick up their shares, the pickup site procedure must be as
straightforward as possible. It is also crucial for pickup site to be
organized well for the site coordinator. Local Harvest requires that
growers label their boxes of produce by name, date, crop and
group(Family, Single A-J, Single K-Z).
There are several good reasons for dividing the membership
into subgroups.

• Ripening: Most vegetables do not initially ripen in large

numbers, and a grower’s announcement of a new crop (e.g.,
field tomatoes) naturally signifies that the majority of the crop
won’t be ripe for several weeks. The Local Harvest protocol in
2003 was to offer first-week crops to the 21 family shares and

61
 the next week to the remaining 107 individual shares. Once our
CSA grew in size we needed more options for dividing the
remaining individual shares.
• Small, diverse farms: In 2004 the membership suddenly
increased 54 percent to nearly 200 shares and this presented
challenges for the crop coordinator. Growers were not
accustomed to such large plantings of many crops. In order to
provide members with a share of cucumbers, for example, the
crop coordinator had to match growers who had the same crop
to fill bins at the pickup site. Often, combining growers on the
same crop still did not equal the number of members we
needed to supply.
• Labor: Harvest and post-harvest handling of large quantities of
perishable crops can exceed the capacity of labor supplies on a
small farm. Dividing the membership helps these growers by
making the large harvest a little lighter.
• Members Choose: If Local Harvest does not divide the
membership, the crop coordinator must come up with
“members choose” items many times throughout the year. This
approach works conveniently in some situations for equally
matched crops (e.g., arugula, tatsoi, and mizuna as one group at
the pickup site) but can be a CSA member relations disaster if
combinations are perceived by members to be unequal (e.g.,
blueberries and potatoes).
• Complexity: When we offer several vegetables in a group
choice it makes the jobs of the crop coordinator, bookkeeper,
and site coordinators difficult and time-consuming. An
established, alphabetic system is a template for record keeping
and communicating.
• Human error: In the past, Local Harvest CSA would make up
for shortcomings in volume per crop by combining unlike items
and offering a choice. However, experience has shown that
whenever the pickup process is complicated by offering a
choice between bins, shareholders make mistakes. Because the
CSA buys an exact amount of each crop, if 5 percent of the

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 shareholders take a bag of basil and cilantro instead of either/or,
amounts are exhausted before all members have collected their
shares.

Gray Areas:
High-Value Crops That Have Changing Values During the
Season
At farmers’ markets and wholesale accounts, vegetable prices
vary over the season in response to supply and demand. Because
most of its growers participate in these markets, Local Harvest CSA
must respect those crop values. In the case of tomatoes and
potatoes, the price difference is so extreme that for fairness, it must
be built into the bidding system.
Tomatoes
To account for added production expenses, Local Harvest
offers a range of prices for tomatoes. They are categorized as
winter-heated greenhouse tomatoes that ripen in late June, high-
tunnel tomatoes that ripen by late July, early field tomatoes, and late
field tomatoes.
Another complication is that nothing about field tomatoes can
be predicted. In some years a grower who bid on late July/early
August tomatoes may not have any to offer while a grower who bid
on later tomatoes may. In this situation, the crop coordinator
guarantees the quantity purchased to the first grower who missed his
shot at the earliest tomatoes. This earlier grower loses the high price
but still has a market for those tomatoes when they do ripen. The
second tomato grower who sold theirs early will get the higher price
but have to give up the later tomatoes originally bid on.

Potatoes
“New potatoes” are a nice crop to offer in the early summer
because they allow growers to bring in early-season income and

63
provide shareholders with a crop that’s different from all others
available. The liability of harvesting potatoes early means losing
weight and therefore giving up value. A graduated system seems to
work well for Local Harvest CSA.

Potato Price Changes During the Season

Weeks $ Per Pound
Early Potatoes 4 thru 6 3
Mid- Potatoes 7 thru 8 2.50
Late Potatoes 9 thru 18 2
Average Price 2.30

Although field summer squash and field cucumbers also might

change slightly in value, Local Harvest CSA rewards in price only
the extremely early crops (e.g., greenhouse cucumbers in June) that
have an associated heating fuel cost.

Buying Produce from Non-Local Harvest Growers

Local Harvest CSA’s bylaws allow for the purchase up to 50
percent of total sales from outside the cooperative. During the
summer of 2003, 2 percent of produce was bought outside, and that
percentage has remained steady. However, in fall 2003, chilly
weather in late October forced the purchase of a large amount of
potatoes and cranberries from outside the co-op to fill the supply
gap. It reduced the CSA growers’ profits to a degree but kept
shareholders happy. This is an important right to preserve in CSA
bylaws.
The 2 percent purchased during the summer of 2003 included
wholesale organic sweet corn and snap peas bought from the
nearest organic grower. Total expenses (including the grower’s
trucking costs for pickup and delivery) were just under what it
would have cost to pay one of the CSA growers to produce it.
Because a major goal of the CSA organization is to develop farm
efficiencies, Local Harvest will still occasionally buy sweet corn,

64
peas, fall potatoes, and cranberries from growers outside the co-op.
The reason for not bringing in more outside producers is that the
higher price points for difficult-to-grow crops (e.g., $3.00 per
pound for broccoli or peas) are more attractive to CSA growers and
encourage them to gamble on such a crop.
Fairness in Bidding
A push–pull relationship exists between growers trying to
achieve a degree of crop specialization and those who would rather
not specialize at all. At one point Local Harvest CSA’s second-
largest grower (21 percent of the gross value of the CSA) raised 37
crops, whereas its third-largest grower (19 percent) raised only
seven crops. The issue is not diversity on the farm; everyone’s farm
is diverse. Some of our farms’ diversity is raising livestock, timber,
maple sugar, and greenhouse seedlings, whereas others offer diverse
vegetable crops. The question for growers is, “Do I want to offer a
large amount of crops to the CSA?”
However, one of the challenges Local Harvest CSA faces as it
continues to expand is growing enough of each item as individual
farms. There is an inherent benefit for the crop coordinator (in
terms of simplicity) when each grower produces enough of each
crop to provide for an entire CSA line in a given week. For
example, if one grower can provide enough beans for Single A–J
and another can provide beans for Single K–Z, then there is no
need to coordinate with five bean growers to determine when beans
will be offered. This simplicity allows the crop coordinator to focus
on other complicated crop equations.
Of course, some crops are too risky for one grower to take on
exclusively. Broccoli is risky because of deer browsing and root
diseases, whereas peas and beans are extremely labor intensive. The
goal of Local Harvest CSA is for each farm to be able to achieve its
maximum profitability and for the cooperative to provide the best
and fairest shares to its members while honoring the survey
feedback. Local Harvest wants each grower to achieve its goal,
whether it is specialization or diversification.

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 Not until after Local Harvest CSA’s third year had been bid did
it become apparent that the system did not reflect the best balance
of those values. The current system is based on past performance
with the added feature of fairly dividing up new unmet bids. This
extra step rewards growers who have done a good job with certain
crops but also gives chances for everyone to try new crops and
expand their businesses. Note: there is no penalty for bidding on a
large variety of crops.
This list reflects bidding guidelines that have evolved through
Local Harvest CSA. Every multifarm CSA may have a different
interpretation of fairness to their growers.

Local Harvest CSA Bidding Guidelines

1. Calculate how many units of a crop can be sold.
2. Start a list of the grower’s average units sold over the past
three years (for that crop) as the base figure.
3. Add up all the growers’ base figures and determine whether
there is any extra room for increased bids (what Local Harvest calls
“new bid potential”).
4. Divide up the new bid potential by using the new formula.
5. Everyone who wants to bid on the new bid potential (old
and new growers to that crop are welcome) gets one point.
6. Extra points are awarded based on past performance. A
spreadsheet developed by the crop coordinator shows a grower’s
past production. For every year that the actual total was within 90
percent of the bid, the grower gets an asterisk next to his or her
total. Each asterisk is worth one more point.
7. Divide the total number of points into the total amount of
new crop bid potential, and award that amount of the crop to each
point. Multiply that amount by each grower’s total points.

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 Consider an example in which Local Harvest CSA wants to
increase bean production by 100 pounds. All bean growers (three
old and two new) get one point. If Grower A never met his bid,
then he gets no more points. If Grower B had met his bean bid all
three years, then he gets 3 more points. If Grower C met her bid
twice, then she gets 2 more points. The end tally is:

Grower A 1 point
Grower B 1 + 3= 4 points
Grower C 1 + 2= 3 points
Grower D 1 point
Grower E 1 point

Divide the desired amount (100 pounds) by the total number of

points (10) to arrive at the point value. In this scenario, each point
is worth 10 pounds of increased bid for the coming year. So,
Grower A is awarded 10 pounds of new bean production, Grower
B is awarded 40 pounds, etc…
The basic idea behind this system is that it rewards good
performance, adheres to Local Harvest’s creed of “bid
conservatively and plant liberally,” allows new growers into the co-
op and allows for existing growers to switch into new crops.

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 5
LEGAL FRAMEWORK

THIS BOOK IS PRIMARILY ABOUT multifarm CSA, secondarily

about how Local Harvest has succeeded with the cooperative
model. In this chapter, we discuss the options for cooperatives and
hopefully offer adequate advice on other options based on our own
research and interviews conducted with other multifarm CSAs. Of
course, we are not accountants or lawyers, and because business
laws vary greatly by state, this chapter is meant to be only a guide;
you should seek specific, up-to-date advice from local professionals.
The Local Harvest CSA began with a series of planning
meetings in 2002, where growers had the chance to get to know one
another and lay out the basic framework: articles of incorporation,
organizational structure, basic goals for the upcoming season,
distribution site selection, and so on. Following the advice of
veteran multifarm CSA growers, Local Harvest took a full year to
plan the organization and begin marketing. The time spent was well
worth it.
Local Harvest sought advice from UNH Cooperative
Extension, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the New
Hampshire Department of Agriculture, the Small Business
Administration, and other university professors. Few people knew
much about cooperatives. The person with the most expertise
specifically about agricultural cooperatives was Senior Extension
Associate Brian Henehan from Cornell University’s Department of
Applied Economics and Management (202 Warren Hall, College of
Agriculture and Life Sciences, Ithaca, NY 14853-7801; voice: 607-
255-8800; fax: 607-255-9984; e-mail: [email protected]; web:

68
http://aem.cornell.edu). Henehan also has coauthored an excellent
resource entitled Considering Cooperation: A Guide for New
Cooperative Development (Henehan and Anderson). Much of the
information that follows is summarized from this paper.

Legal Framework
The legal framework of your multifarm CSA may take one of
several forms. It is advisable to incorporate as a Limited Liability
Corporation (L.L.C.) or a Cooperative in order to eliminate
individual liability. The following options are available to the
multifarm CSAs:
• Sole proprietorship (one-person business). Not recommended
because of its fundamental disadvantage: unlimited liability.
Many small farms fit into this category;
• Partnership (two or more individual owners). Owners provide
labor, capital, and management;
• “C” Corporations (separate legal entity from their owners).
Allow greater freedom to do business with nonmembers, more
flexibility in business transactions with members, no limit to
amount of dividends paid on capital stock. Associated risks
include different treatment under antitrust and tax laws and the
need to comply with Federal Security Acts. May be desirable for
any individual, small group interested in organizing a multifarm
CSA. The added flexibility of being able to run the business by
oneself may work in many situations. It is ideal if you are
considering seeking outside investors;
• Cooperative. Provides service at cost to its members. As an
incorporated cooperative, individual liability is limited to
member’s equity in the cooperative; and,
• Not-for-Profit. In most states this status would hinder the
normal process of doing business as an agricultural marketing
cooperative (e.g., distributing earnings, retaining member equity,
and having the option to be involved in legislative activities).

69
Decision To Incorporate as a Cooperative
Before choosing the cooperative legal framework you should
ask yourself these basic questions:
• Do you have a group of growers willing to dedicate time to
managing and overseeing the many details of operating as a
cooperative?
• Can the growers willing to become “members” of the
cooperative produce at least 50 percent of the product needed
to satisfy potential markets (exact percentage may vary by
state)?
• Are there social/cultural/historical barriers that you perceive as
obstacles to establishing a cooperative with your local growers?
• Are you willing to dedicate the time and patience to cooperate
with other growers who will have different ideas?
Growers tend to have strong feelings about cooperatives
based on prior experience. One multifarm CSA grower and local
organic pioneer from Alabama, Jerry Spencer, chose an LLC strictly
because the growers in his area have had bad experiences with
grower cooperatives. He tries to create win–win relationships with
his grower-neighbors. Spencer contracts to buy anything they grow
organically, and he pays them on the day he picks up the produce.
The contract is important, because it guarantees growers state-
subsidized loans. If Spencer had insisted that growers join a
cooperative, these relationships might never have had the chance to
grow. Spencer shoulders the burden of administrating the CSA but
can do his work without consulting a board for review and
permission. Instead of managing volunteers or part-time staff,
Spencer hires professional subcontractors for bookkeeping,
marketing, and website development.

Cooperative Board
Local Harvest CSA incorporated as a cooperative because of
the associated concept of shared ownership and responsibility.
Some founding members’ prior experience had included bonding

70
and forming lifelong relationships as a result of working with others
in a cooperative. Since the goal of Local Harvest was to maximize
strengths, efficiency, and profitability on all the participating farms,
it made sense to put each grower at the table on an equal footing.
It has taken considerable time for Local Harvest growers to get to
know each another’s strengths and weaknesses and develop trust
but it does appear to be working.
According to Henehan and Anderson (2001), a successful
startup relies on two key ingredients:
• at least two potential growers must agree that a common
economic problem exists; and,
• the proposed cooperative must be more effective at performing
the services than a grower could do independently.
The beauty of cooperative CSA is that it can be designed to
be a low overhead business and therefore, many of the obstacles
that traditional farming cooperatives have to deal with can be
avoided. Local Harvest asked for no up-front financial investment
from its growers.
Getting started as a multifarm CSA does have costs but
start-up ideas tend to be of interest to grant organizations and
foundations. Further, collaborative agricultural marketing is a
highly fundable grant prospect. A start-up grant should include
funds for labor (e.g., the legwork to get the project going),
consultant fees (legal, business planning, and accounting advice),
and marketing costs for the first year. Local Harvest’s start-up grant
from the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program
was for $7,200.
Local Harvest CSA holds monthly meetings throughout the
year. These meetings are necessary to respond to the changing
demands and guide the executive officers and employees
throughout the year. Local Harvest is fortunate to be comprised of
growers that all live within 40 miles of our central distribution point
where they hold their meetings.

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 In between meetings Local Harvest empowers its employees
to make decisions, but asks that all decisions of significance be
communicated to the President. They have found that this system
of requiring communication with the President and not the entire
board simplifies the decision making process.
Local Harvest has an executive board (as written in the
bylaws and mandated by state law) that does a lot of work between
meetings. In Local Harvest, it is recommended—but not
required—that the growers with the most financial stake take on the
executive positions (president, vice-president, secretary, and
treasurer). However, as part of a cooperative, members recognize
that each person has skills and circumstances that need to be taken
into consideration when choosing officers, and these may not
correspond to who has the largest financial stake.
A CSA cooperative that extends over a larger area would
require a greater commute for meetings and so might decide to
meet bi-monthly, create subcommittees, or use phone and e-mail
for making decisions. Organizers of a new multifarm CSA should
be sensitive to the group’s general attitude and try not to
overburden growers who want to be in the cooperative but cannot
attend monthly meetings. If a local farmer was not interested in
making the commitment to the board and was not interested in
decision-making or priority bidding, that grower may be a non-
voting member with no bidding seniority. Local Harvest does have
the option of buying produce from such a non-member.
Surveyed Local Harvest CSA growers have mentioned that
drawbacks to the cooperative are lengthy meetings and learning
how to run a cooperative organization can feel like reinventing the
wheel. However, after a few years of working out the kinks in the
system, Local Harvest has evolved to a point where most growers
are selling a lot of produce through the CSA proportional to the
time spent at meetings.
Local Harvests recommends that you develop a steering
committee early in the process of forming your cooperative.
Committee members are selected after the group has spent some

72
time together and leaders who can be trusted have emerged. Local
Harvest had been reluctant to do this as an organization; as a result,
certain members took on extra administrative work yet lacked clear
decision-making authority. Additionally, many small matters were
unnecessarily brought before the entire board. This resulted in
longer meetings.

Articles of Incorporation
Articles of Incorporation are filed with the state delineating
rules of management of the organization. Henehan and Anderson
(2001) state that the articles of incorporation include provisions that
spell out eight points:
• purpose for forming the cooperative;
• activities the cooperative will be involved in;
• names of the incorporators;
• legal powers and limitations of the cooperative;
• membership requirements and voting rights;
• capital structure;
• if stock, explanation of capital stock authorization (e.g., stock
classes, amount of stock issued, value, and purchase
requirements); and,
• process for dissolution and distribution of assets upon
dissolution.

Bylaws
The purpose of bylaws is to flesh out the details and address
issues not mentioned in the Articles of Incorporation.
Local Harvest had copies of bylaws from three other
agricultural cooperatives—Rolling Prairie, (a multifarm CSA), Deep
Root Organic Co-op, and Merrimac Valley Growers (both non-
CSA marketing cooperatives)—for reference when formulating its
own. Growers sat down together as a group, reviewed the
examples, and decided which issues to include in the legal
documents. After considering changes proposed by an attorney,

73
several were adopted. Finally, the bylaws were sent to the NH
Attorney General, who required changes for legal issues related to
the NH Statute of Agricultural Cooperatives.
Henehan and Anderson (2001) offer some inspiration for taking
time to write thorough bylaws:
Well crafted articles of incorporation and bylaws
provide a solid legal organizational foundation upon which
to build the cooperative business. In the haste to form a
cooperative, some steering committees copy a charter or
bylaws from some other cooperative which may not be
applicable to the cooperative being formed. It is advisable
to proceed with care in developing these important
documents even though the process can be slow and
tedious. A well written set of documents can help
eliminate possible confusion among members and provide
a good introduction to the cooperative for new members,
directors, officers and management.

Marketing Agreement
The Local Harvest bylaws mandate the use of annual marketing
agreements that spell out each grower’s commitment to his or her
bid (“production estimate”) and the process to be followed if a bid
is not met. These agreements are also crucial for informing
members of what will be done with excess funds (profits)—whether
profits will be returned as a patronage dividend or held back for a
revolving equity fund or permanent equity fund.
If you choose not to have separate marketing agreements,
then the bylaws should specify each member’s obligation.
Other operational rules are clearly laid out within a
marketing agreement, such as those for adjusting crop prices,
fulfilling weekly pickup obligations, varying from bids and buying in
from nonmember growers. Also included are quality standards and
bulk or “extras” sales. Post-harvest handling is mentioned, but
“Packing Standards” (see Appendix B) covers this issue in a separate

74
more detailed agreement. Finally, a “Marketing Agreement” (see
Appendix B) gives the board discretion to resolve any disputes.

Cooperative Profits
This section summarizes from How Agricultural Cooperatives Are
Taxed (Cook, Ratchford and Griffith) and Income Tax Treatment of
Cooperatives (Frederick and Reilly). These two documents are a great
source of additional information on the subject. However, because
federal laws change each year and states may have different laws,
you should consult guidelines directly from the IRS and USDA or
consult with an accountant or attorney.
The cooperative’s goal is to enhance the financial well being
of its owners as growers, not as investors. A cooperative is viewed
as an extension of a producer-owner’s farming operation or as a
funnel. Cooperative net margins (profits) may be distributed as cash
patronage refunds, retained patronage refunds, dividends on capital
stock, or unallocated equity. Local Harvest has determined the best
way to manage grower’s equity is with the qualified notices of allocation
and a revolving equity fund.

• Cash patronage refunds are the most direct way that

cooperatives implement the “service at cost” principle. This
amount is determined by the percentage of gross business
conducted by each member. The cooperative may deduct the
cash patronage refund from its net income in the year it is
earned, but the patron (producer-owner) must include the
patronage refund in his or her taxable income in the year it is
received.
• Retained (noncash) patronage refunds are a way for
cooperatives to keep profits for cash flow and capital projects
but avoid double taxation. The cooperative retains the actual
dollar amount by allocating profits to its equity account. The
grower is apportioned a percentage of this equity account on
paper according to the percentage of business conducted

75
 toward the gross total, and this equity is considered “allocated
savings” or “allocated equity.” The purpose of this arrangement
is to ensure adequate capital cash flow for the co-op but still
allocate the profits of each year to the rightful grower (e.g. If a
grower is 25 percent of the cooperative that year it is
determined what percent of the profits they earned). Note: The
board of directors must determine that the cooperative is in the
financial position to be able to redeem equity to members. If
the cooperative only generated a profit one year and cash flow
remains low forever after, it does not have to repay the grower.
There are two types of retained (noncash) patronage refunds:
o Qualified notice of allocation. The grower
technically receives a full refund but then reinvests
80 percent of that amount. Therefore, the
cooperative can deduct the full amount of profits
while the grower pays the taxes on their portion of
the non-cash refund for that year. This approach
gives the cooperative the financial stability it needs,
and the grower accrues equity in the cooperative
over time. Two requirements for this type of
patronage refund are that (a) the cooperative must
pay at least 20 percent of the total cash and non
cash patronage refund as a cash refund (thereby
enabling the producer-member to pay the taxes
claimed in that year); and (b) either the cooperative
must allow the grower to cash the total refund
within 90 days, or the grower must consent to
having the allocation distributed to him or her, then
reinvested back into the cooperative. This contract
can be legally agreed to in three ways: in writing
(marketing agreement), by membership in the
cooperative (if the bylaws state it), or by the grower
endorsing and cashing a qualified check.
o Nonqualified notice of allocation. This system
allows for the cooperative to delay tax liability on
dividends owed to a grower without forfeiting the

76
 single tax status of a cooperative. The grower is not
responsible for the taxes in the year of a
nonqualified notice. This system is designed for
cooperatives whose growers are on the margins high
income tax brackets. This allows the grower to
receive the dividend and associated tax liability in a
year that they can afford it. The cooperative must
pay taxes in the year of allocation. In the year that
the grower redeems the equity as a patronage
dividend, the grower must pay taxes on the equity
and the cooperative treats the equity as tax-
deductible. This system allows
• Unallocated equity is a legal way for the cooperative to pay no
refund to its growers. However, it removes the tax exemption
status, thereby making the cooperative fully taxable at corporate
tax rates and subject to “double taxation” if they return equity
to co-op members later. In large cooperatives with considerable
capital expenses this tax liability (15 percent) is often planned
with the intention of breaking even with investment tax credits.
• Revolving equity fund is a good way to establish an equity
fund (or a “rainy day” fund) for the co-op and to ensure that
the capital reflects the active growers. The cooperative should
record in the bylaws and in the marketing agreements how long
(how many years) to grow the fund.
Example:
Year 1: 20 percent returned; grower pays taxes on all
100 percent of your percentage of co-op net margins
Year 2: (same as in Year 1)
Year 3: (same as in Year 1)
Year 4: (same as in Year 1)
Year 5: (same as in Year 1)
Year 6: 20 percent of current year returned, remaining
80 percent (tax-free) of Year 1 returned

77
 Works Cited

Cook, Michael, C. Brice Ratchford, and Brian Griffith. “How

Agricultural Cooperatives Are Taxed.” Agricultural
publication G903. Department of Agricultural Economics,
University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 1995

Frederick, Donald A., and John Reilly. “Income Tax

Treatment of Cooperatives.” Cooperative Information
Report 4, Section 1., USDA Rural Development,
Washington, D.C. 2005

Henehan, Brian M., and Bruce L. Anderson. “Considering

Cooperation: A Guide For New Cooperative
Development.” Paper E.B. 01-01. Cornell University,
Cornell, NY, Feb 2001. <http://aem.cornell.edu/
outreach/extensionpdf/eb0101.pdf>

Rathbone, Robert C. “Managing Your Cooperative’s Equity.

Cooperative Information Report 56. Rural Business-
Cooperative Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Washington, DC, October 1997.<http://www.rurdev
.usda.gov/rbs/pub/cir56.pdf>

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 APPENDIX A:
MULTIFARM CSA AROUND THE COUNTRY

The Food Basket

The Food Basket is a multifarm workplace CSA operated by the

Intervale Center in Burlington, Vermont. Pioneered in 2008, the
Food Basket functions as a multifarm CSA that packs and delivers
shares comprised of produce from 15 area growers to seven
workplaces in the Burlington area. Conceptually, The Food Basket
was not designed as a marketing strategy to compete with other on-
farm CSAs; rather, its goal is to reach out to customers who would
not ordinarily seek out a CSA-style relationship with a local farm.

Highlights:
• aims to expand markets for local food by moving beyond
traditional CSA farms and customers;
• produce is packed into shares and delivered to members at local
businesses by Food Basket staff;
• members choose from a menu of produce options, meat
options, and a cheese, egg, flower, or maple syrup option;
• growers are enthusiastic about their involvement with the
program, and some have expressed interest in taking over the
administration of the program in the future; and,
• the Food Basket had 110 members in year one and 200
members in year two; growth is expected to increase steadily to
400 members by 2012.

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A Well-planned Project
In order to fully understand and appreciate the Food Basket, it’s
essential to understand its origins. Twenty years before the launch
of the Food Basket multifarm workplace CSA, the Intervale Center
was founded by Will Raap as a means of revitalizing the 350-acre
floodplain that winds through Burlington around the Winooski
River. The historic farmstead had degenerated into a weedy deposit
of urban refuse. Raap hoped that one day the Intervale could
produce at least 10 percent of Burlington’s fresh food. Today,
considering the multifarious projects and services offered by the
Intervale Center, including a successful farm incubator program, it
is likely that it does.
One of the Intervale Center’s initiatives is its Agricultural
Development Services (ADS), which aims to support and promote
sustainable farms and local food systems in Chittenden County,
Vermont (the county Burlington is in). ADS is responsible for the
Farms Program, the farmer incubator program which makes
Intervale lands available to beginner farmers; Success on Farms, a
financial resource for small farmers; and most recently the Food
Hub, which focuses on innovative marketing arrangements for
farmers. After compiling research on market potential in
Chittenden County and farmer interest in new marketing
arrangements, and carefully examining other innovative marketing
programs for farmers, the staff of the Food Hub decided that the
greatest potential for growth was in the area of collaborative
marketing, or multifarm CSA. Once this was identified, the staff set
to work planning the Food Basket multifarm workplace CSA.

The Food Basket System

The Food Basket is run by a manager who sets operational
procedures, decides on weekly shares, maintains relationships with
growers, and works on strategic planning (such as applying for
grants) for the organizations future. The current manager of the
Food Basket and the Food Hub, Sona Desai, is a multi-talented
woman with experience in farming, food-buying and environmental

80
law. According to colleagues, her breadth of knowledge and range
of skill make her an ideal person to spearhead this kind of
organization. Desai agrees that a manager with strong interpersonal
and organizational skills, as well as a working knowledge of growing
and buying produce is essential.
The weekly schedule of the Food Basket looks like this: On
Monday, growers call Desai to offer the produce they have
available. Desai takes into account what each grower has to offer
and sets the shares for the week. On Tuesday morning, growers
deliver produce and other food to a central location that has a walk-
in cooler and packing space. Two Food Basket employees
immediately pack food into share baskets, and by 2:00 two delivery
vans are out delivering shares to members at local businesses. On
Wednesday morning, all remaining shares are packed into baskets
and delivered to the remaining businesses in town.
Desai emphasizes that since baskets are simply dropped off at
most locations, there is no room for error in packing; otherwise the
reputation of the organization is tarnished.
The Food Basket currently has a somewhat informal crop
bidding system. At some point between growing seasons, the
growers and Desai get together for a crop-planning meeting. Desai
runs the meeting using a list of suppliers from the previous year to
set the baseline for bidding. Generally if the grower supplied the
crop during the previous year, and would like to continue doing so,
then the grower has precedence and can continue supplying that
crop.
Legally, the Food Basket is currently embedded into the
Intervale Center’s 501 C3 nonprofit tax status. If and when
growers decide to take over the administration of the Food Basket,
it will be up to them to decide whether to enter into cooperative
ownership, or to pursue a Limited Liability Company (LLC).

81
Challenges Moving Forward
The major challenge for the Food Basket moving forward is
that the overhead cost is too high for the organization to be solvent
without additional grant funding that the Intervale Center acquires
for the project. The overhead cost that growers’ pay is now
approximately 30 percent, which is reasonable considering that the
growers responsibility is similar to that of a wholesale market.
However, Desai says that the actual overhead of all the
administrative and organizational work that goes along with
delivering packed share to workplaces is closer to 60 percent. Yet,
with growth at the current rate, Desai hopes that the Food Basket
will reach self-sufficiency by 2012, at which time it would be
possible for growers to take over the administration of the
organization.
Learn more about the Food Basket and its growers by visiting
www.foodbasketvt.com.

82
 Grown Locally
A limited-membership northeast Iowa community farming
cooperative, Grown Locally was founded in 1997 with 9 growers
and currently has 15. Its goals were and are to find an equitable way
to reimburse growers, provide a guaranteed market for crops, share
specialized equipment and labor, sell produce to institutions, and
thrive as a co-op in a rural area. The co-op currently offers farm
products for sale as shares (a season-long commitment, paid for in
advance or in monthly installments) or by the piece (ordered as
needed, with per-unit pricing; preordering, weekly online or phone
ordering, and monthly billing are available) and features a unique
bidding system for growers.

Highlights
• Founding grower-members spent 1 year meeting and planning
to develop a legal structure and marketing methods.
• Growers decided against requiring organic certification to
eliminate an extra expense that customers were not demanding
and to include more local growers (who may have their own
reasons for not seeking certification).
• Growers developed and follow standardized packing
requirements.
• Customers include institutions (nursing homes, hospitals,
schools, and restaurants), individuals, and families; all can
browse and order products via the co-op’s online store.
• Delivery is local only—within a 40-mile radius.
• Customers can request weekly home delivery ($60) or drop-site
pickup ($45) for a flat fee paid at the beginning of the season.
• Customers receive individual attention.
• Co-op built and maintains a state-licensed processing and
kitchen facility at one member farm.
• Growers share specialized equipment and pool labor.
• All growers are paid monthly throughout the season to ensure
adequate cash flow on their farms. A contingency fund (e.g., 2
percent of gross) covers growers who fill in for other growers.

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• Co-op overhead is 25 percent of gross total of projected income
(includes 2 percent contingency fund that is refundable to
growers who meet their bids).
• In addition to vegetables, additional items offered may include
flowers, chicken, turkey, eggs, apples, baked goods, berries,
honey, beeswax candles, hand-made soap, goat cheese, pasture-
fed pork, grass-fed Angus beef, and a cookbook (Asparagus to
Zucchini).

A Unique Bidding System

Bidding takes place over the course of two meetings: The first
round is for growers to bid, and the second is to make adjustments.
After the preseason compensation planning is completed, growers
“agree to agree.”
Grown Locally has eliminated the traditional per-unit price
system. The difficulty of producing each crop is rated from 1 to 10,
where 1 is least challenging and 10 is most challenging; crops must
be ranked in the extreme ranges for the system to be accurate. The
sum of the difficulty of all co-op crops together constitutes the
Total Crop Challenge of the co-op. Grower prices for individual
crops are then extrapolated by first determining each crop’s
percentage of the Total Crop Challenge, then multiplying that
percentage times the co-op’s projected income for the season.
For example, if the difficulty of Crop x is determined to be 28
and the Total Crop Challenge is 560, then Crop x earns 5 percent of
the total gross income (28 ÷ 560 = 0.05). If the co-op’s projected
income is $60,000, then Crop x is valued at $3,000 (0.05 ! $60,000
= $3,000). If more than one grower grows a certain crop, then
those growers split the income for that crop.
The variables considered in determining the level of difficulty
required to produce each crop (and then a reasonable price for each
crop) are:
• seed cost per unit produced;
• seed quantity required to plant or harvest the crop;

84
• amount of land needed to grow the crop;
• labor requirements from planting to harvest;
• post-harvest handling;
• time from planting to harvest (i.e., how long land is otherwise
unavailable); and,
• number of times crop is included in a share.

According to Michael Nash, proprietor of Sunflower Fields

Farm and member of Grown Locally, the Total Crop Challenge
eliminates the hundreds of hours of bookkeeping that would be
required to track per-unit prices every week for all growers. Most of
the work is done before the season starts. This approach is
especially helpful for growers who are their own bookkeepers.
With less hours demanded, it also allows the group to assign the
bookkeeping job to a grower-member as a paid task.

Direct Marketing: Online Ordering

With the help of grants from SARE and the Iowa Department
of Agriculture, Grown Locally created an online system that allows
custom ordering of weekly shares. The co-op has been a pioneer
with its direct marketing of farm goods to individuals and
institutions via its website. Farmers upload lists of their available
crops to the password-driven site twice a week, and customers can
browse product availability and place orders online.
The customers are individual “cooperators” (members who
purchase shares of seasonal produce), individuals who purchase by
the piece, and institutions. Each of these customers has a different
price structure, and password-protected accounts ensure that each
customer sees prices and crops specific to his or her buyer category.
Grown Locally charges institutions a higher price than
traditional wholesale brokers but offers a higher quality, fresher
product in any quantity, whereas wholesale distributors often
require excessively large minimum orders.
By delivering directly to buyers, Grown Locally eliminates the
need to process electronic payments and therefore the extra costs

85
that would be incurred in adding sophisticated shopping cart
functionality and security to its website.
Grown Locally Cooperative: www.grownlocally.com

86
 Grow Alabama
The organization that would become Grow Alabama began in
1998 as an offshoot of Jerry Spencer’s single-farm community-
supported agriculture (CSA) operation and now is the first statewide
multifarm CSA in the United States. Spencer buys produce from
other growers (almost 100 percent in state, and all certified organic
or working toward organic certification) and manages its
distribution. The CSA provides year-round delivery of fresh
produce from local family farms to homes and central pickup sites
across Alabama.

Highlights
• Distribution is statewide—in some cases, door to door for a
minimum fee of $5 per week.
• Most CSA shares are distributed out of a pull-behind trailer
outfitted with bulk bins. For certain locations and when he can
get the vegetable boxes to the UPS depot by 7 a.m., Spencer
uses UPS same-day shipping.
• CSA growers are paid by check for crops when they are picked
up.
• Growers eventually will be offered a 10 percent bonus based on
previous-year sales.
• Bookkeeping, web design, and public relations tasks are
outsourced.
• Spencer has invested over $5,000 in website development,
believing that the Web is a key link between CSA growers, CSA
members and the general public.

Incentive to Conventional Farmers

When Spencer’s single-farm CSA reached 200 members,
Spencer knew he had to make a major change: increase his own
production, or teach other Alabama farmers organic management
principles. He decided on the latter approach and started the Get
One over the Bridge program. He encouraged current conventional

87
growers to grow 1 acre or more according to organic standards in
return for a free consultation with him (an experienced organic
grower, which is rare in Alabama) and a contractual agreement to
buy whatever was produced on that organic plot. (Such a contract
allowed growers to get state-subsidized loans.) This program has
enabled Grow Alabama to increase its membership to 500, and
Spencer’s goal is to be able to supply 1,000 members within the
next few years.

Outreach Efforts
The distribution and marketing arm of the CSA is a limited
liability company (LLC) for which Spencer has a business plan to
attract investors. Spencer also is starting OrganiCorps, an
educational program for training current and would-be farmers in
successful organic practices that will have tax-exempt 501(c)(3)
status. OrganiCorps will be funded by grants and tax-deductible
contributions.
Grow Alabama CSA : www.growalabama.com
Get One over the Bridge Program: www.growalabama.com/oneoverthebridge.asp
OrganiCorps Program: www.growalabama.com/organicorps.asp

88
 Rolling Prairie Farmer’s Alliance
The six small farms that make up Rolling Prairie Farmers
Alliance, a pioneer multifarm cooperative in the hills of
northeastern Kansas, first met in 1993. The alliance calls its special
form of CSA a produce subscription service and offers regular
shares and smaller “economy” shares at one drop site. The story of
the alliance (Subscribing to Change: Starting and Sustaining a Vegetable
Subscription Service) was published by the Kansas Rural Center.

Highlights
• The alliance organizes the cooperative purchase of seeds and
fertilizers to obtain quantity price discounts for growers.
• Each of four distribution sites has a paid production manager,
accountant, and site coordinator.
• Alliance started with a SARE grant to implement the idea of a
multifarm CSA.

Rolling Prairie Farmers Alliance: www.rollingprairie.net

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 Chequamegon CSA
A multifarm CSA, Chequamegon CSA has provided affordable
shares to a rural area of northern Wisconsin since 1995.

Highlights
• Bidding is done at a preseason meeting in the spring.
• Which growers get first choice of crops is determined by the
number of years of CSA membership.
• Most CSA members are natives to this area and signed up
because they know the value of fresh food, not for “organic” or
“gourmet” labels.
• Shares are delivered to five rural sites. Delivery to the drop sites
takes all of one day, and the route extends 100 miles.
• Half of the total membership consistently changes annually.
Many members who leave the CSA have been inspired to start
their own gardens.

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91
 APPENDIX B:
DOCUMENTS RELATED TO
LOCAL HARVEST CSA

First 5 Weeks Planning Sheet

Crop Units Weeks

Lettuce 1 head 3
Salad Mix !# 2
GH Tomato 1 1/3# 5
Greens 1 bunch 5
Broccoli "# 2
Carrots 1 bunch 2
Garlic, Scall 1 bunch 1
Garlic, Fresh 1 bunch 1
Strawberries 1 pint 1
Peas, Shell "# 2
Peas, Snap !# 2
Peas, Snow ## 1
Pea, Tendril !# 1
4” seedling 1 pot 1
Scallions 1 bun 1
Potatoes 1 !# 1
Brais Mix !# 1
Herb 1 bun 1
Spinach !# 4

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 Example of Crop Totals
(Based on 275 Equivalent Shares)

Crop Unit Price/Unit Total Total

$ Units Sales $
Arugula Bunch 1.75 451 790
Basil Bunch 1.75 701 1,227
Beans Lb. 2.70 1375 3,713
Beets, Cut Lb. 1.40 548 767
Beets, Bunch Bunch 2.00 610 1,220
Beets, Greens Bunch 1.75 277 485
Blueberries Pint 4.00 276 1,104
Braising Mix Lb. 6.00 334 2,004
Broccoli Lb. 3.50 1200 4,200
Broccoli Raab Bunch 1.75 100 175
Brussels Pint 3.50 102 357
Sprouts
Cabbage Head 2.50 549 1,373
Cantaloupe Each 3.25 651 2,116
Carrots, Bunch 2.50 824 2,060
Bunch
Carrots, Fresh Lb. 2.00 1801 3,602
Carrots, Lb. 1.50 1377 2,066
Storage
Cauliflower Lb. 3.00 451 1,353
Celery Bunch 2.00 100 200
Chard Bunch 1.75 1004 1,757
Cilantro Bunch 1.75 275 481
Corn Dozen 5.00 275 1,375
Cuke, Field Bag 2.00 1378 2,756
Daikon Lb. 2.50 100 250
Dill Bunch 1.75 54 95
Eggplant Lb. 2.80 550 1,540
Escarole Head 1.75 100 175
Fennel Bunch 1.75 275 481
Garlic Lb. 7.00 551 3,857

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Garlic, Fresh Bunch 2.75 276 759
Garlic, Bunch 5.00 275 1,375
Scallion
Kale Bunch 1.75 492 861
Kohlrabi Head 2.50 100 250
Leeks Bunch 2.50 550 1,375
Lettuce Head 1.80 2458 4,424
Lettuce Mix Lb. 6.00 144 864
Mint Bunch 1.75 50 88
Mizuna Bunch 1.75 100 175
Onions, Lb. 1.70 825 1,403
Green
Onions, Lb. 1.70 2200 3,740
Storage
Pac Bunch 2.00 401 802
Choi/Tatsoi
Parsley Bunch 1.75 494 865
Parsnip Lb. 2.00 280 560
Pea, Shell Lb. 5.00 406 2,030
Pea, Snap Lb. 7.00 282 1,974
Pea, Snow Lb. 8.50 60 510
Pea, Tendril Lb. 3.80 180 684
Peppers, Lb. 3.00 1099 3,297
Green
Potatoes Lb. 2.35 4031 9,473
Pumpkin, Pie Each 2.00 276 552
Radicchio Lb. 5.00 99 495
Radishes Bunch 1.75 52 91
Sage Bunch 1.75 50 88
Salad Mix Lb. 10.00 1153 11,530
Scallions Bunch 2.00 550 1,100
Shallots Lb. 15.00 0
Soybeans Lb. 3.50 500 1,750
Spinach Lb. 6.00 823 4,938
Strawberries Pint 3.30 275 908
SS/Zuke Lb. 1.60

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wk.1-5
SS/Zuke wk. Lb. 1.40 2014 2,820
6+
Thyme Bunch 1.75 50 87.50
Tomato, Pint 3.00 557 1,671
Cherry
Tomato, Field Lb. 2.00 3198 6,396
Wk 11+
Tomato, GH Lb. 4.00 2600 10,400
Wk 1-7
Tomato, Lb. 2.75 1254 3,449
Tunnel Wk 8-
10
Turnips Bunch 1.90 299 568
Winter Lb. 1.10 3849 4,234
Squash
4" Pots Each 2.00 276 552
TOTAL = 128,712

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 Marketing Agreement
1. The undersigned hereby applies for and accepts membership in
the Local Harvest CSA Cooperative (hereinafter called the
“Coop”) incorporated and doing business under the laws of the
State of New Hampshire. The undersigned assents to the
Articles, Bylaws, any rules and regulations of the Coop, this
Marketing Agreement, and any amendments made to this
agreement by the Board of Directors in consent with the affected
members.

2. Conditional upon the approval of this agreement by the Coop,

the undersigned agrees to deliver the produce listed in the
attached Production Estimate. The Production Estimate may
include:

(a) Quantity listed in pounds, heads or bunches,

(b) Weeks of delivery as a total number of weeks, or by

season or listing specific weeks for delivery,

(c) Price per pound, bunch or head.

3. The Coop will charge a flat 20% fee for sales.

4. Net Earnings/ Patronage Dividends.

Any excess funds left after all expenses are paid this year will be
placed into a Revolving Equity Fund. The Board shall decide
what amount of that fund will be returned to the members each
year as patronage dividends. The Coop may choose to return all
of the net earnings back to the members in cash based on the
proportions of the member’s total sales with the Coop for this
year. If the Coop chooses to retain some of the net earnings in
the Revolving Equity Fund, then it will treat those net earnings
under the IRS rules for Patronage Dividends. Patronage
dividends are to be returned in proportion to each member’s

96
 percentage of total Coop sales for the year. By law, the Coop
must return at least 20% of the patronage dividend to the
members as a cash refund and may retain up to 80% of the
Patronage Dividend to pay for the smooth and continued
financial operation of the Cooperative. If a member leaves the
Coop, the member may petition the Coop to return his/her entire
patronage dividend before the natural end date of the revolving
fund. The Coop retains the option of returning the money upon
the member’s leaving the Coop or keeping the money until its
natural end date, at which time it will be returned to the member
in its totality. Signing this contract shall be considered as granting
the Coop consent to keep any net earnings/income for the equity
fund and treating its return to the members as a patronage
dividend.

5. The Coop may choose to adopt a Permanent Equity Fund. If it

does so, the Coop, through the Board, will create written rules
and guidelines for the handling of these funds. The adoption of
such rules will be considered as granting consent by the members.

6. If the Coop should end up in a deficit situation, the Coop,

through the Board, will have the right to adopt a necessary fund
raising mechanism. The member agrees that the Board may
choose one or more of the following options:

(a) use funds in the Revolving Equity Fund;

(b) implement a surcharge to the members based on

percentage of total sales this year; and,

(c) any other fund raising mechanism agreed to by the Board

7. Prices.

The Coop will set base prices for all produce and these prices will
be included in the Production Estimate. These prices may be

97
 adjusted plus or minus 10% by the Production Manger during the
season to reflect growing conditions, the weather and other
related factors. Any changes in prices will be agreed to between
the Production Manger and the farmer. Such changes will be
noted to the Board of Directors at the next Board Meeting. Price
adjustments that are greater than 10% must be approved by the
Board. Any disputes over price will be resolved by the Board.

8. Weekly Process.

The member agrees to call the Production Manager each Monday

morning during the season and let him know the availability of
produce for that week. The Production manger shall have the
right to negotiate actual delivery schedules for each week with
members. The Production Manager will notify the members of
crops to be delivered each week by the end of the day on
Monday. Such notice to the members may come on Tuesday if a
decision cannot be reached due to extenuating circumstances,
such as growers being uncertain as to actual marketable yield that
they can harvest.

9. Variations from Bid.

If a member decides to forgo one crop that was bid upon and this
serves the interest of the Coop as a whole, then such an
agreement may be made between the member and the Coop,
without penalty to either party. Members may also provide items
that they had not bid upon if this serves the interest of the Coop
as a whole. Such arrangements may be made between the
member and the Production Manager. These bids are based upon
the Coop attaining its goal of 275 members (250 single and 25
family) for the 18-week summer season and 100 single share
members for the 5-week fall season. If the Coop falls short of
these goals, the bids will be proportionally reduced.

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10. Production Manager will base weekly crop decisions upon the
following criteria:
(a) the “bid” or production estimate of each member;
(b) providing the customers with a balanced mix of
vegetables each week;
(c) the weekly average value of the box and any surplus or
deficit in the running total for the year of this amount;
(d) in situations of excess production, preference shall be
given to growers who have already bid to deliver a
particular crop – and if two or more members have bid
on a particular crop, in proportion to their bid;
(e) members who reliably deliver produce; and,
(f) superior quality of the produce.

11. Quality Standards.

(a) All produce must meet the packing standards approved

by the Board. The Coop reserves the right to
refuse any or all produce that it judges unacceptable due
to lack of quality, packaging, cleanliness or for any other
valid reason.

(b) The Coop may accept part of an order and pay for it at
full price and deem the other portions of the order to be
seconds and buy them at a lower price.

(c) Members may be charged an extra fee for any extra

effort required by the Site Coordinator to sort out the
“seconds.” Members will be notified at the site at the
time of delivery if at all possible. If such a
determination is not made until after the member has
left the pickup site, then the Production Manager will
notify the member as soon as possible.

(d) The Production Manger will notify members of any

problems with quality of produce as noted by the Site
Coordinator.

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 (e) If customers complain about produce, the Production
Manger will attempt to determine the source and notify
the member. The Production Manager and the member
may come to an agreed upon resolution. The member
may choose to bring in replacement produce another
week or offer some other means of satisfying the
customer or forgo payment by the Coop. The Coop
will make good faith efforts to satisfy the customer.

12. Delivery to Site.

(a) Delivery Time. Members will deliver their produce and

other goods to the site at least 30 minutes before the
start of the pickup time. This year pickup begins at 2:30
p.m., so members agree to bring their goods by 2:00
p.m.

(b) One-week Grace Period. Everyone will be granted one

week per year when they may show up late with their
goods and not be penalized.

(c) Financial Penalty. Beginning with the second time that

a member is late, members will pay a $25 late fee for
showing up between 2:00 and 2:30. The late fee will be
increased to $50 if the member shows up after 2:30 p.m.

The Site Manager will be responsible for noting time of

delivery on invoices.

The Board can, in its discretion, waive any penalty in the

event of lateness due to circumstances beyond the
member’s control.

(d) Crop Replacement the following week.

The grower will either: (1) bring in an equivalent
number of substitute crops the following week for each
customer who showed up before the late delivery, or (2)

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 if the grower cannot replace the crop the following
week, then the grower will not be paid for that number
of units delivered late on the first week.

(d) Board and Member Will Meet and Work Out

Agreement.
If the grower has been late three or more times in one
year, the Board will meet with the member to discuss
what actions can be taken to assist the member in
meeting their total bid for the year and also insure that
the co-op is receiving the goods ordered on time. If the
Board is not satisfied with the proposal of the member,
then the Board may elect to adopt stricter measures.
The Board will reserve the right to place a limit on the
amount of goods purchased each week from the
member until the Board is satisfied that such a limit
should be lifted.

(f) Deliver to table on site. Members agree to deliver

their goods to the specific table on the site where the
goods will be sold. The Site Manager will be
responsible for directing members where the goods will
go.

13. Bulk Items.

The Coop shall permit the sale of bulk items on a separate table at
the pickup site. Members shall let the Production Manger know
what crops they are offering for bulk sale when they talk on
Monday morning. The Members and the Production Manager
shall agree on fair prices for these items. The Production Manger
will include such items and their prices in the weekly notice of
crops sent out by the end of the day on Monday. The list of bulk
items that will be available will be made available to the customers
either by sign at the pickup site or in the newsletter. Bulk items
must come in quantities at least 5 times the average amount that is
provided in the weekly vegetable box. Bulk items must meet the

101
 quality standards of the Coop. All payments for these items will
be made by the consumers directly to the Coop. They Coop will
take a 20% fee and pay the remaining 80% to the members.

14. The Coop shall permit the sale of extra items on a separate table
at the pickup site.

In general, all baked goods, fruit, maple syrup, flowers, plants,

eggs, jams and preserves all qualify as “extras.” Any other items
(e.g., vegetables) to be sold as extras must be presented to the
Board and approved prior to their sale. Extras must meet any
applicable quality standards of the Coop. All payments will be
made directly from the consumer to the Coop. The Coop will
take a 20% fee and pay the remaining 80% to the members.

15. The undersigned member agrees that all produce and goods sold
to the Coop must be Certified Organic in accordance with the
USDA National Organic Program, unless otherwise agreed to by
the Board. All non-certified organic goods must be labeled as
non-organic. Proof of such certification must be on file with the
Secretary at the time of the member’s initial sale of the current
season.

16. The undersigned member agrees to make good faith efforts to

meet his/her Production Estimate.

(a) Low sales due to either crop failure or a change in

delivery agreed to by both parties (see section 9 above) do
not constitute a lack of good faith by the members.

(b) If total sales for a particular crop to the Coop fall below
70% of a member’s bid for that crop, and this is found to
be due to the members selling that crop to other market(s),
instead of the Coop, then the Coop may seek liquidated
damages as described below.

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 (c) If sales to the Coop by a particular member fall below
50% of that member’s total production estimate, and this is
found due to the member selling crops to other market(s),
instead of the Coop, then the Coop may seek liquidated
damages as described below.

(d) Liquidated damages may include the following:

1. limiting the member’s right to bid on crop(s) the

following year;
2. removing the member’s preference in the
bidding system for crop(s) for the following
year; and,
3. charging the member for any expenses incurred
by the Coop in locating and picking up
replacement crops. This money may be
withheld from money due for produce already
delivered to the Coop.

17. The Coop may make contracts with other producers that differ in
terms from this one, but are consistent with the By-laws, without
invalidating this contract.

18. Storage.

Growers of all crops agree to provide storage of their own crops

until the crops are needed by the Coop. The Coop agrees to take
reasonable steps to keep the produce in good condition until it is
picked up by the customers.

19. Any disputes will be resolved by the Board.

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In good faith the parties have signed:

Date ____________________ Date

____________________
_____________________
Name Member
President, Local Harvest CSA

104
 Packing Standards (2006)

CROP PACKAGING SIZE COMMENTS

Beans, green Vented plastic Must be dry

bag Should pick dry
Not muddy
Must have snap
Not over filled
out
Beans, Vented plastic 200 or Must be dry
soybeans bag fewer pods Should pick dry
per pound Green color
90% with 2-3
beans/pod
Beets, bunch Bunch 3-7/bunch Good quality
Golf ball to greens
tennis ball Washed
size beets
Approx. 1 #
/bunch
Beets, cut Vented plastic Handball to Not woody
bag baseball size
beets
Bread Bagged Not bagged
before it has
time to cool.
Fully cooked on
inside.
Broccoli Vented plastic No yellowing
bag No worms
Mature,
but non-
flowering, or
bagged as side-
shoots

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Cabbage No splits
Solid head
No worms
Carrots, Baby Bunch 8-9 pencil With full tops
sized Washed
carrots,
about
3/4#
lb./bunch
Carrots, Fresh Vented plastic No tops
bag Finger/thumb
sized
No forks
Washed
Not woody

CROP PACKAGING SIZE COMMENTS

Carrots, Vented plastic No tops

Storage bag Thumb sized &
up
No forks
Washed
Not woody
Cauliflower No browning
No pinking
No worms
Corn, Sweet
Cukes, Euro Non-vented Not fat
Plastic bag, or Not “U” shaped
wrap in plastic Washed
Cukes, Field Vented Plastic Approx Not fat
bag 1#/bag Washed

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 2 X-Large
3 Large
4 Medium
Cukes, Pickling Vented Plastic Approx Not fat
bag 1#/bag Washed
4 or 5 cukes
Egg plant Vented Plastic
bag
Garlic Mesh bag or 10 or less Cleaned
Paper Bag per #
Garlic, Fresh Bunch 3/bunch Cleaned &
Washed
Garlic, Green Bunch 6/bunch Cleaned &
Washed
Greens, Vented plastic 1/4# Washed & drip
Arugula bag or shake dry
Greens, Brais Vented plastic Washed & Spun
Mix bag dry
Greens, Kale Vented plastic 3/4# Washed & drip
bag or shake dry
Greens, Vented plastic At least: Washed & dried
Lettuce bag 1/2# for No pools of
Bibb water inside the
3/4# for lettuce
Leaf
1# for
Romaine
Greens, Vented plastic Mix of 5
Lettuce Mix bag lettuces
Mix of colors
Washed & Spun
dry
Greens, Vented plastic 3/4# Washed & drip
Miscellaneous bag or shake dry
Greens, Vented plastic 3/4# Washed & drip
Mizuna bag or shake dry

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CROP PACKAGING SIZE COMMENTS
Greens, Salad Vented plastic Mix 3-5 lettuces,
mix bag and 3-5 other
ingredients
Washed & Spun
dry

Greens, Vented plastic Washed & Drip

Spinach bag dry
Not soaking wet
in the bag.
Generally hand-
picked, but
chopped is
allowed as the
exception
Greens, Swiss Vented plastic 3/4# Washed & drip
Chard bag or shake dry
Herb, Basil Loose or bunch 4 oz. Ideally dry
in Plastic bag Not washed
No seed tops
Prefers 50
degrees
Herb, Cilantro Loose or bunch 4 oz. Washed & drip
in Plastic bag or shake dry
Herb, Parsley Loose or bunch 4 oz. Washed & drip
in Plastic bag or shake dry
Herb, Thyme Bagged 2 oz.
Leeks Bunch About 1 Trim roots &
#/bunch leaves.
5 medium No brown
or Washed
3 large leeks
Melon, min. 3# Wiped clean,
Cantaloupe may be dusty.

108
 No splits
Melon, Wiped clean,
Watermelon may be dusty.
No splits
Onions, Fall / Mesh bag or Cured, dry,
storage Paper Bag clipped (no top)
Onions, 1#/bunch Trim roots and
Summer leaves.
Washed
Pac Choi Vented plastic About 1 # Clean &
bag 1 large Washed
2 medium Drip dry
4 tiny
Peas, snap Vented Plastic Wash if dirty
bag Full pods, not
tough
CROP PACKAGING SIZE COMMENTS

Peppers, Sweet Vented Plastic Washed

bag No holes
No black spots
Potatoes, All Paper Bag or No marble Clean & dry
Vented plastic sized No rot
bag potatoes – No wire worms
1” diameter No blight
Pumpkins, With stem
Jack O’Lantern Good color
Washed or
wiped
No soft spots
Pumpkin, Pie Min. 2# With stem
Good color
Washed or
wiped
No soft spots
Scallions Bunch 6/bunch Trim roots &

109
 leaves
Washed
Squash, Patti Vented plastic Max 5” Hand picked or
Pan bag diameter cut
Wiped or
washed
Squash, Yellow Vented plastic Max. 8” Hand picked or
bag length cut
Wiped or
washed
Squash, Winter With stem
All Washed or
wiped
No soft spots
Dry
Squash, Vented plastic Max. 10” Hand picked or
Zucchini bag length cut
Wiped or
washed
Tomatoes, Pint container Pint No splits
Cherry Near ripe to ripe
Not over ripe
No punctures
No soft spots
Tomatoes, Vented plastic Near ripe to ripe
Greenhouse or or Not over ripe
Field Paper bag No stems
No punctures
No soft spots

110
 Statement on Cooling (2006)

1. The goal is to have quality vegetables for our customers.

Vegetables should not be wilted and should be able to stay fresh
and firm until 6 p.m.

2. Last year we did on-site measurement of core temperatures and

found that greens that were picked on Tuesday and washed and
cooled overnight were averaging in the mid 40s degrees. The same
types of greens that were picked on Tuesday night or Wednesday
morning and not put into a walk-in cooler were averaging in the
mid 60s degrees. The coop has not made a determination that this
proves that cooling is necessary.

3. If we have problems with vegetables (especially salad or lettuce

mix) not staying fresh throughout the pickup period, the coop will
reserve the right to not order these greens from growers without
coolers during the hot weather periods and will wait until cooler
weather later in the season or cool rainy weeks to purchase these
greens from those growers.

111
 Articles of Incorporation for State of NH
(Organizational Certificate of Local Harvest CSA)
The undersigned, being persons of lawful age, associate
under the provisions of the New Hampshire Revised Statutes
Annotated, Chapter 301 by the following:

Article I. The name of the cooperative is Local Harvest CSA.

Article II. The purpose for forming the cooperative shall be to

promote the common interest of its members by:

1. Jointly marketing organically grown produce, organic meat

and organic dairy products.
2. Jointly marketing other local farm and bakery products with
a preference for organic.
3. Educate growers and consumers to broaden their
knowledge of organic farming and local food production.
4. Such other objectives as permitted by NHRSA 301 relating
to the purposes of an agricultural marketing cooperative.

Article III. The ________ office, located at

_____________________ will be the initial location of our
administrative office. Future locations of the administrative office
may be designated from time to time by the Board of Directors.
The actual site for distribution of produce and farm goods will be
determined annually.

Article IV. The following persons associating together to form this

cooperative are:

_______________
_______________
_______________

The governing body of the cooperative shall be the Board

of Directors, whose number and duties shall be defined by these

112
articles of incorporation and the by-laws. The board of directors
shall be drawn only from member farmers or producers. All of
these directors shall serve a term of one year. The Board of
Directors may also appoint advisory non-voting members of the
Board for one year terms.

Article V. The clerk of the cooperative shall be:

__________
___________
___________

Article VI. Voting priviledges and property rights of members if

organized without capital stock. N/A
Article VII. Voting privileges and property rights of members if
organized with capital stock:

A. The cooperative shall authorize the creation of 30 shares of

common stock, valued at $1 per share. Each member of
the cooperative (including future members) shall be
required to purchase one share of stock. Each member may
own no more than one share of stock. Only farmers or
producers who sell their goods through the cooperative may
become members of the cooperative. Only members of the
cooperative may own stock.
B. The stock will entitle the member to one vote at all
meetings. Only members will be permitted to vote.
C. If a member leaves the cooperative, they must return the
stock to the cooperative. The stock will be non-transferable
and will yield no actual dividends.
Article VIII. Statement of number of shares of stock to which a
preference or one or more classes of stock apply.
No shareholder shall have any preemptive or preferential
rights to subscribe to or otherwise acquire any shares of stock in the
corporation, whether now or hereafter authorized and whether
unissued or whether held by the corporation as treasury stock, other

113
than such rights, if any, as the Board of Directors in its discretion
from time to time may grant.

Article IX. The property rights and interests of each member shall
be equal, except as set forth in the by-laws with regard to any equity
funds and/or patronage dividends.

Article X. The cooperatives shall be permitted to raise financial

capital through an equity fund, charging members a fixed or
variable percentage of their sales through the cooperative. The
board members shall determine the details of the equity fund.

Article XI. The Board of Directors may establish a system of

patronage dividends in compliance with federal and state laws
regarding cooperatives.

Article XII. These articles may be amended by a vote of two-thirds

(2/3) of the members voting thereon at any regular meeting or at a
special meeting called for that purpose. A written or printed notice
of the proposed amendment and of the time and place ofholding
such meetings shall be delivered to each member, or mailed to his
or her last known address as shown by the books of the association,
at least 30 days prior to any such meetings. Any amendments will
be submitted for approval to the NH Attorney General’s Office
and upon approval will be filed with the NH Secretary of State’s
Office.

Article XIII. This certificate shall be subscribed by the President

and a majority of the directors.

114
 Local Harvest CSA By Laws

Article 1. Offices
Section 1. Business Office.
The principal office of the Cooperative shall be at any place
within the State of New Hampshire. The Cooperative may have
such other offices either within or without the State of New
Hampshire as the Board of Directors may designate or as the
business of the Cooperative may require from time to time. The
Cooperative shall maintain at its principal office, a copy of certain
records, as specified in Section 2.11 of Article 11 herein.

Section 2. Registered Office and Registered Agent

The Cooperative shall maintain a registered agent and a
registered office in this state. The registered office shall be in New
Hampshire and shall be the business office of the registered agent.
The registered office may be, but need not be, identical with the
principal office. The Cooperative may change its registered agent
and/or its registered office from time to time in accord with the
procedure set forth in RSA 292-A:5.02.

Article 2. Membership
Section 1. General
Only farmers or producers who sell their goods through the
cooperative may become members of the cooperative. All persons
who are signers of the articles of incorporation will be granted
automatic membership so that the cooperative may begin its work.
In the future, individuals may apply for membership at any time.
Membership status will be granted by the Board of Directors. All
individuals who are granted membership (including the initial
members) must purchase one share of stock.

115
Section 2. Voting Rights.
All members will be entitled to vote on all issues at all
member meetings. Each member shall have one vote. Each
individual farm or producer will be limited to one membership and
therefore one vote.

Section 3. Property Rights.

The property rights and interests of each member shall be
equal, except as set forth in the by-laws with regard to any equity
funds and/or patronage dividends.

Section 4. Responsibilities
Members must pay all dues and fees as established by the
Board of Directors. Members must sign and comply with the
annual marketing agreement in order to maintain their membership
in the cooperative. Members must agree to pay any penalties as set
forth in the marketing agreement and imposed by the Board of
Directors. Members must abide by the by-laws. Members must
attend the annual meeting, unless a reasonable excuse is offered for
not attending. Attendance at special meetings of the members is
desirable but not required.

Section 5. Termination of Membership.

Members who stop selling goods through the cooperative
for more than on e year will cease to remain members of the
cooperative an must return their share of stock of the cooperative.
They may reapply for membership at any time if they choose to
begin selling their goods again through the cooperative.

Section 6. Expulsion of a Member

If the Board votes by a " majority, a member may be
expelled from the cooperative. Such expulsion may only occur in
the member has acted with gross negligence towards the
cooperative, repeatedly violated the marketing agreement and/or

116
the by laws, or in any other way has acted to the serious detriment
of the cooperative as a whole.

Section 7. Non-members.
Non-members may sell goods through the cooperative at
the discretion of the Board of Directors. Such sales from non-
members may not account for more than 50% of the sales of the
cooperative as a whole for any given year. Non-members may be
charged a different fee structure than members. Non-members
may not vote at meetings. As a general rule, the cooperative will
give to the sale of goods by members over those of non-members,
so long as the goods offered by members meet the minimum
criteria for quality.

Section 8. Members Right to Inspect Cooperative Records

The Cooperative shall keep as permanent records, minutes
of all meetings of its members and of its Board of Directors. Also,
a record of all actions taken by a member at the request of the
Board, the Board itself or a Committee on behalf of the Board.
These records shall be kept with the Organizational Certificate,
Bylaws and all other cooperative documents at the offices of the
Cooperative. A member shall have the right to inspect and copy
any documents of the Cooperative if notice is given to the Board at
least five business days before the date he wishes to see the
documents.

Section 9. Financial Statements.

The cooperative shall furnish its members with an Annual
Financial Statement, including at a minimum: a balance sheet, an
income statement, and a statement of changes in member equity.

117
Article 3. Board of Directors.
Section 1. Election of the Board.
The members shall elect a Board of Directors each year at
the annual meeting. All of the directors must be members of the
cooperative (i.e.- producers or farmers who sell their goods through
the cooperative). The size of the Board shall be determined by the
members at the annual meeting. The number of directors shall be
at least five.

Section 2. General Duties of the Board.

All Cooperative powers shall be exercised by or under the
authority of the Board of Directors. The Board shall be responsible
for the oversight and management of the business of the
cooperative. The Board shall deal with administrative tasks such as
the allocation of produce among farms, establishing a bidding
system to facilitate the allocation of production among
growers/producers, negotiating and arbitrating any disputes
between producers and the cooperative, finding a location for
distribution and pickup, handling all financial matters, drafting the
marketing agreement between the producers and the cooperative,
setting prices for the year and dealing with any price adjustments as
they arise during the season, deal with customer complaints, and all
other actions necessary for the efficient and responsible operation
of the cooperative . All monies of the cooperative shall be in the
custody of the Board of Directors, which shall disburse them in
keeping with the policies and goals of the organization as outlined
by the Articles of Incorporation and the By-Laws.

Section 3. Conduct of Board Meetings.

The Board shall attempt to govern by consensus. If a
member of the board chooses to sit out a decision so as not to deny
consensus, they may do so. If consensus is not attainable, then a
vote shall be employed, with majority rule (51%) governing.

Section 4. Term of Office.

118
 The Directors shall serve a term of office of one year.
Directors may serve more than one year, if re-elected by the
members.

Section 5. Compensation
Compensation shall not be provided to the Board of
Directors for their general duties as Directors.

Section 6. Advisory members.

Advisory non-voting members of the Board may be
appointed by the Board at the Board’s discretion to serve a one year
term.

Section 7. Committees.
The Board may create and delegate responsibility to such
committees as it sees fit and appoint members to those committees
from the membership at large.

Section 8. Quorum of the Board.

The Board may not take official action on behalf of the
cooperative unless a quorum of the Board is present- a quorum
shall be 51% or more of the Board.

Section 9. Removal from Board.

A member of the Board may be removed from the Board if
they have acted to the serious detriment of the functioning of the
Board. Also, failure to attend three meetings in a row may justify
removal from the Board. Under either case, it will require a
majority vote of the entire Board to so remove a person from the
Board.

119
Article 4. Officers.
Section 1. Election of Officers.
The Board of Directors shall elect from their number a
President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary to each serve a
term of one year, or until a successor is duly elected and qualified.

Section 2. President.
The President shall be responsible to prepare an agenda and
run meetings. The President shall also represent the cooperative in
its dealings with outside individuals and organizations. The
President shall be available to the employees of the cooperative as
their contact person to bring issues to the attention of the Board.
The President shall have the power to sign checks and all other
legal instruments which the Board has authorized to be executed.
The President shall, with the Secretary, sign all certificates of stock
issued by the Cooperative. The President shall assume any other
duties as assigned by the Board.

Section 3. Vice President.

In the absence of the President or in the event of his death,
inability or refusal to act, the Vice President shall perform the duties
of the President and when so acting shall have all the powers of and
be subject to all the restrictions upon the President. The Vice
President shall perform such duties as from time to time may be
assigned to him or her by the President or by the Board of
Directors.

Section 4. Treasurer.
The Treasurer shall (a) have charge and custody of and be
responsible for all funds and securities of the Cooperative; (b)
make an annual financial report to the members at the annual
meeting, (c) have the power to sign checks and (d) such other duties
from time to time as may be assigned by the Board.

120
Section 5. The Secretary.

The Secretary shall (a) keep notes from all of the members’
and Board of Directors’ meetings and keep them in a file; (b)
authenticate such records of the Cooperative as shall from time to
time be required; (d) provide notices of meetings; (e) be custodian
of the Cooperative records and of the seal of the cooperative; (f)
keep a member list together with a mailing address, phone number
and email address for each member; (g) keep general charge of the
stock and records of stock issued; and (h) other such duties as
assigned by the Board.

Article 5. Meetings.
Section 1. Annual Meeting.
The members shall hold one annual meeting each year to
discuss the major business of the cooperative and to elect the Board
of Directors for the coming year. The Board shall be responsible to
schedule and notify members of the date and location of the annual
meeting. The Boards shall provide at least 14 days notice to all
members of the time and place of the annual meeting. A quorum
of 51% of the Cooperatives’s members shall be required at the
annual meeting to take action on behalf of the Cooperative.

Section 2. Member Meetings.

The Board may also call meetings of the members if there
are important decisions to be made and the Board seeks the input
of the entire membership. The Board shall be responsible to
schedule and notify members of the date, location, and purposes of
such meetings. Notice will be mailed to each member at least 10
days prior to the meeting. The Board also may call special meetings
of the members to consider proposed amendments to the by-laws.
Such meetings are detailed in Article 11 of these by-laws. The
Board shall provide an agenda for all member meetings and the
President shall either run all member meetings or appoint someone
to serve as moderator of such member meetings. A quorum of

121
51% of the Cooperative’s members shall be required for such
member meetings to take action on behalf of the Cooperative.

Section 3. Board of Directors’ Meetings.

The Board may establish a regular meeting schedule as it

deems necessary. The Board may also call special meetings with the
approval of two-thirds of the board members, provided that each
board member is given at least 36 hours prior notice. The
Secretary shall be responsible to schedule and notify members of
the date and location of all Board meetings.

Article 6. Employees of the Cooperative.

The Board shall be responsible for the hiring and oversight
of all employees of the cooperative. The Board will establish a
minimum of four positions, which may be filled by one or more
persons at the discretion of the Board. The following are general
job descriptions. Specific job descriptions shall be promulgated by
the Board. The Board may require the following employees to
attend the regular Board meetings.

1. Site Coordinator. The Site Coordinator shall be

responsible for coordinating activities on the day of delivery
and pickup (receiving goods from the farmers, dealing with
issues of quality control of goods received, coordinating the
actual pickup of good by the customers, and dealing with
customer relations, suggestions and complaints of referring
them to the Board). Also, the site coordinator shall
communicate to the production manager exactly what items
an in what quantity did go in the boxes on the day of pickup
and also provide the production manager with a report on
the quality of the produce received.
2. Production Manager. The Production manager shall
be responsible for coordinating member production of
goods sold through the cooperative (coordinating the
farmers’ crop bids, deciding what will be offered to the

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 customers each week during the season, ordering crops
from the farmers each week, providing a list of crops that
will comprise the boxes each week to the site coordinator,
establishing prices/price adjustments for the crops,
providing the bookkeeper with information to allow
payment to the producers).
3. Bookkeeper. The Bookkeeper shall be responsible
for maintaining all bank accounts and other financial
instruments, receiving money from the customers, paying
the producers, and providing a monthly accounting of all of
the cooperative’s funds/ accounts to the Board. The Board
may seek special accounting reports from the bookkeeper if
it deems necessary.
4. Marketer. The marketer shall be responsible for the
development of the customer base and marketing
opportunities.

Article 7. Indemnification and Compensation.

Section 1. Board of Directors.

The Cooperative may indemnify any individual made party

to any suit, action or proceeding by reason of the fact that they are
or were a Director of the Cooperative, against liability incurred in
the proceeding.

Section 2. Officers, Agents and Employees.

The Board of Directors may indemnify and advance
expenses to any officer, employee or agent of the Cooperative who
is not a Director to any extent, consistent with public policy, and
specifically authorized by action of the Board.

Article 8. Equity Fund.

The Board shall establish an equity fund to provide for the
smooth and continued financial operation of the cooperative on a
year-round basis. The equity fund may be financed by charging
members annual dues and/or fees based upon sales of goods. The

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Board shall determine the amount of the equity fund each year and
to set the schedule of dues and/or fees.

Article 9. Patronage Dividends.

The Board shall comply with all state and federal laws in the
allocation of patronage dividends. The goal shall be to return as
much money as possible to the producers and withhold enough
money for the secure financial operation of the cooperative. Any
commitments for long-term capitalization of the cooperative shall
be approved by the membership as a whole at the annual meeting.

Article 10. Certificates for Shares.

Section 1. Certificates.
The Board shall be empowered to create Thirty (30)
Certificates, each representing one share of the Cooperative. The
certificates shall at a minimum, state on their face: the name of the
issuing Cooperative, the name of the person to whom the share is
issued and that it represents one (1) share. The certificate shall be
in such a form as may be determined by the Board. Each certificate
shall be signed by the President and Secretary and may be sealed
with a cooperative seal.

Section 2. Recording.
The name and address of the person(s) to whom each share
is issued, with the date of issue, shall be recorded on the stock book
of the Cooperative. The person(s) named on the share shall be
deemed by the Cooperative to be the owner of the share for all
purposes.

Section 3. Restrictions on Shares.

The shares are non-transferable. If the member leaves the
cooperative, they must return their stock to the Cooperative. The
shares shall yield no actual dividends.

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Article 11. Amendment to the By-Laws.
These by-laws may be altered or amended by a vote of two-
thirds (2/3) of the members voting thereon at any annual meeting
or special meeting of the members. If to be done at a special
meeting of the members, any proposed amendment to these by-
laws must first by submitted to the Board of Directors signed by at
least 25% of the members. The Board of Directors then will
schedule the special meeting and provide notice of the meeting
date, location as well as the proposed amendments to all members
at least ten (10) days prior to the meeting. That meeting must take
place within 30 day s of the proposed amendment being presented
to the Board. Such a meeting must have a quorum of at least 51%
of the members to make any by-law amendments effective.
Members may vote by proxy on by-laws amendments if they have a
serious personal conflict which prevents their attendance and their
absence is excused by the Board.

Article 12. Bond.

Pursuant to RSA 301:23, each officer, employee and agent handling
funds or negotiable instruments or property of or for the
association shall give to the association a bond, satisfactory to the
board of directors, for the faithful performance of his or her duties
and obligations.

The foregoing Bylaws were duly adopted by the Board of Directors

of Local Harvest CSA Inc. on _______________, 2002, with an
effective date of ______________, 2002.

Date_______ Signature
Printed name

State of NH

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