BOOTSTRAP @ FORAGER FARM – ON EQUIPMENT AND CAPITAL:
By Hannah Sargeant of Forager Farm Unlike many other young farmers, we had access to land even before we made a concrete decision on whether to grow vegetables or not. We were fortunate enough to have family and friends willing to rent us a slice of land. Ultimately, we decided to rent land from some […]
Innovative Farming in the Face of Climate Uncertainty
If you look at recent predictions about how climate change will affect farming in the driest third of the United States, you might at first feel as though everything is working against young agrarians. Water levels of reservoirs behind dams on Western rivers are at the lowest levels since the dams were built; and the […]
BOOTSTRAP @ LEMONADE SPRINGS FARM – WELCOME TO OUR 2014 SEASON
By Seth Douglas of Lemonade Springs Farm Lemonade Springs Farm is run by myself, Seth, and my partner, Kathleen. We are in our second full season. The farm is located in Watsonville, California, about a mile inland in the heart of the central coast’s commercial strawberry growing country. We are reclaiming five acres of old […]
BOOTSTRAP @ FORAGER FARM – WELCOME TO THE 2014 SEASON!
By Hannah Moser of Forager Farm My name is Hannah Sargent and I am a marketer turned farmer turned marketing-farmer. My fiancé Jonathon Moser and I own and run Forager Farm, a vegetable CSA in central North Dakota and are in our first season! We are on a mission to revive our food culture by providing […]
Farmer Profile: Introducing Rock Paper Scissors Goat Dairy of Cummington, MA
Partners Angie Arahood and Lee Lewis are launching Rock Paper Scissors Goat Dairy, a goat microdairy selling Certified Grade A raw milk in Cummington, MA.
BOOTSTRAP @ NORTH COUNTRY CREAMERY – DEVELOPING A MARKETING PLAN
By Ashlee Kleinhammer of North Country Creamery This year we took a multi-prong approach to marketing. I was striving toward an ideal that we would sell most of our products through a CSA. We managed to serve around a dozen members locally, and twenty-eight members through Juniper Hill Farms’ Farmigo share (a CSA service […]
Resource Spotlight – Kiva Zip Helps Connect Supporting Communities with Entrepreneurs
Beginning farmers know that one of the biggest obstacles we face is access to capital and credit as we build our farms. While there are a lot of commercial and governmental loan programs for farmers out there, many don’t have the flexibility or reach to assist those just starting their businesses. We are lucky, however, […]
Let's Go Farm, Santa Rosa, CA
Joey Smith started Let’s Go Farm in 2011 on the land he grew up on in Santa Rosa, CA. On their 1-acre parcel, Joey and his farming partner Max grow a wide variety of vegetables, flowers, and some fruits and berries. They sell their produce on Sundays at the Windsor Farmer’s Market, and have a […]
CSA Farmers – CSA Online Conference Coming Up On March 15
The CSA Expert Exchange is an online conference for CSA farmers (or those interested in learning more about running a CSA) Friday, March 15th, from 11am – 4pm EST (8am – 1pm PDT). Topics include community involvement, strategies for increasing member retention, certifications, equipment, finding the right scale for your CSA operation, and legal issues […]
Farm Commons Explains the Nuts and Bolts of CSA's
Last month, I participated in a very helpful webinar by Farm Commons discussing the legal aspects of running a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program. It began by discussing how member/shareholder agreements can lay the groundwork for a positive relationship between CSA owners and members. According to Farm Commons, detailed agreements are the key to establishing expectations […]