Share Of The Farm”

~ Elizabeth

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In late winter it was increasingly difficult, because of the disruptions of the virus, to buy fresh produce. I was concerned that it might remain challenging and decided to buy a share of a farm down the road from us. CSA(consumer supported agriculture), lets you buy a share before planting  thus allowing a farm to use the capital to purchase seeds, hire necessary workers, and share the potential loss from unpredictable weather or crop yield. I bought a full share of Killam and Bassette and picked up our first bag last Thursday. Now every Thursday until late November, I will return to the farm stand and exchange my empty canvas bag for a full one.

Above is a picture of yesterday’s haul, although we didn’t get jam and our beets were exchanged for kohlrabi. Fortunately the owners supply a recipe card for people like me who previously couldn’t have told a kohlrabi from a rutabaga. Each day’s bag is filled with vegetables and fruits picked that morning. Nothing could compete this week with the strawberries, pesticide and herbicide free, and perfect right out of the box.

They also have chickens running around the farm now tagged “free range.” I once had “free range” chickens of my own, but they ranged so far afield I never found their eggs! Fortunately the farm houses the hens overnight, collects their eggs and gives us a dozen with our share. In the winter they will butcher the chickens and the pigs who are currently getting fat on extra crops and roughage. Then the frozen meats will be for sale. The owners will make jam and jelly from extra fruit and sell that at their “honor system” farm stand all winter.

While much of the lush farmland to our south has been replaced with huge houses, fortunately some family farms remain. I am grateful that I can help one of them continue to prosper by buying a share of their bounty.

29 thoughts on “Share Of The Farm””

      1. There are some shops called ‘Farm Shops’, though they are rarey attached to farms. They sell produce that they claim is ‘local’ at inflated prices. A better option if the ‘pick your own’ system at real farms. My wife uses a local farm for strawberries when in season, and pays by the weight she has picked. There are other doing the same with fruits like plums. Many shops sell ‘guaranteed local’ meat, such as Norfolk Pork, which is excellent, and has a good reputation.

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        1. That sounds like a racket. Here the local goods are called “native” and are certified local by the state. It took us a while after moving here to realize that the vegetables weren’t being sold by indigenous people, but were “native” to Connecticut.

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  6. When you mentioned (in a comment) buying into a farm a while ago I didn’t realise your dividend would be as great as this. Well done you….money well spent’!
    I love seeing honesty boxes at farm gates…..there’s something trusting about them.

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  9. Nothing compares to fresh produce right from the farm. I was given a gift, a box of strawberries from a CSA garden. The insides were as red as the outsides, and they lasted for over a week. This farming is good for the farmer and the consumer, all local. Wonderful that you bought a share, Elizabeth.

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  12. I really think this is a wonderful idea, Elizabeth. We have recently discovered a fruit and veg shop run by a Portuguese family which we are not patronising. They buy their produce directly from some of the farms. We are to far from rural areas to buy directly from farms ourselves.

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