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| [[image:Csa1.jpg|frame|CSA participants in New Hampshire<br>
| | {{cat header| default.png | Community Supported Agriculture | IntroText }} |
| From left, Betsy Gibberson, Bob Bauer, and Jennifer Ohler prepare to deliver vegetables to shareholders who joined their New Hampshire community supported agriculture enterprise, a unique cooperative of eight farms.<br>
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| - Photo by Scott Franzblau.]]
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| Community Supported Agriculture consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a [[Agriculture|farm]] operation so that the farmland becomes, either legally or spiritually, the community's farm, with the growers and consumers providing mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production. Typically, members or "share-holders" of the farm or garden pledge in advance to cover the anticipated costs of the farm operation and farmer's salary. In return, they receive shares in the farm's bounty throughout the growing season, as well as satisfaction gained from reconnecting to the land and participating directly in [[:Category:Food crops|food production]]. Members also share in the risks of farming, including poor harvests due to unfavorable weather or pests. By direct sales to community members, who have provided the farmer with working capital in advance, growers receive better prices for their crops, gain some financial security, and are relieved of much of the burden of marketing. | |
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| ==Benefits of a CSA==
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| *You know exactly where your food is coming from.
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| *It is as local as you can get with out growing your own.
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| *It cuts down on the embodied energy of your food.
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| *It makes the nutrient cycle smaller.
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| *It is an educational tool.
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| ==Potential problems of a CSA==
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| *You only get what is grown. And although you often get say in what is grown, you do not get that much say in what you receive.
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| *Sometimes you get a lot of one thing that you may not like.
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| *You take the risks with the farmer, so if all of the corn is eaten by caterpillars then you don't get any corn that year.
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| [http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/ AFSIC] also has developed specific resources on this topic. They include:
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| *[http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/AFSIC_pubs/at93-02.htm Community Supported Agriculture (CSA): An Annotated Bibliography and Resource Guide. 1993]
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| *[http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csafarmer.shtml Resources for Farmers. 2006]
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| *[http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csaorgs.shtml Organizations and Web Sites. 2006]
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| *[http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csasearch.shtml Automated Database Searches. 2006]
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| *[http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csadef.shtml Defining Community Supported Agriculture. 1993]
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| *[http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csapubs.htm Publications about Community Supported Agriculture. 2001]
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| From: [http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csa.shtml The National Agricultural Library]
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| == Interwiki links ==
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| * [[Wikipedia:Community Supported Agriculture]]
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| [[Category:Community]] | | [[Category:Community]] |
| [[Category:Agriculture]] | | [[Category:Agriculture]] |
| [[Media:History and Development of CSA]]http://newfarm.rodaleinstitute.org/features/0104/csa-history/part1.shtml
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