Field Day on ‘Day in the Life of a CSA Farmer’ Near Prairie Farm Aug. 26

8/17/11
PRAIRIE FARM, Wis. — A field day on “The Day in the Life of a CSA Farmer” will be held Friday, Aug. 26, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., at North Creek Community Farm near Prairie Farm. This event is sponsored by the Land Stewardship Project’s (LSP) Farm Beginnings program. The cost is $25 for LSP members and $60 for the general public. Participants should bring a sack lunch. Please pre-register by contacting LSP’s Parker Forsell at 507-523-3366 or parker@landstewardshipproject.org.

This is a whole farm planning workshop for people interested in starting a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farming operation. CSA farming, also known as subscription farming, has become a popular way to market products and build community. Many beginning farmers are attracted to this model, but are not always aware of the host of complicated management and production decisions involved in being a beginning CSA farmer.

Participants in this field day will hear firsthand from Kate Stout, who manages a 40-acre farm that has 125 CSA customers. Kate has 20 years of experience with the CSA model and with training individuals on her farm.

This field day offers a unique opportunity to learn about key challenges and the planning that goes into running a CSA business. There will be both hands-on learning and presentations. Topics to be covered include:

Morning crew discussion
Farm tour
CSA member management
Production and labor management
Timely decision-making
Record-keeping
Troublesome members
How to figure out what to ship
Employee issues
Infrastructure decision-making

Since 1997, LSP’s Farm Beginnings has been working to revitalize rural communities through its hands-on, farmer-led training program that covers sustainable farming systems, business planning and innovative marketing. In response to training and farmer networks coordinated by LSP, an increasing number of farm operations are being launched in Minnesota and across the Midwest. Many of the over 500 people who have graduated from the Minnesota Farm Beginnings program during the past 14 years are currently farming.

For more information on LSP’s Farm Beginnings program, see www.farmbeginnings.org, or call Karen Benson at 507-523-3366.