CSA Information
"We specifically sought out a farm that promised us local foods throughout the year and Heron Pond Farm
has done that and promises to do more. We're excited for next year and the possibility of an even more
locally sourced diet."----------Tim Fukawa-Connelly "Heron Pond Farm provides a share you can truly live on!"-------Jerry & Marcy Monkman "The variety available from Heron Pond Farm is outstanding....our family looks forward to the different
food each week."----Kim Englehardt
The Summer 2010 CSA has been greatly expanded and shares are available now. We will update this
post and the main page banner when the CSA is closed. To obtain a 2010 CSA registration form follow
this link:
Or you can register on line using our Member Assembler. Our Member Assembler allows you to fully
register for the 2010 CSA including pick up day at the farm stand or pick up location such as Portsmouth
or Dover. You can use Google Check Out to take advantage of your credit card or check out without
using Google and receive an e-mail invoice. Please pay the deposit to assure your spot in the CSA upon
receipt of invoice. While in the Member Assembler be sure to take advantage of adding as many e-mail
address as you like to receive our updates and share information.
What is CSA?
CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) is a farmer-consumer partnership. CSA members make a commitment up front to a farm for an entire growing season by buying a *share* in the season's harvest. In return, farmers provide members with a weekly supply of fresh vegetables. CSA members share the risks and rewards of the harvest, acknowledging that production depends on weather and can be affected by unforeseen problems such as pests and diseases. However this relationship extends beyond a simple trade of money and food. In addition to receiving vegetables, members are encouraged to participate in the farm. Come, tour the gardens, get to know the farmers. We want you to be involved in how we do things.
Why CSA?
Heron Pond Farm aims for a 20% return on shareholder investment over the twenty weeks that vegetables are available.
1. Locally grown food tastes better.
Food grown in your own community was probably picked within the past 24 hours. It’s crisp, sweet and loaded with flavor. Produce flown or trucked in from California, Florida, Chile, or Holland is quite understandably much older. Several studies have shown that the average distance food travels is 1,500 miles in a week long (or more) delay from harvest to dinner table, sugars turn to starches, plant cells shrink and produce loses vitality.
2. Local produce is better for you.
A recent study showed that fresh produce loses nutrients quickly. Food that is frozen or canned soon after the harvest is actually more nutritious than some “fresh” produce that has been on the truck or supermarket shelf for a week. Locally grown food, purchased soon after harvest retains it nutrients.
3. Local food preserves genetic diversity.
In the modern industrial agriculture system, varieties are chosen for their ability to ripen simultaneously and withstand harvesting equipment; for a tough skin that can survive packing and shipping, and for an ability to have a long shelf life in the store. Only a handful of hybrid varieties of fruits and vegetables meet these rigorous demands, so there is little genetic diversity in the plants grown. Local farms, in contrast, grow a huge number of varieties to provide a long season of harvest; an array of eye-catching colors, and the best flavors. Many are heirlooms, passed on from generation to generation, because they taste good. These old varieties contain genetic material from hundreds or thousands of years of human selection; they may someday provide the genes needed to create varieties that will thrive in a changing climate.
4. GMO free.
Although biotechnology companies have been trying to commercialize genetically modified fruits and vegetables, they are currently licensing them only to large factory-style farms. Local farmers don’t have access to genetically modified seed and most of them wouldn’t use it even if they could. A June 2001 survey by ABC News showed that 93% of Americans want labels on genetically modified food-most so they can avoid it. If you are opposed to eating bioengineered food, you can rest assured that locally grown produce was bred the old fashioned way, as nature intended.
5. Local food supports local farm families.
With fewer than one million Americans now claiming farming as their primary occupation, farmers are a vanishing breed. Commodity prices are at a historic low, often below the cost of production. The farmer now gets less than 10 cents on the retailer food dollar. Local farmers who sell direct to consumers cut out the middle man and get full retail prices for their food- which means families can afford to stay on the farm, doing the work they love.
6. Local food builds community.
When you buy direct from the farmer, you are re-establishing a time-honored connection between the eater and the grower. Knowing the farmer gives you insight into the seasons, the weather, and the miracle of raising food. In many cases, it gives you access to the farm where your children and grandparents can go and learn about nature and agriculture.
7. Local food preserves open space.
As the value of direct marketed fruits & vegetables increases, selling farmland for development becomes less likely. You have probably enjoyed driving out into the country and appreciate the lush fields of crop, the meadows full of wildflowers, and the picturesque red barns. That landscape will survive only as long as farms are financially viable. When you buy locally grown food, you are doing something proactive about preserving the agricultural landscape.
8. Local food keeps your taxes in check.
Farms contribute more in taxes than they require in services, whereas urban development costs more than it generates in taxes, according to several studies. On average, for every $1 in revenue raised by residential development, government must spend$1.17 on services, thus requiring higher taxes on all taxpayers. For each dollar of revenue raised by farm, forest, or open space, government spends 34 cents on services.
9. Local food supports a clean environment and benefits wildlife.
A well-managed family farm is a place where the resources of fertile soil and clean water are valued. Good stewards of the land grow cover crops to prevent soil erosion and replace nutrients used by their crops. Cover crops also capture carbon emissions and help control global warming. According to some estimates, farmers who practice conservation tillage could sequester 12-14% of the carbon emitted by vehicles and industry. In addition, the patchwork of fields, meadows, woods, ponds and buildings- is the perfect environment for many species of wildlife.
10. Local food is about the future.
By supporting local farmers today, you can help ensure that there will be farms in your community tomorrow, and that future generations will have access to nourishing, flavorful and abundant food.
How does our CSA work?
Members sign up to purchase a share by completing the registration form. Your space is secured upon receipt of payment. There will be 200 shares offered for the 2010 season.
Members receive enough produce to feed 2-4 people over a 20 week period starting in late May or early June and continuing through mid October.
You pick up your share at Heron Pond Farm on RT 107a in South Hampton. Pick-up times are available seven days a week during normal stand hours. You'll pick your day when you fill out your membership form (our CSA has seven day pick up). Or choose to Pick up your food in Portsmouth, or Dover. Greg and I have split the CSA in two parts. The folks that pick up at the farm will have the option of checking a box and paying towards a share for a families in need. This family will come from the Our Neighbors Table program in Amesbury. They will remain anonymous and just get a share. Greg and I will match you in funds up to a certain amount to be determined by our bank account. The folks that pick up in Portsmouth will have the opportunity to have the same deal. The families in need will be pick by the St. Johns Church food program and will pick up in Portsmouth.
New for 2010!
Grains and Dry Beans
More food Choices
Bigger Winter program
Herbs and Greens
Expected Harvest
Unlike the grocery store our varieties are chosen from some of the tastiest around. We are always on the look out for new ones and attend conferences as well as talking with other growers to find the best seed possible. If you have a suggestion we would be glad to hear it. Another difference from the grocer is our seasons. We stretch things when we can but for the most part we grow food in season. Check out what was in the 2008 share under the CSA tab.