TEAL TRACTOR CELEBRATES
NATIONAL CSA SIGN-UP DAY FEBRUARY 28
Teal Tractor is pleased to join other farms from around the country for National CSA Sign-Up Day on February 28th. The day encourages food consumers to buy a share of their local farm’s harvest for the 2015 season, a buying model known as Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA.
CSA has become an important model to support local agriculture since it was introduced to the United States in the 1980s and since grown to over 6,000 farms across the country. To join a CSA, members buy a share of the harvest in the Winter and Spring and then get a box of local produce each week throughout the growing season.
“CSAs are the most authentic connection between a farmer and eater available. CSA members get the freshest, high quality, seasonal local produce, but they also get a direct connection to their farmer. This model is economically important to farmers, especially small and beginning farmers, because they can grow with confidence knowing that they have a market for their produce ahead of time.”, says Simon Huntley from Small Farm Central, a technology company that works with CSA farms across the country, and the creator of National CSA Sign-up Day.
February 28th was chosen as National CSA Sign-up Day because this day is the most popular day to sign up for CSA shares according to the 2014 CSA Farming Report. Buying a CSA share in late winter is important because farmers are making the capital investments for this year’s harvest now and the CSA model means they do not need to finance these costs with costly credit.
I encourage you to support local agriculture in your community. If you are lucky enough to have a farmer's market near you, take some time tonight or this weekend and check it out! If a CSA is something you'd be interested in, search Local Harvest near your location and you'll find out how much fun you'd really have in a season.
