Finding Your Markets Webinar Series

Starting a CSA

Sponsored by Bright Agrotech

www.brightagrotech.com
webinar overview
1. What is a CSA 6. The CSA Contract

2. The Pros and Cons of 7. Marketing &

CSAs Management

3. CSA Sales 8. The CSA Season

4. Getting Started 9. CSA Takeaways

5. Finding Customers
Dr. Nate Storey
 What is
1
CSA
 n i t y Your Farm
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What is it?
CSA is a contract bet ween producer and customer
by which shares of farm production are sold
History of CSA

Consumers of farm produce looking for

better, more accessible, more affordable
products would band together and buy
a farm and hire a manager.

Each customer would get a share of the production from the

farm correlating with the amount of the farm that they owned.
 History of CSA (continued)

The concept evolved, with established

farmers offering CSA options to their
established customer base, while eliminating
the upfront cost of investing in a farm

Sold production by shares for a set price

Season by season- no long term investment
Limiting large risks, sharing seasonal risks
Arguably the ideal form of this type of arrangement
Month by month or Season Lump payment
2 The Pros and Cons of CSAs

Pros Cons
 The Pros
Community Supported Agriculture

Producers get guaranteed cash flows (lump payment)

Budgeting is easy
Seasonal risk sharing with customers
Niche market with higher pricing
Strong customer relationships- marketing foundation
Accountability and Connection
 The CONS
Community Supported Agriculture

Must still be marketed- Fill those share slots!

Must be able to deliver on expectations
Must deliver quality
Must have semi-established production before you start
Must accurately predict production and manage crops for
variety- keep your customers interest!
Accountability and Connection
3 Community Supported
Agriculture Sales
Growing area of sales for small farms

Offers incredible amounts of security through risk

sharing with customers
!
Can be the single best way for small producers to
gain a foothold in their local market
4

Getting
started
 Step #1)
You must be producing.

This gives you an accurate idea of what you can produce

This allows you to sell an appropriate number of shares

Once you know what you can produce you can sell the right number of shares
you are producing, right?

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 CSA
TIPS
Make sure your customers know
what theyre getting. Dont promise
them something you cant deliver

Word of Mouth is a great

marketing too, but can also ruin
your reputation

Disappointment in your product

is destructive
5 Finding Customers

y o u fi n d t h e m?
Wh e re c a n
- Fa r me r s m a r k e ts
- L o c a l H e a lt h F o o d St o re s

- Pe rs o n a l C o n ne c t io n s
- Ad ve rt is e me n ts
This is an active process that requires you to seek, find and sell people on your product!

This often requires printed materials

explaining what youre doing , why
youre doing it, what crops you will be
growing, what they can expect, etc.
6 the Contract
Bright Agrotech

Put together a contract &

1938 Harney St. Ste 152
Laramie, WY 82072
www.brightagrotech.com
Email: info@brightagrotech.com
308-249-2301

explain the relationship

Community Supported Agriculture
2012-2013 Winter Contract
We believe that healthy, civically engaged communities are a powerful force in the fight
against hunger and the fight for fresh, healthy food. Because of this, we have designed our
products to strengthen the ties between people. Local agriculture offers not only a chance to
grow local economies, but the bonds between people within communities. We believe that
knowing the person who grows your food should be an important part of the American
lifestyle, and an important part of remembering where your food comes from. The CSA is

What do they get?

designed to both support local year-round growers and to provide local, nutritious, and
delicious greens and herbs to the Laramie Community. We believe that even small programs
can combat very big problems in the world and are very excited to invite you to embark on this
adventure with us.
This CSA will deliver greenhouse produced greens and herbs year round. All of our

What do you get?

products are grown within Laramie City Limits using sustainable and organic production
techniques and (mostly) renewable energy. All pest control is accomplished using OMRI
certified controls and methods. We invite CSA members to come and learn about our
greenhouse and our production techniques first hand on Farm Tour Days (Dates TBA).
PAYMENT POLICY
We expect payment due in full when turning in the contract. There will be two 6 month

What are the risks inherent in CSA periods that will run on a weekly basis. The first CSA will start Nov. 1 and end Apr. 25. The
second CSA will start May 2 and end Oct. 31.*

the relationship?

The contract should explain EVERYTHING! Use our

template
the Contract (Continued)

Other details to include:

- Term of contract
- Delivery/pickup days/times
- Days off?
- Location
- Introduction to Staff
- Explanation of growing techniques/controls
- Contact Information
- How do you accept payment? Terms?
- Any other relevant details (excess food, friends picking up, etc.)

The fewer questions you have to answer the better-

eliminate your customers surprises
7 Marketing & MGMT

Put together a contact list C SA CONTACTS

S a ll y J.

S us a n P.

* Primary marketing tool Mar k y M .

* Educational tool S n o o p D Oh Do ub
le G
Che t t S.

Gar y S.

N ic k y W.
 Managing members
Figure out how to take payment, track members and subscriptions
!
Excel Other online tools
Recurly Good old paper books
!
 Managing payments

Take payment (sell as many of your available

shares as you can) with signed contract

C h ec k you r em a il s fo r a
C SA C on tract Te m pl ate
taking payment:
Up front vs monthly
Up Front is better
- Limits your initial number of customers
- Less expensive to manage, fewer logistic
costs
- Guarantees payment

Monthly is more common, but more risky

- Collecting Payment/Follow up is time

consuming and expensive
- No guarantee customers will continue to pay
(defeats the purpose)
You should have been growing in the meantime. . .
!
 Budget your cash, month by month

Know your costs

!
Know what your CSA will cost
!
transparency & Communication

Plan out newsletters & educational materials

Every week we email our

customers & tell them:
News-events, tours, information on
the greenhouses, successes & failures
What theyre getting that week
Recipes to use with the weeks produce

*Marketing Note*
Using sites like Yelp that help with social proof is important1
8 THE CSA Season
The first day you deliver
Be on time
Be friendly- shake all of your customers hands.
Plan on talking with as many of them as possible
Remember that relationship covers a multitude of sins!
Explain everything

Do this every time you deliver!

mid-season
Start selling your next cycle midway through your current cycle.

Never stop selling.

!
Keeping enrollment and expanding
enrollment is a never-ending cycle.
Dont take your eye off the ball.
 g h ou t
T h r o u
s e a so n
th e

Plan tours
Plant treats for
your customers
Communicate!
9 csa takeaways
Firing
customers
Know when to hire and fire new customers

You will have a core of enthusiastic, dedicated, wonderful people, but there will aways be some
folks that dont appreciate or understand the value of what you offer
!
Do what you can to make things right, but if thats not enough, know when to refund a customer
!
Fill their slot with someone who will be one of your enthusiastic core
!
Never stop listening to your customers, but sometimes all the changes in the world wont make a
customer happy.
 making things right
You will fail.
!
You will screw things up, forget people, lose shares, have crop failures, light
baskets, bug problems, etc.
!
Dont be unsympathetic to your customers

Do what you can to make things right when things do fail.

They understand the risk ,but that doesnt mean you can disrespect their money.

9 times out of 10, if you have a relationship with

your customers, this process is much, much easier.
 remember
CSAs are not traditional markets.

Theyre the ideal market because they are relational.

Never forget that!

 Webinar bonuses
To help you be as successful as possible

CSA Workbook CSA Contract Templates

 Get Growing
Today & Save

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ZipGrow towers
Thru April

coupon code:
ZIPGROW04
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 The Bright Agrotech Team

s t i o n s?
Q ue
Chris

Pau l

Noah