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Horton Road Organic's CSA discontinued indefinitely as of January 2008
Dear CSA Member,
It is not without some sorrow that we bring you this news: We will not be offering CSA shares in 2008. Like you, we will miss many of the joyful aspects of the CSA. We especially appreciate your loyalty amidst crop successes and failures and kind words that have sustained us these last 15 years. Unfortunately, the impact of the CSA on the management of the farm has become untenable, primarily due to our labor arrangement. In order to continue farming in some form at this point, we feel it imperative to refine the operation to address perennial difficulties as well as take care of personal interests belonging to your farmers (graduate work, religious service, health, and family care to name a few) that have been put on hold by the demands of the work.
Labor impact of the CSA
On the positive side, the CSA has always been a stabilizing force in our farm structure, an economic anchor in the early season, ballast against the idiosyncrasies of weather, as well as fulfilling community connection. However, from the point of view of labor management, the CSA involves some of the most difficult resource intensive crops on which to train people. These crops often yield simultaneously, requiring a greater collective skill level than is present in our current system. Added to this complexity, the CSA also requires significant administrative attention that competes with field demands.
The Nature of Farm Work
Relying on a mix of staff and apprentices, with its inherent high turnover rate, has required a very high level of energy for Bill and Debra to continually train newcomers at both the entry and management level. On the whole it has been both a challenging and rewarding journey, but inherently, unsustainable in the long run. In general, after three years, most employees are ready to begin their own farms, creating a loss of skill that needs continual replenishing (albeit a success for our program illustrated by the vast majority who have continued to farm). Conventional solutions to this situation often fail in this setting due to the uniqueness of farm life - its seasonal rhythms, limited economics and surprisingly refined skill level, all of which seem at odds with modern expectations of work. In addition to this perennial strain at this time, we have no returning skilled folks returning for next season, a serious condition alone which has not occurred in 15 years. Entering the planning time of year, we were well aware that it was clearly time for a change.
For now, we hope to alleviate some of the personal strain on the farmers by simplifying the operation while still maintaining a strong local presence through our farmers markets, retail and restaurant accounts. It remains to be seen if we can sustain our work with a significant reduction in overall income and we may choose to resume some version of the CSA in the future if it seems the right path to take.
In Closing
Writing this brings to mind many names and faces, eliciting both gratitude and concern for those of you who have followed our work for 15 years and the enthusiastic newcomers have just recently come aboard. We welcome your responses and questions to the news. Endings also bring opportunities. We trust as a community that we can recreate the Horton Road garden to meet these current challenges and serve the vital cultural need for locally grown food reconnection to the natural world. On the plus side, it is likely you’ll see more of us personally at the markets this year and we promise no shortage of salad mix and carrots. You can help us in this transition by continuing to support us and all your local farms, making a commitment to go more often to market, joining another local CSA, growing a garden, sharing seeds and produce and taking good care of what sustains us all with open hands.
~ From the heart of the garden,
Bill & Debra