2023 Farm Forecast: 10 YEARS OF CSA!

I cannot believe I am typing these words right now: this is my 10th year running my own CSA farm! How time flies?!

It all started with a little dream to make a living farming and it seemed CSA was the way to do it (read more about that process here). I started my farm with 22 families committed to supporting my fledgling farm business in the summer of 2014 while managing a larger CSA farm and CrossFit gym. I lived with my soon-to-be-husband in a tiny house on wheels at the farm I worked and rented land on. My first two equipment purchases were a wheel hoe and an Earthway direct seeder. I worked on nights and weekends to manage my 2/3th of an acre of production. The farm had about $10,000 that year in revenue; all poured right back into the farm.

Now year 10, we will have around 120-130 CSA families, 6 dedicated wholesale accounts/chefs, 3 school districts, 1 daughter, soon another child (any day now actually!), 43 acres of wild, organic land and multiple farm buildings that help us make most of our income from the land. Travis and I made the commitment to both be full time on the farm this year bouncing between our soon-to-be newborn, 4 year old daughter and farm work. The farms’ produce revenue was about $130,000 per acre last year and we expect about the same this year.

We’ve built everything from scratch here: the 3 acres on which our homesite and fields mostly occupies was just pasture in 2016 when we bought it. The remaining 40 acres are pure, wild land and will likely remain that way. We built our home, the high tunnel, the barn/packing shed, our geothermal greenhouse; we planted our 2 acre orchard, we have a plethora of livestock now too. We are deeply committed to adding diversity (plants, animals and others) to the land and working in relationship with our land and animals.

My original intention was to work with the land on a daily basis at a human-scale; growing certified organic, nutrient-dense produce for CSA members and chefs who really value it. I also have seen a lot of farmers burn out from the intensity of farm work and from the tendency of farms to grow and grow and grow until it’s too much. My goal was to stay small, hyper-efficient, super enjoyable AND make a decent living. While it’s never been perfect (nor would I expect that), I am really happy with our lifestyle, winter down-time and our farm-life balance.

I am so beyond proud of the business and farm that I have built over these last 10 years. I couldn’t have done it without my husband, my parents, my employees, my CSA members and chefs and the beautiful lands of which I worked.

Cheers to another 10 years!

Farmer Beth