The LocalHarvest Blog

We are often asked to estimate the total number of CSAs nationwide, and until now we have always said that no one knows, because the federal government does not track this number. Usually, we've gone on to guess that our database includes perhaps 70-80% of the country’s CSAs. We are proud of the CSA portion of the LocalHarvest database. As of today, it includes 2,727 CSAs.

Recently the feds took a crack at a national number, through a question on the Agricultural Census. And we were astounded by the results. It turns out that 12,549 farmers told the government that they marketed their products through a CSA in 2007.

Yes, 12,549.

There are many staggering numbers in today’s world, but most of them are too big for me to absorb in any real way. ($700 billion?) This number, though, is conceivable. It is a great number, actually. But its appearance prompted me to seek out a flat surface on which to lie down so that I could stare at the ceiling for some minutes. Could there really be another 9,829 established CSAs in the U.S.?

Emily Gilmore from the Robyn Van En Center pointed out that there was some ambiguity in the question. She makes a good point. The exact wording of question 32.1.j read, “At any time during 2007, did this operation market products through a community supported agriculture (CSA) arrangement?” Stated thusly, a farmer who sold, say, eggs through another farm’s produce CSA would have accurately marked ‘yes’. So what the census is counting, then, is the number of farmers involved in CSAs, rather than the number of CSAs.

12,549. It still seems high. High, schmigh. I want to find these farms. No matter how many CSAs there actually are, we want all of them to be part of LocalHarvest. If we had the resources for a huge marketing campaign, we’d do it. But we don’t. We have you.

Good enough, I say.

Not since 2000 have we directly invited farms to join LH. (The rest all found out about us by word of mouth.) It’s about time we sent out invitations again, but first we need a list. This is where the contest comes in.

We are offering a $100 prize to the person who sends us the most new CSAs between now and the end of September. Take a look at our list of CSAs. Know of any that are missing? If so, here is a little form, where you can tell us how to get in touch with them. Or, you can always go directly to the farmers yourself, and tell them about LocalHarvest. Be sure to mention that creating a farm listing on LH is free. In a few months, we’ll let you know how the project is coming. Meanwhile, please help us find the rest of the country’s CSAs!

As always, take good care and eat well,

Erin Barnett
Director
LocalHarvest

p.s. If you have a comment on the Ag Census’s CSA number, post it in the comments section of our blog.

Guillermo

07:00 PM CDT