Download the Sign-up
Form
COWBERRY CROSSING CSA DETAILS
Cowberry Crossing Farm CSA Members receive a weekly share of
7-12 different varieties of quality biodynamic vegetables (see
Harvest Timetable, what is Biodynamic? - links to
pages) on market mornings from June through October (please
see sign-up form for specific dates this year and cost) that can be
picked up at their choice of either the Hastings, Pleasantville, or
Rhinebeck farmers markets. At each market, there will be a
list indicating the type and quantity of produce that members
should take to make up their weekly share. There will also be
a swap box to offer members the opportunity to trade/exchange
vegetables with other members.
In addition, our members get the option of first choice of eggs
(a high demand item at the farmers markets that always sell out
early) and first choice on chicken, beef, pork, lamb and
rabbit. These additional options can be ordered through our
Weekly Meat & Egg Orders for Members page (- link here where
you can see our inventory, prices, place an order, and receive a
confirmation of your order.)
WHAT IS CSA?
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) describes an arrangement
where consumers and farmers choose to join forces in contributing
to a healthier earth and high quality food. While the farmer
is tending the earth on behalf of consumers, the consumers share
the costs of supporting the farm by purchasing, in advance, a share
of the upcoming harvest which is distributed on a weekly basis
during the growing season. This membership assumes sharing
the risk of variable harvests (which are rare on healthy, properly
diversified farms) as well as sharing the gain from the
over-abundance of the particularly fruitful years. Signing up
in advance of the upcoming season enables the farmer to more
accurately plan the garden and provides the necessary up-front
funds that farming requires to purchase seeds, hire help, and
gather supplies to get the season started.
CSA is NOT about procuring cheap food which is
neither nourishing nor grown with care of the environment in
mind.
CSA offers and promotes consumer choice, good health, a direct
relationship to one's food, care of the earth, community, families,
fun, and education.
The CSA farm gives consumers the opportunity to choose how their
food is grown and where it comes from. Eating locally grown,
freshly harvested food is the basis of a healthy diet. When
no herbicides, pesticides, or artificial fertilizers are used,
ground water pollution and toxic residues on food are
avoided. CSA members also receive all of the health benefits
associated with eating produce when it is season. By getting
their food delivered directly from the farm, thereby skipping
the wholesale, national/ international food travel, and supermarket
steps, members receive fresher (and, therefore, more nutritious)
high quality food at competitive prices.
The farmers at Cowberry Crossing believe that the earth is a
living being and the actions of every individual have an effect on
the whole. The soil is the basis of all human life and the
quality of its care and health affect not only those who eat the
food today, but also those who will depend on the soil in the
future. It is in the consumer's interest that farmers are
supported in a way that they can grow the highest quality most
nutritious food while preserving and contributing to the highest
quality soil and health for future generations. Thus, by
participating in our CSA, members are also contributing to a
healthier ecology.
CSA members often volunteer their time to work on the farm so
that they may informally learn about farming. Cowberry Crossing
Farm CSA Members can connect with other members on farm visit
days. Children greatly benefit from experiencing where their
food comes from and will often begin eating those formerly suspect
"strange-looking, healthy" vegetables once they and their families
have a few participatory visits on the farm. There is so much
fun to be had experiencing nature on the farm; sighting wildlife
which makes its home in areas that we intentionally preserve for
that purpose (see our wildlife habitat page), and of course
observing the farm animals and their babies - calves, rabbits,
chicks, piglets, and lambs - oh so cute!