community supported agriculture
10 ‘Agrihoods’ Growing Across the Country
October 2, 2017 | Trish PopovitchCompulsory CSA memberships, an organic farm for your kids to run through, cultivate and harvest, residents encouraged to create their own farming businesses. These are just some of the facets of ‘agrihoods’, the farm-focused housing developments that are sprouting up across the country. Instead of simply paving over arable land, developers are beginning to embrace agriculture to lure home buyers, create community and conserve land. Over 200 agrihoods currently exist in America. Here are 10 agrihoods every informed urban ag enthusiast should know about. Read More
Getting Creative in Colorado: An Oral History of the State’s Oldest Organic Farm
June 6, 2016 | Abbie Stutzer
Jerry and Jacquie Monroe, owners of Monroe Organic Farms, Colorado’s oldest organic farms. The Monroes have been practicing sustainable farming methods for nearly a century. Photo courtesy of Wander Media, J.R. and Ali Richards.
Monroe Organic Farms is Colorado’s oldest organic farm, and it has the rich history to prove it. Seedstock recently spoke with co-manager Jacquie Monroe to hear the story in her own words. Although Jacquie joined the farm’s family in 1984 when she married Jerry Monroe Jr. , she feels like she’s been farming alongside the Monroe’s since they got into the industry nearly a century ago.
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The Monroes began farming in Kansas in the 1920s, but the family decided to move to Colorado to get away from the bad weather and tornadoes. Once settled, Lester, Jerry Monroe Sr.’s father, farmed a small place northwest of downtown Greeley.
“Jerry Sr. remembers selling produce door to door,” Jacquie Monroe says. “He remembers selling sweet corn, a baker’s dozen—13 ears for a penny—he was maybe 6 or 7 years old around 1933 or 1934.” Read More
Detroit Collaborative CSA Models Cooperation and Sustainability
April 14, 2014 | Marianne Peters
Meg Marotte, farm partner at Singing Tree Garden. Image courtesy of Singing Tree Garden.
Local urban farmers in Detroit have recognized that the whole is often greater than its parts—and so they’ve combined forces to strengthen the local food scene and their own bottom lines.
Six Detroit farm businesses have combined to create City Commons, a cooperative in which members support the six farms with a purchase of seasonal shares of fresh produce and other farm products. Members receive a weekly box of fresh-from-the-farm, organically grown food that has been raised entirely within Detroit’s city limits. The coop model is advantageous for customers who like a wide variety of seasonal fruits and vegetables. It’s also advantageous for independent farmers who are trying to make a living exclusively by farming—especially those who share a passion for fresh, local food for an urban population.
California CSA creates a new business model for the ‘Regular Old Joe’
January 10, 2014 | Susan Botich
Harvest 2U owner Don Webber has a lot to smile about.
Photo courtesy of Don Webber
When Don Webber got a phone call from an organic farmer-friend asking for help selling produce, his mental gears started to turn.
“I have a background in sales and marketing,” says Webber. “I was very intrigued from the financial aspect and the social aspect. After researching local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) business models, I decided we’d do things a little differently: reach out to a market segment that had not been involved in CSA—the regular old Joe.” Read More
Northern Michigan Couple Builds Profitable Farm-to-school Enterprise
December 27, 2013 | Susan Botich
Nic and Jen Welty wanted to see more locally grown, nutritious foods offered to the students at their daughter’s school in Leelanau County, Michigan. Having previously worked as Farm Manager at Black Star Farms in nearby Suttons Bay, Nic Welty was poised to start his own venture. So, in 2008, the couple started their own company, 9 Bean Rows, and built a Community Supported Agriculture program with a focus on supplying local food to area schools. Soon, the couple snared a contract to supply the Leelanau County Public School System year-round with fresh salad greens. Read More
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