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          Farms and Agricultural Production Systems
          Community Supported AgricultureCommunity Supported Agriculture

  Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), one type of direct marketing, consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation so that the farmland becomes, either legally or spiritually, the community's farm, with the growers and consumers providing mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production.  This page presents information and research about CSA, historical data, access to local food directories, and more.

  CSA Resources for Farmers
    
    Community Supported Agriculture – New Models for Changing Markets. [usda.gov] [pdf, 60 pages]
              Timothy Woods, Matthew Ernst, and Debra Tropp. April 2017.


      Community Supported Agriculture: An Introduction. [biodynamics.com]


      Community Supported Agriculture [attra.ncat.org]


      Defining Community Supported Agriculture. [usda.gov] [pdf, 3 pages]
              An excerpt from Community Supported Agriculture (CSA): An Annotated Bibliography and Resource Guide. [usda.gov] [pdf, 16 pages]
      
              Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). [psu.edu]


      Community Supported Agriculture, Unit 3.0. [casfs.ucsc.edu] [pdf, 117 pages]
              In *Teaching Direct Marketing and Small Farm Viability: Resources for Instructors*.


      CSA Starts Here: Video Series. [sare.org]
              A 12-Part educational video series for aspiring and beginning CSA farmers from the CSA Innovation Network.


      SARE database of funded projects. [sare.org]
              Search  Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Project Reports by keyword or Practices for Community Supported Agriculture or CSA.


  The Growth of Community Supported Agriculture over Time
    
    Community Supported Agriculture Statistics and Surveys**U.S. Department of Agriculture**
**2020**
	Data collected in **2020** by the U.S. Department of Agriculture indicates that **7,244** farms in the United States sold products directly to consumers through a community supported agriculture (CSA) arrangement. (1) CSA's accounted for $225 million (about 7.75 percent) of the $2.9 billion in direct-to-consumer sales by farms. (2)
	1. See:  *2020 Local Food Marketing Survey QuickStats (Row 6, Col 16) [nass.usda.gov]*
	2. See:  *Direct Farm Sales of Food. Results of the 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey. [nass.usda.gov] [pdf, 2 pages]* April 2022.
**2015**
	Data collected in **2015** by the U.S. Department of Agriculture indicates that **7,398** farms in the United States sold products directly to consumers through a community supported agriculture (CSA) arrangement. CSA's accounted for $226 million (about 7 percent) of the $3 billion in direct-to-consumer sales by farms.
	See:  *Direct Farm Sales of Food. Results of the 2015 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey. [nass.usda.gov] [pdf, 2 pages]* December 2016.
	See also:  *2015 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey. [nass.usda.gov]*
**2012/2007**
	Data collected in **2012** by the U.S. Department of Agriculture indicates that **12,617** farms in the United States reported marketing products through a community supported agriculture (CSA) arrangement, a 0.5 percent increase over the **12,549** farms marketing through CSAs in 2007.
**2012***Table 43. Selected Practices: 2012. [cornell.edu] [pdf, 1 page]*. In 2012 Census of Agriculture - State Data. p. 558. (2014) USDA. National Agricultural Statistics Service.
		See the column titled, "Marketed products through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) (farms)" to find the number of farms that answered yes to the question, "At any time during 2012, did this operation market products through a community supported agriculture (CSA) arrangement?"
		See also:  *2012 Census of Agriculture Highlights: Farmers Marketing**; [nass.usda.gov] [pdf, 2 pages]*
		See also: *USDA Census of Agriculture Historical Archive (2012). [cornell.edu]*
**2007***Table 44. Selected Practices: 2007. [nass.usda.gov] [pdf, 1 page]* In 2007 Census of Agriculture - State Data. p. 606. (2009) USDA. National Agricultural Statistics Service.
		See the column titled, "Marketed products through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) (farms)" to find the number of farms that answered yes to the question, "At any time during 2007, did this operation market products through a community supported agriculture (CSA) arrangement?"
		See also: *USDA Census of Agriculture Historical Archive (2007).[cornell.edu]***Surveys and Reports**
*Unraveling the CSA Number Conundrum. [wordpress.com]* McFadden, Steven. *The Call of the Land.* Blog. January 9, 2012.
*2009 Survey of Community Supported Agriculture Producers. [uky.edu] [pdf, 24 pages]* (July 2009). Analysis of survey findings on the business and marketing practices of 205 CSA farms in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
*CSA Across the Nation: Findings from the 1999 CSA Survey. [cias.wisc.edu] [pdf, 20 pages]* (2003). Provides the first comprehensive portrait of the CSA movement in the US. Findings from a 1999 national "census" survey show commonalities and diversity among CSA farms.
*Community Supported Agriculture Entering the 21st Century: Results from the 2001 National Survey. [cias.wisc.edu] [pdf, 23 pages]* (undated). Presents the results of a 2001 survey of 300 Community Supported Agriculture farms in 43 U.S. states. Continues the 1999 survey as described in the report *CSA Across the Nation: Findings from the 1999 CSA Survey*, above.
*Community Supported Agriculture in the Mid-Atlantic Region: Results of a Shareholder Survey and Farmer Interviews. [scribd.com]* (2004) L. Oberholtzer. Future Harvest-CASA. Research from the Small Farm Success Project.
*Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in the Midwest United States: A Regional Characterization. [dr.iastate.edu]* (2005) Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture.
*Community Supported Agriculture on the Central Coast: The CSA Member Experience. [escholarship.org]* (2003) Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS), University of California.
*Marketing Your Organic Products*. In *Final Results of the 4th National Organic Farmers Survey: Sustaining Organic Farms in a Changing Organic Marketplace. [agmrc.org] [pdf, 106 pages]* p. 48-51. (2004) Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF). Survey conducted in 2002.

  The History of CSA
    

      
Eating for Your Community: A Report from the Founder of Community Supported Agriculture. [context.org]
              Robyn Van En. (1995) *In Context,* Fall 1995, p, 29.


      Farms of Tomorrow:  Community Supported Farms - Farm Supported Communities. [archive.org]


      It's Not Just About Vegetables. 1986. [youtube.com]


      Robyn Van En Biography. [wilson.edu]


      Local Harvest: A MultiFarm CSA Handbook. [sare.org] [pdf, 126 pages]


      The History of Community Supported Agriculture. [rodale.edu]
      
              Access to Research Articles
  

      Progressing knowledge in alternative and local food networks: Critical reflecti...
      Scaling-up local foods: Commodity practice in community supported agriculture (...
      The (un)making of “CSA people”: Member retention and the customization paradox ...
      Low-income adults’ perceptions of farmers’ markets and community-supported agri...
      Community-Supported Agriculture Marketing Performance: Results from Pilot Marke...
      Linking vegetable preferences, health and local food systems through communit...
      Community‐supported agriculture in the United States: Social, ecological, and e...See all 189 results

  Important Links
    

      Contact the Extension Service
      Local Foods and Communities
      Nutrition Security
      
              USDA Local Food Directoriesvegetables at farmers market
    
    Agritourism, CSAs, farms, farmers markets, food hubs, and more.

    Find CSA near you!Page Content Curated By
    

      Alternative Farming Systems Information Center (AFSIC)
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