The more you know, the more you realize how much you don't know. For instance, this year, the potato crop was hard hit by dry weather. Baratz says he'll be lucky to harvest half the quantity of potatoes he had hoped for. But Baratz is quick to return to the advantages of the CSA model. In any business, you're trying to craft your own destiny.
Members help to absorb the risk from uncontrollable factors such as weather.
If, for example, the farm experiences a particularly good or bad year, the shareholders simply receive more or less produce. In contrast, conventional farmers, such as those producing a cash crop for sale to a grain dealer, often shoulder the cost of crop failures. But even with the support of his members, Baratz struggles with the economics of farming. Unlike his neighbors who farm hundreds or even a couple thousand acres and whose income is calculated in dollars per bushel, Baratz has a mere seven acres in production. Getting down and dirty.