Unlike farms which focus on one or two cash crops with relatively straightforward production schedules, CSA farms are almost continually planting and harvesting crops throughout the growing season. And as with any fresh vegetable or fruit operation, harvesting and post-harvest handling on a CSA farm represents a large proportion of total farm labor. On two of the CSA farms studied, these functions represented approximately one-third of the total farm labor. Weekly harvest and delivery days are hectic. Having 15 or more crops to harvest, wash, cool, divide into equal shares, and pack into bags or boxes requires many hands and solid management skills.
Volunteers often provide labor on the farm.
All of the farms in this study either require or actively solicit volunteer help on harvest and delivery days. In some cases, farms offer reduced membership fees to members who agree to work on the farm for a designated amount of time or to organize distribution sites. Other farms require members to help on harvest days. CSA farmers need to make sure their volunteers are well-trained. The research team heard a story about members armed with hoes who inadvertently removed a planted crop, believing it to be a weed.