Getting Started with the CSA Model

It’s all fun and games on Upper Ballaird Farm. Farmers have told us they haven’t seen a winter this wet in 40 years. April started with snow, whilst strong winds dismantled our new caterpillar tunnel, which was lovingly put up with the help of our volunteers.

To put it lightly, it’s a challenging start to the growing season, but we’re still excited to share more about the work we do and why it is important.

Some of you have been asking us what a CSA is.

So, what is Community Supported Agriculture?

This year Upper Ballaird Farm has moved over to the CSA model, which stands for Community Supported Agriculture. This is a partnership between the farm and its members. It means that members sign up for a whole season, and in return, receive a share of the harvest.

Over the winter, the farm has been delighted to welcome in many new members to our CSA model. We’re already full up this year, but luckily, still have a 1-month trial you can subscribe to if you’d like to get your hands on some of our veg!

See below for a video we made with some of our members about the CSA model.

Why the CSA model?

In a business like Upper Ballaird Farm there is a lot of risk! The farm is not run as a profit-making business, so we don’t have a safety net. The CSA model invites locals to become members of the farm, so that they can share a portion of that risk.

Upper Ballaird Farm subscribers are not “consumers”, but members of the farm who take a proactive role. Each member receives a share of the harvest. So, if there’s a glut of vegetables at a certain time of year, their share is bigger. If there are fewer vegetables at other times of the year, their share is smaller. Our members may end up receiving a lot of vegetables that they will have to use up, preserve, or give away to neighbours.

The CSA model is about being transparent with the local community. We are acknowledging the fact that making locally produced, ecological vegetables is difficult and risky. We want to collaborate with our members, building a community from the ground up. We want to see a sustainable food future where food and land-work are valued and we believe CSAs play an important role in this change.

We are a social enterprise, and our aims are to make food more widely accessible. We want to educate people about seasonality and nature. We believe that the CSA model provides more security for the members of the cooperative, fair and sustainable food for our members, whilst also engaging the community in the work of the farm more meaningfully.

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Agroforestry at Upper Ballaird
Upper Ballaird’s partnership with Start Up Stirling