We, the farm, wish to provide you with fresh, local, seasonal food and you, the member, wish to receive a portion of our harvest. This agreement outlines our shared commitments to that relationship. By purchasing a membership share, you agree to the terms and conditions outlined herein. Please retain a copy of this agreement for your records.

CSA – Community Supported Agriculture

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Members pay up front to secure a share of the farm’s produce. The farm then uses the money to buy seeds and equipment and get food growing. Each week from approximately June – October, a share of fresh, local vegetables is available to each of our members.

Members of our farm get the opportunity to share in the abundance of what can be produced in southern New Hampshire. With that opportunity there are risks associated with our growing season. We are committed to minimizing those risks (for your sake and ours!), however farming is always subject to weather, insects/animals, disease, and other forces of nature. By joining our CSA, you are agreeing to share the risk of crop failure (in part or total) with us and our other members.

Growing Practices & Risk Mitigation

We use composted and aged animal manures as fertilizers, physical barriers and crop rotations as pest and disease deterrents, and if necessary, organically-approved sprays. Some of the seed we use is certified organic, some is not (this depends on availability, cost, and performance). Our seed is purchased primarily from regional seed companies such as Johnny’s (Maine), High Mowing (VT), and Fedco. Our potting and seed starting mixes are sourced regionally and organic. We do not use synthetic fertilizers or sprays or genetically modified seed. We welcome any inquiries about our growing practices, and members are welcome to visit/tour the farm.

There are also some things we won’t do – even if it means total loss of a crop or variety. For example, we are never going to head out there with the Round-up, even if that means we miss out on something.

We use a variety of methods to minimize risk, including:

Hoophouses/high tunnels to extend the season and provide shelter for delicate crops.
Row cover (inside and outside) to protect against cold, frost, and insects.
Seeding in the greenhouse for early transplants.
Growing a wide variety of crops, and often multiple varieties of each crop: where one crop or variety fails often another will succeed.
Growing specific/different varieties of crops as appropriate (selecting for disease resistance, cold hardiness, etc.), and purchasing from regional seed companies.

We reserve the right to buy in produce from local farms with comparable growing practices in the event of crop failure; or to treat you to things that require more room to grow than we have available (i.e. sweet corn).

We reserve the right to grow and sell additional produce for wholesale and market accounts. Diversifying our income stream creates a more resilient and sustainable business, and provides alternative access points to to the community.

Shared Reward

CSA also brings many benefits to both the farmers and the share members:

Benefits for the Farm:

Early season income, when expenses are high and harvest has not yet begun.
Community support and involvement.
Educational outreach about farming, food, cooking.

Benefits for Share Members:

Access to super fresh local produce at cost-effective (wholesale) rates.
Meet new people, make friends, be part of a community.
Learn about agriculture, food, cooking, and connect with the local seasons.

Pick-Up

You are responsible for following all guidelines for share pick-up as detailed in the Membership Handbook.

Weekly newsletters will be sent by email; you are responsible for remaining on the mailing list or contacting us for alternate methods to receive necessary information.

Member Fees

By selling membership in advance of the growing season, CSA reduces the burden of up-front costs for the farmer. Your membership fees provide us with money to purchase seed and equipment before the season starts, and we appreciate your commitment. Below are the shares offered for the 2020 season:

Standard share of 7-9 vegetables/week for min 20 weeks = $500

OR

Half share of 5-6 vegetables/week for min 20 weeks = $300

Each share is a combination of roots, herbs, salad/cooking greens, and general vegetables as they become available over the course of the season. What is “a vegetable”? Likely what you’d buy in the store: a bunch, a half lb or lb, a bag of, a half dozen, 3-4 etc. A head of lettuce, 500gm of brussels sprouts, six medium sized tomatoes, etc…

We aim to provide options on 1-3 similar items (swiss chard or spinach, zucchini or summer squash, eggplant or peppers) most weeks. At least 1 of the optioned selections will be included in the small share. There will also be a swap table for community use.

We are aiming for a minimum harvest window of 20 weeks, approximately late May – early October, and that is what we are charging for this year. However! We have harvests scheduled from late April – end of October – an additional 6+ weeks. As it is our first year here, we are acclimating to the site and want experiment a bit – so there are likely to be bonus early/late boxes for you this year! In the future we will probably set up separate Spring, Summer, and Fall shares (and charge accordingly).

Small shares are a generous half the size of a standard share and are intended for smaller or solo (veg-loving) households. They may occasionally have smaller portions of 5+ veg i.e. 1 eggplant (instead of 2), 3 tomatoes (instead of six), rather than a straight “half”. We want to ensure you don’t miss out on anything, while also not overloading you with one thing (an entire full head of lettuce).

Payment is due in full at the time of purchase. If you would like to split the payment, please contact us.

Communicating with Us

The best way to communicate with us is via email. You can contact us by email at hellokailyard@gmail.com. We will do our best to respond as soon as possible.

Phone numbers will be confirmed once we have local phone numbers. Please always leave a name and message, as we may out in the field and too muddy to pick up!

Weekly CSA newsletters will be sent by email. When you purchase a share, you will be added to our distribution list. Please read your emails from us. We depend on being able to communicate important information such as necessary changes to your distribution schedule or to our farm events. Each newsletter will have information about the produce available that week, recipe ideas, storage tips, and other farm related news.

By purchasing a membership share, you agree to the terms and conditions outlined herein.

Please retain a copy of this agreement for your records.

The Kailyard Farm

23 Callies Common

Peterborough, NH 03458

www.thekailyardfarm.com

hellokailyard@gmail.com

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