New CSAs sprout in northern Larimer County

By Cherry Sokoloski
North Forty News

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The fresh food craze has hit northern Colorado in a big way--and there's room in the market for operations that are radish-size or big as a prize-winning pumpkin.

In the past year, two new Community Supported Agriculture operations have started up, one at Grant Family Farms near Wellington and another at Colona Community Farm in LaPorte. Both have been besieged by people wanting fresh, locally grown produce.

With a CSA, shareholders take part in both the risk and the bounty of the farm. Shareholders get a box of fresh produce each week during the growing season, with the harvest varying from greens in the spring to squash in the fall. Typically, people buy CSA shares in the spring, but Grant Family Farms sells prorated shares throughout the growing season.

Grant Family Farms started its CSA last year with 126 shareholders. That number mushroomed to 949 this year, and in mid-August the farm was still collecting 10 to 15 new members each week.

"It's proof that people are really looking to buy local, to reduce their carbon footprint and get away from chain grocery stores," said Joshua Palmer, CSA director for Grant Family Farms. He said that while he expected growth this year, the huge increase in membership came as a surprise.

Colona (the original name for LaPorte) is one of the newest CSAs in the county. The small farm started up this year and quickly sold out its 25 shares. Owners Nick Theisen and Sarah Rushlow plan to increase to 40 shares next year. Colona is an intimate operation, in which shareholders come to the farm each week for their boxes of produce. Often they bring their families, so children can enjoy the farm and see where food is grown.

Theisen, who grew up in an agricultural community in Wisconsin, knows the CSA system well. He interned at a CSA farm in Longmont and then worked at Guidestone Farm in Masonville, another CSA, for several years.

Theisen and Rushlow have two acres of river bottom in vegetables this year and will expand to three acres next year. They do all the work themselves, and most of it by hand. This is a business with a very small carbon footprint --bicycles are used to bring produce from the field and also to deliver vegetables to Colona's wholesale customers. So far in 2008, the farm has used just 10 gallons of diesel fuel and the same amount of gasoline.

At Grant Family Farms, the CSA is just a small part of the certified organic farm operation. The farm delivers most of its CSA produce by truck, with a total of 33 pick-up locations stretching from Cheyenne and Laramie to Colorado Springs.

Palmer said the reason the farm developed a CSA was to get back in touch with individuals and families who like their produce. Grant hasn't participated in farmers' markets for several years, and the CSA gives consumers a chance to once again buy directly from the grower.

Grant Family Farms offers a variety of shares, including a "working share" that trades help on the farm for a lower price.

In addition to its vegetable shares, Grant offers shares in fruit, eggs and cut flowers. Colona plans to offer a poultry share next year. An heirloom fruit orchard is being developed on the Colona property, so fruit shares are also in that farm's future.

Colona Community Farm offers 22 weeks of produce to its shareholders, from early June to late October. Grant's full season is a little longer, 26 weeks, because the farm stores some late-season vegetables and has greenhouses. However, customers may also choose a shorter season. Grant's last deliveries this year will be the week of Dec. 8, when all shareholders will receive a holiday wreath with their boxes of produce.

Theisen plants a lot of heirloom-variety vegetables, both because he prefers their taste and also to keep genetic diversity alive. Colona vegetables are available at two farmers markets, one on Wednesday afternoons at The Old Feed Store in LaPorte and the second on Saturday mornings, at the Larimer County Farmers Market outside the Courthouse Office Building.

Theisen said he's proud to be part of the "Eat Local" movement. "We don't want our food to leave the county," he stated. This movement espouses the value of supporting the local economy, including agriculture. When locally grown, veggies taste better and retain more nutrients. They also require less fuel to get from the farm to the consumer.

Colona Community Farm raises vegetables organically, but the farm is not certified. To go that route is expensive, Theisen noted, and he thinks it's not necessary since Colona's customers know and trust the producers.

CSA farms are gaining in popularity in the West, Theisen said, and they provide a win-win situation for farmer and consumer. By paying for food in advance, consumers provide working capital to the farmer and share in the risk of lost crops. In return, shareholders get tasty, fresh food that they can feel good about eating. By supporting local agriculture, Theisen added, people are helping to preserve the diminishing rural landscapes of Colorado.

Colona will begin selling CSA shares for the 2009 season in March, but the partners are taking names of interested people now. Grant CSA shares for next year are available this month.

Growing acres of vegetables means long hours and hard work, but Theisen isn't complaining. "It's a labor of love for me," he said. "I'm so fortunate to be working in this setting, and people are so thankful for the food."