FARM NEWS 10.17

Hi Folks,

This week was fun; harvesting, spreading rye seed for cover crops, chisel plowing.  And what great news that Dakota, Kasey and Tonya will all be coming  back for 2012!  And Dakota's friend, Mira, has signed on too.  So we have four experienced apprentices coming to work with us, and Tracy, Beatrice, Baxter and I are so happy to have them all back! (+ Mira).  So, based on our equipment and labor,  we've decided to increase the Chubby Bunny CSA to 300 full shares from 270.  We're confident that even given the extremes in weather, we should be able to produce enough for everyone...Also the increase should help our family pay down our farm equipment debt and start realizing a year to year savings for our retirement.  Retirement for a farmer?  Yes, this is the potential for a CSA farm.  There is no 401K.  There are no savings. We are living year to year, season by season. We are hoping to turn this corner soon when we can stop investing so much and start realizing financial security. According to our friends the Denisons of Denison Farm CSA (farmers of 30 years) say we are just about on track since we've been in business 11 years. Some members might be shocked at our financial realities but we actually feel pretty lucky to be solvent considering the economic climate for many farmers right now. And we have CSA to that for that. So onward we go planning for the next season, as the old joke goes, "What's the farmer's biggest asset? Next Year!"

Here's the harvest:
carrots, potatoes, beets, cabbage, onions, garlic, kale, fennel, radishes. winter squash