Larger CSAs are typically diversified businesses

A community support agriculture farm (CSA) with a large customer base generally makes a large part of its income selling through more traditional channels, reported Grace Hood on the NPR program The Salt: What's on Your Plate.

The reporter included a comment in the story from Ryan Galt, professor in the Department of Human and Community Development at UC Davis. Galt conducted a study of CSAs in the Central Valley

"Very often the larger farms [with CSAs] actually have a smaller percent of their sales from CSAs," because they have other, bigger points of sales, Galt said. "They're more likely to rely on a huge number of different outlets: farmers markets, CSAs, direct to restaurant, direct to retail and also wholesale."

The story related the tale of Grant Farms in northern Colorado, a CSA with 5,000 clients that went bankrupt in 2012.

"The problem with our farm was not its size," said farmer/owner Andy Grant. "In fact, within the farm, the CSA was probably one of the most dynamically well run, profitable things we did." (The story didn't give the reason for the failure of the enterprise.)

A typical CSA box.

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