Meat CSA

If you ever want to become even colder during late November, pack up the meat CSA. It's a chilly job.

We run a CSA (community supported agriculture) of meat through the winter. It's 12 pounds of meat once a month for five months. We try to give a good variety of the lamb, pork and beef that we raise and, as you can see, folks lucked out with some bacon this month.

The whole CSA versus farmers markets conversation is very interesting (right up there with meat versus vegetables). On the one hand, in a CSA you are paid up front by your customers and deliver your product later. You have a stable income before even beginning the farming process. The downside is that if your turnip crop fails (horrors!) or your freezer doesn't work, you've lost the product that someone has already paid for. Farmers markets offer a bit less stress, since if you thought you'd have 50 chickens and only have 45, you haven't lost five customers you've promised chickens to. However, you then have to move all your meat/veggies/whatever out the door with no guarantee that you'll be able to sell all that you've produced.

So, as ever, the conclusion is that you'll never make much money farming. At least I'll always have something to eat!