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Can’t keep your veggie drawer stocked long enough to make a salad? How about a smoothie, or the chef-inspired recipe you’ve been waiting to try? It’s often a challenge to keep enough perishable goods on hand without going to the store every day. You might consider a brilliant solution that’s like a gift you give to yourself: Join a CSA.

Oregon’s CSA (community-supported agriculture) programs have been booming in popularity for good reason: These shares of fresh, local, seasonal goods come directly from the farmers and ranchers across Oregon who’ve been the backbone of our famous farm-to-table dining scene. They’re grown sustainably, hand-picked with love, and the closest you can get to your food source without growing it yourself.

CSA programs are all different, with options for delivery and pickup at various locations near you. Many are still taking sign-ups for the season at a range of price points. Most offer tempting add-ons like artisan snacks, pantry staples, craft beverages, and local seafood and meats from partner purveyors. Local restaurants have gotten in on the action, offering their own produce and food boxes to feed your cravings and keep their farmer supply chains intact.

Ken wrote: ↑Tue Mar 12, 2024 7:26 pm I'm not talking about the time and effort on the part of the customer (and yes, that it what they actually are, not some "club member")

I'm talking about all the time and effort on the part of Miller to set up all these fake cow shares, boarding fees, milking fees, shareholders, and so forth.

Just get an ordinary dairy license like all the other small dairies and avoid all that nonsense.

Judas wrote: Such arrangements are illegal in Maryland. Selling is selling, and you cannot sell or transport it except to a licensed processor. Apparently, there is an exception for pet food. Now if you like to eat stuff labeled,"Not for Human Consumption " feel free.

RZehr wrote: ↑Tue Mar 12, 2024 10:07 pm Here: https://traveloregon.com/things-to-do/e ... in-oregon/

Looks like they are called CSAs, Community Supported Agriculture.

Can’t keep your veggie drawer stocked long enough to make a salad? How about a smoothie, or the chef-inspired recipe you’ve been waiting to try? It’s often a challenge to keep enough perishable goods on hand without going to the store every day. You might consider a brilliant solution that’s like a gift you give to yourself: Join a CSA.

Oregon’s CSA (community-supported agriculture) programs have been booming in popularity for good reason: These shares of fresh, local, seasonal goods come directly from the farmers and ranchers across Oregon who’ve been the backbone of our famous farm-to-table dining scene. They’re grown sustainably, hand-picked with love, and the closest you can get to your food source without growing it yourself.

CSA programs are all different, with options for delivery and pickup at various locations near you. Many are still taking sign-ups for the season at a range of price points. Most offer tempting add-ons like artisan snacks, pantry staples, craft beverages, and local seafood and meats from partner purveyors. Local restaurants have gotten in on the action, offering their own produce and food boxes to feed your cravings and keep their farmer supply chains intact.

Josh wrote: ↑Tue Mar 12, 2024 10:29 pm

Ken wrote: ↑Tue Mar 12, 2024 7:26 pm I'm not talking about the time and effort on the part of the customer (and yes, that it what they actually are, not some "club member")

I'm talking about all the time and effort on the part of Miller to set up all these fake cow shares, boarding fees, milking fees, shareholders, and so forth.

Just get an ordinary dairy license like all the other small dairies and avoid all that nonsense.

#1, the shares are not “fake”. They are real, legal ownership in accordance with all applicable laws. The nature of cows in our modern legal system is that every cow is owned by somebody.

#2, Miller didn’t bother to do any of those things, though. If he had set up a true cooperative with cooperative ownership, things would probably be very different now… instead, he was running a garden variety for profit business.

#3, the time and effort to track shareholders is fairly minimal. Just keep a simple ledger. There are standard forms a few lawyers distribute to make sure you’re doing it all by the book.

RZehr wrote: ↑Tue Mar 12, 2024 9:29 pm I think in Oregon there is are at least a couple restrictions. 1. You aren’t allowed to advertise your raw milk for sale; 2. You are only allowed to have 2-3 cows maximum at a time for selling any raw milk.
I don’t know if these farm shares are to get around some of these limitations, or if they are a way for a small farm to have a consistent outlet for their myriad of farm products from milk to honey, to vegetable to beef.

I knew one guy that had a farm like this, and I guess it worked for him. Big subscriber list of local customers. I’m sure I’ve gotten some of the details mixed up, but I seem to remember there being some reason why they do it that way instead of just selling to whoever comes along to buy it. But they aren’t doing it to get around food safety or just to complicate their paperwork.

Josh wrote: ↑Tue Mar 12, 2024 11:05 pm Well, it works really well. My family doesn’t drink enough milk to need an entire cow so we just need a partial share. Currently we get 4 gallons a week. So we paid in for that. Then we pay our boarding fees (in arrears). A group of us take turns picking it up. If we want to sell back some shares or buy extra we simply text the farmer’s wife and she adjusts her ledger appropriately.

In return, we get good quality product that my wife can drink (she can’t tolerate anything except raw Jersey milk; it’s either an allergy or lactose intolerance). Since we went out and checked his place out, we felt comfortable with how he treats his animals and hygiene. He also sells to a big dairy and regularly tests so he can sell to them at the highest grade by keeping his bacteria counts far below what’s legally required.

I feel much more comfortable with his operation than seeing how a 2,000+ head dairy in Denver area operated. The workers there worked long shifts continuously milking all day, getting cows in and out as quickly as possible. I don’t think that leads to better hygiene.

If YOU don’t want to participate in a herd share or consume raw milk, well, great news, you don’t have to. You can buy from the huge commercial producers. They’re the ones that have lobbied so hard to put smaller ones out of business, such as the sordid affair when they tried to railroad Alta Dena in California.