Power Point Presentation on best practices on maintaining g high CSA member retention rate & switching to a software based CSA distribution

1. Taking Your CSA To The Next Level

2. -3 Season, 3 acres diverse veggies, fruit,
herbs, and Microgreens
-1-30’x72’ Propagation house, 2-30’x96’
high tunnels, 2-100’ Caterpillar Tunnels,
& 1-30’x100’ “Mootel”
-Growing primarily for 150-175 member
CSA
-Also sell through our On Farm Market
& A local restaurant
Jenny Jack Farm, Pine Mountain Ga

3. History
● 2003: Graduated UGA, Married, and worked full-time off-farm jobs
● Spent 1.5 years WWOOF-ing in Hawaii and apprenticing in Atlanta
● Started Farm full-time in 2007 on family land where Jenny grew up
● Marketed mostly in Atlanta (1.5 hours away) with 80 member CSA, Saturday
Farmers Market, and a few restaurants.
● Partnered with a first year farmer in Atlanta for CSA (2 Church pick up sites)
● Transitioned to selling locally (within 30 miles) in 2nd year (2008)
● 2012 We bought a house and moved it onto our farm & I spent winter & spring
remodeling
● 2017 We had our first child, Tulsi; So much to be said but not the time...
● 2019 We chose to drop Saturday farmers market, increase CSA numbers and only
market during week

4. Luck, Good Fortune, Working tirelessly...
● Family land so no cost to rent space, buildings, etc.
● Started farm where Jenny’s family had lived for almost 30 years so we had instant
connections, farm piles to pull building materials from, RESOURCES
● Lived 3 miles from farm in a family friends “country home”. No insulation, broken
windows, No central heat or air, but NO RENT.
● Worked all the time for 3 years. Poured all of our energy into making the farm
dream succeed.
● Started the farm (infrastructure, tractor) with about $8,000 and then used capital
from early CSA money to buy compost, seeds, pay labor, etc.
● 10 years later we began to “rebuild” our farm by tearing down the start-up
structure and created what we learned we needed.

5. Money
● Our first year (2007) we made $85,000 and this year (2019) we grossed $192,000
● We are good enough with the books to stay in business, pay our employees
decent, go on a good vacation, drink good coffee and beer, but no podcaster will
ever interview us on budgeting, money management, spreadsheets?. For better or
worse we have prioritized other aspects of the business.
● We have $1000/month in debt
● We have used no-interest loans from CSA members and KIVA to slowly build out
our farm.
● We bought a small house in town for our apprentices. We pay our local bank each
month, and we consider this our savings for now (About $7000/year) We are not
really saving any other money.

6. Labor
● Jenny & Chris Full-Time
● 2 full time employees
● 4 Part time workers
● 1 CSA work share
We pay between $11-$14/
Hour depending on experience
This will be our first year
Without apprentices.

7. Market Style CSA
● Members paid up front for either a small
share (5-6 items) or a Large Share (8-9)
● We placed a value on each unit of food in
the share totaling each week, more or less,
to $15 and $25.
● Members received a harvest list the day
before pick-up
● On day of pick up, small share members
selected their food from the first few bins
while the large share members picked
food from each bin.
● A swap box at the end allowed for
minimal trades.

8. Keepin’ It Close To Home With Deliveries
● We deliver shares
Tuesday, Wednesday,
& Thursday
● 4 options: On-Farm,
Lagrange, Auburn, &
Columbus
● Farmer stays at each
pick-up site
● All within 40 miles

9. Retention rate of members: 70-75%
High retention rate even more
important in rural area where there’s
not as many potential customers.
Biggest turnover is in Columbus,
where military moves account for
most of lost members. Also a
source of new members moving in
to replace the lost ones.

10. Practices that keep customers happy and returning each season
CSA Members are #1 priority!
Members get most desirable items:
Broccoli, first strawberries, first
Tomatoes, etc.

11. Practices that keep customers happy and returning each season
--Members make their own shares so they choose
which head of cabbage or what variety of
lettuce goes into their bag.
--This increases their sense of participation in the
process too.

13. Practices that keep customers happy and returning each season
Choices:
Offering a choice on items
many people don’t like, such
as beets
Example: Choice of Beets
OR Sweet Potatoes

14. Practices that keep customers happy and returning each season
Offering a “Swap Box”
So members can trade out
items they don’t like for
something else.

15. Provide as much fruit as possible; everyone loves fruit!
Practices that keep customers happy and returning each season

16. Greens
In
The Summer
*Quick Turnaround, Profitable, Low
disease & pest pressure*
Practices That Keep Members Returning

17. Microgreens
● Makes good use of
Greenhouse space
during a low volume
time. 47% shade cloth
over plastic.
● We have a designated,
part-time employee who
is solely responsible for
micro production.
● Low Cost, low headache
integration into already
established Market Farm.

18. Production & Profit
● We grow Cilantro, Basil, Pea
Shoots &:
● Spicy Mix: Diakon, Arugula,
Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Red
Cabbage, Red Russian Kale
● Mild Mix: Red Cabbage, Red
Russian Kale, Purple Sprouting
Broccoli
● Microgreens are cut with a greens
harvester, (minimal washing
involved),packaged into
clamshells, stored in cooler
● In 2019, we made about $17,000
● Based on our calculations there’s
about a 60-70%Gross profit
margin in our microgreen
operation.
● Lots of labor involved and very
monotonous work
● BUT, a very popular and highly
nutritious year around green food

20. Arugula/Lettuce/Cooking Greens
CSA Members Love A Summer Salad!
● Employing enough
summer Labor is key
● Heat Tolerant Lettuce
Varieties: ‘Loma’,
‘Nevada’, ‘Sierra”, &
‘Muir’
● Asian Greens: ‘Tokyo
Bekana’, ‘Komatsun’,
‘Yukina Savoy’
● Drip Tape & Overhead
water
● 30% Shade cloth
● Landscape Fabric helps
with weeds

22. Practices that keep customers happy and returning each season
Late Fall: members are getting tired of shares that consist mostly of greens and roots
For several weeks during this time of year, we supplement shares with another local,
organic product such as stone ground grits, pecans, or Asian persimmons.

23. Cultivating Relationships with Members
Weekly newsletter with pictures to
further connect members to their farm

24. Cultivating Relationships with Members
Emailed weekly harvest list with information about crops in share plus recipes and tips
for storing produce, etc.

25. Cultivating Relationships with Members
Having a farmer there at each delivery
- answer questions
- hear feedback
- observe what items
people are swapping
the most.

26. Members appreciate many unique
varieties IF you educate them on
what it is and how to cook it.
*Most people don’t take the time
to read every detail of an email, so
answering these questions in person
is important!
Cultivating Relationships with Members

27. Audience Participation
1. What are some useful, or replicable, ways that your farm has
retained CSA members?
2. For those of you with a successful CSA who have not
switched over to software management, why have you
chosen to remain independent?

28. Profitable Production High Quality of Life Not Quitting!!
More and More the question we are asking before any big
decision is, “DOES THIS WORK FOR US?”
The worst thing that can happen is NOT failure but
continued coping with too much stress.

29. What Is Harvie?
Harvie helps farmers connect
to their local market and
grow sales with a technology
platform that makes it easy
and convenient for
consumers to buy from their
local farmer, while not
driving the farmer crazy with
logistics.

30. The Big Question: Will Harvie allow us to maximize our profit potential while maintaining a superior
quality of production, service, and convenience for our members, AND relative sanity for the
farmers?

31. Why Transition To Harvie?

32. Why Transition To Harvie?
To Increase Member Choice,
Convenience, and
Satisfaction
Easier pay options,
credit card on file

33. We needed a more streamlined way to market additional
food to CSA Members
Why Transition To Harvie?
To lessen Admin. work on our
end; too many CSA members
contacting us via text & email
with orders, questions, etc.

34. 1. A New Challenge
2. Doing it the same way for 13 years
3. Did not want to wait until
membership rates declined
4. The potential reward much greater
than the risk.
Why Transition To Harvie?

35. What Does Harvie Do?
1. Allows members to customize
what they want to receive
2. Reduces food waste by giving
members only what they want
3. Ability to order delivery extras
4. Weekly payment plan options
5. Reschedule and hold options if
you can’t pick up your box
6. Cooking suggestion engine
7. Auto Renew Feature

36. How Harvie Works?
● Members sign up for a share
● Members get to rate every product
the farm offers on a scale of “i hate
it” to “i love it”
● Harvie’s algorithm builds the box
based on those ratings and what
the farm has available that week
● Members have the option to swap
items prior to delivery
● Harvie gives you recipes and tips
based on what is in YOUR box

37. Jenny Jack Farm’s Packing
Method
● Quickly brush out boxes making
sure each has paper bag liner.
● Stack boxes high on table
separating sizes
● Stick ULINE label for each
member on appropriate box (1 1/9
bushel or ¾ bushel)
● Make last minute notes/orders on
labels

38. ● Note Nancy’s use of
Harvie’s customization
option
● Food Waste is the #1
reason folks don’t return
to CSA
● Receiving not only
veggies but grits, fruit,
bread, eggs, and
chocolate.
● Phone number on label
allows option to text if
box not picked up

39. Filling Boxes
● Each employee
grabs a box and
begins filling
● Bins should be in
order of how
items should be
placed in box so
employee moves
in one direction.
● Once complete,
box is dropped at
box inspector’s
table for final
check.

41. Using Pints to organize units allows for less plastic bags & saves time

42. Final Inspector’s Responsibilities
● Highlight What is NOT in the box (if
weather warm, microgreens, etc.)
● Check carefully & quickly that the itemized
label matches the contents.
● Stack finished boxes on cart and roll to
cooler
● Takes a little extra time but every box
building day in the fall I found at least a
couple errors & once up to 8!

43. AT Pick-Ups Other Than On-Farm
● Staffed with 1-2 farmers depending on number of CSA members
● Stack boxes 3-4 high in a row on fold out tables
● Farmers help retrieve box for member & make sure anything highlighted on the
label is pulled from a cooler and given to member
● Members are encouraged to bring their own bag
● We also provide paper bags for members to transfer from box to bag
● Members are also advised that it is their responsibility to make sure what is on the
label is exactly what goes home with them.

44. What We Love About Harvie!
● We’ve become a more diverse store for CSA members
● Allows us to offer more obscure crops like hibiscus &
Rosemary
● When setting estimates in Harvie each week, the farmer has
the freedom to offer any amount of available food. No more
worries of having enough of all items for every member
● Algorithm allows farmer to “push” certain items into share
● Advertising, Sales, & Customer Support all in one!

45. ● Add-On Shares: Eggs,
MIcrogreens, Bread, and Cookies
● Weekly Extras: Pimento Cheese,
Chocolate, Flowers, and of course,
any additional farm food both
grown and purchased.
● Fall 2019: Sold the equivalent of 17
additional large shares in Extra
purchases
Increased Sales Through
Add-On’s & Extras

46. Heather is the ideal CSA member.
Harvie allows her to purchase exactly
what she wants and she wants A
LOT! (3 boxes of food)

47. The backside of member customization is that farmers can use collected
data through Harvie crop reports to choose what makes the most sense for
the farm to grow.

48. How Harvie Sometimes Doesn’t Work for Us
● We underestimated how long packing boxes takes (15
hrs./week for 120 boxes)
● Members resistance transitioning to new system
● Members inability or lack of effort in navigating the site(still
lots of questions, complaints about not being a “computer person”, general refusal
to use the system)
● We attempted to deliver shares via the “market style”
approach but found it was too cumbersome; lots of extra
bins, everything had to be labeled, a stack of indiv. lists

49. The Cost vs. Ways To Pay For Harvie
● One time $500 setup fee
● Harvie takes 7% of every
transaction
● 3%/transaction on Credit
Cards
● $0/monthly
● Increase prices because this is a service to
members; essentially Harvie is free to
farmers
● For example, members pay $30/week for
large share but receive a $27 value, the
10% pays for CC & use of Harvie.
● Many CSA farms give upwards of 30%
more value than what is paid for, with
harvie set prices means more room for
growth.
● Higher profitability by selling direct
market to customers you’re already
delivering to, cutting out low margin
wholesale & inconsistent restaurants

50. Your Moment of Zen...
● You can find this presentation
on www.slideshare.net. Type in
SSAWG2020-Taking CSA To
Next Level
● And if you do choose to sign up
for Harvie mention our farm
name, Jenny Jack Farm, and we
get a referral payment