Denison Farm
Community Supported Agriculture
Connecting people to the land, the farmer, and the bounty

What Is CSA?

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a unique collaboration connecting people to a local farm and farmer. When you become a CSA member, you agree to support the costs of running the farm in exchange for a share of the harvest. By contributing a membership fee in advance, you become a partner with the farmer in sharing some of the risk as well as the bounty of agricultural production.

Why CSA?

The problems with our industrialized food system are many. From pesticide residues in our food, soil, and water, to the shrinking number of family farms, there are many reasons to look at alternative food systems such as CSA. The CSA concept first took hold in Japan, where it was called  “food with the farmer’s face”, emphasizing that food does not have to be a generic commodity transported many miles and produced under factory-like conditions.

From my perspective as the farmer, CSA succeeds because it allows me to focus on my passion for working with the land to produce the most wholesome, life-giving, best tasting food possible, while building a strong bond with the members I am feeding.

Who Are We?

We are family farmers - Brian and Justine Denison, our children Suzanna and Maggie. We have been in NY State for five years, having moved here from Maine, where for 16 years, we grew over 100 acres of mixed vegetables. Brian is also a forester out of the University of Maine and Justine has taught elementary school, worked on the farm, and is a musician.

How and Where Is It Grown?

Denison Farm is fully committed to organic agriculture and we follow the national organic standards and are certified by “Certified Naturally Grown”. We have a strong interest in Biodynamic Agriculture and this year we will apply some of the Biodynamic preparations. Our Schaghticoke, NY farm is 164 acres of rich bottomland, wooded ridges, pasture/hayfields, marsh, and streams. The farm has an 18-year history of organic management and CSA marketing started by our much-loved predecessor, Janet Britt.

How Does It Work

Shareholders receive a weekly delivery of freshly harvested, seasonal vegetables for approximately 22 weeks, starting early June and finishing early November. The weekly share will average 8-9 items with one share generally providing vegetables enough for two adults with two children. Farm newsletters will keep you in touch with farm activities and recipes. We do not offer half shares for those wanting less produce, but two households may buy a share together under one name and split it on their own.

We have two delivery options. You may choose whatever option works best for you regardless of where you live and where you have picked up in the past. Please remember that pick-up will be once a week at the site you have chosen:

1) We will deliver an assortment....Clifton Park, Albany, Niskayuna, Guilderland, Round Lake, and Delmar on Wednesdays. The site will be open for pick-up from 4:00 - 8:00 P.M. and any produce not picked up by 8:00 will be donated to local food pantries.

2) We offer a second option of picking up your weekly share at the farm in Schaghticoke Wednesdays from 3:00 - 7:30 P.M. or the Saratoga Farmers’ Market Wednesday from 3:00 - 6:00 P.M. or the Troy Farmers’ Market on Saturdays from 9:00 A.M. - 1:00 P.M. At the farm and the Farmers’ Market sites, shareholders will pick out a specified number of vegetables, most of which will be free choice. For those picking up at the farm, the share cost will be $25 less.

What Do You Get

Members will receive a wide variety of vegetables including most or all of the following:

Baby Lettuce Mix, Braising Greens, Arugula, Mesclun, Spinach, Kale, Swiss Chard, Lettuce (Redleaf, Greenleaf, Boston, Romaine), Scallions, Red and Yellow Onions, Leeks, Garlic,

Sweet Potato, Turnip, Radish, Beets, Carrots, Rutabaga, Celeriac, Potatoes

(Red, Fingerling, Yellow, and White Flesh), Cabbage, Broccoli, Bok Choi, Chinese Cabbage, Brussel Sprouts, Green and Yellow Beans, Edamame, Peas (Sugar Snap, Shell, Snow), Cucumbers, Summer Squash, Zucchini, Winter Squash (Acorn, Buttercup, Butternut, Delicata, Sweet Dumpling), Tomato, Tomatillos, Eggplant, Sweet Peppers, Fennel, Sweet Corn, as well as Herbs, Melons, and Strawberries.

Participation

Any CSA shareholder wishing to volunteer at the farm is very welcome on any Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and some Saturdays. We also offer a limited number of working shares that give a $40 discount in exchange for 8 hours of work on any of the above days both at the farm and in other capacities such as working at the distribution sites or at the Farmers’ Markets.

Eggs and Fruit

We will be offering an egg share (1 dozen each week for the entire 22 week season). The eggs are from a local farm where the hens are fed organic feed without hormones or antibiotics and are kept on pasture where they can eat grass and bugs, take dust baths, and strut! This is a different farm from 2006 and we have made the switch because here the feed is all organic.

The fruit share will come from a number of local farmers and where possible will be organic, but the majority of the fruit will be conventionally grown. The share will run for 15 weeks, beginning the first week of July and ending the second week of October. We hope to start with cherries, followed by raspberries and then blueberries.  Stone fruit (plums, apricots, peaches, and nectarines) will follow and we will finish with apples and pears.

The egg and fruit shares will be available only at the Delmar, Clifton Park, Guilderland, Niskayuna, and Albany distribution sites, and at the farm.

Our 2008 season is now full.

Denison Farm
333 Buttermilk Falls Road
Schaghticoke, NY 12154

den_farm@yahoo.com