Food With Integrity -  Certified Organic By One Cert

Fresh fruits – Small Fruits – Organic Eggs

What is a CSA subscription farm?
Community Supported Agriculture/ subscription farming is very popular in Europe where people are really concerned about the food they eat. It is also gaining popularity among quality-food conscious consumers in the U.S. as well. When you purchase a CSA, you are reserving a portion of the farm’s produce for you or your family. Then, throughout the season, the member routinely picks up a share of the farm’s production.

How do I know if a CSA is right for me?

When you consider buying a CSA membership you need to think about your taste in food and your summer schedule. Some questions that should be answered when considering buying a CSA are these;

Do I enjoy a variety of various foods?

At the peak of the season you might be receiving ten or more items at one time. If all you are really interested in is green beans, tomatoes, and sweet corn, you will find the abundance of a CSA a bit overwhelming. You would probably be more satisfied buying those items at the farmer’s market or directly from the farm. However if you are willing to try new foods you will find a CSA exciting. One member said it was like Christmas every week looking to see what new items they might receive. Even though we have always grown our own vegetables we have discovered several new ones we really enjoy when we started to expand the variety we offered to our members. We hope to provide you the same experience.

Am I willing to commit to picking up my share each week?

We work very hard to provide your share every week and are counting on you to pick it up. Many times we hold back produce for members that we could easily sell so it’s an economic hardship for us if you don’t pick it up. We know many folks take vacations during the summer and we appreciate letting us know when you will not need a share.

Am I willing to sacrifice convenience for freshness and quality?

While your share is picked and cleaned it must still be properly stored and prepared. You can’t just pop it in the microwave. While most meals can be prepared in less than 30 minutes it still isn’t as quick and easy, as many Americans have become accustomed to.

If you answer yes to these questions then I think you will be pleased belonging to a CSA.

Certified Organic: healthy for you, healthy for the environment.

We were certified organic in 2004, however we have always raised our produce using organic methods. We believe hidden residues and alterations in our crops are having adverse affects on our health. Being organic means we grow our crops with the use of chemically synthesized pesticides and fertilizers, nor do we use genetically modified seeds and plants. We produce our crops the natural way; a way that doesn’t poison or deplete the environment. It’s a process that gets your food to you full of health and vigor.

A family farm growing food for families.

Our farm has been in our family since 1929 and has always been farmed by some member of our family. First by my grandmother and her children, then by my uncle, and finally by my father and I. There have been no chemicals on any of our ground since 1994, and we have ten acres that have never had a soil applied chemical of any kind applied to it. We would love to have youc ome and visit our farm and experience the joy of agriculture. We are located in central Missouri just 6 miles north of I-70.

What we try to grow and offer to you.

Being organic offers some real challenges in growing produce in the Mid-West. We are in constant warfare with the bugs and weeds. Sometimes we win and sometimes they win. We attempt to grow several varieties of most of the common vegetables and some not so common. We also have some small fruit such as blackberries and strawberries. We have laying hens and broiler chickens, which are not included in the membership, but can be purchased separately. They are also raised using organic feedstuffs. While we are sometimes at the mercy of the pests and the weather we strive to have an abundance of varieties, starting small in the spring and growing as the season progresses.

How to become a member and how it works.

Membership starts when we receive the completed CSA application and non-refundable registration fee. This secures your share for the season that usually starts around the first of May and usually runs through the end of October. This produces a season of 20 to 26 weeks depending on the weather conditions. Each week when you pick up your share you will be charged a fee based upon what we have in the share that week and varies usually in a range of $5 to $25. We figure share price at retail minus a 5-10% member discount.

What to expect.

Each week we pack each member a basic share. Items are usually packed by weight. Members are free to add to their share each week according to their needs and those items will be added to the price of that weeks share. When there is not enough quantity of a specific crop for everyone we make the crop available to our members on first come first served basis. Shares are intended for members so we ask that you not resell all or portions of your share. If you however cannot use your entire share within a given week feel free to share with a friend. This is a good way to spread the word about eating local. If you wish to store some vegetables we would be glad to furnish them at a reasonable cost.

Considerations.

Becoming a CSA member will connect you more closely to the land and those of us who farm it. You will also learn of the inherent risks of agriculture. Total crop failures while rare do occur and crop underproduction of at least some variety is usually a yearly occurrence. These things are quickly forgotten upon tasting the first ripe strawberry or red ripe tomato. If you have never been associated with agriculture then you will learn that most crops produce best during a certain part of the growing season. While we try to plan for a continual harvest of crops that are in season, mother nature reserves the right to alter those plans.

How to join:

To become a member of our CSA family, just fill out the enclosed application form and mail it to us with the registration fee. We start planting in  February so the earlier you join the better we can serve you. Membership is on a first come first serve basis so sign up early. Studies have shown organic produce to be higher in many vital nutrients. Now some are finding eating fresh a good way to control or even loose weight. We invite you to join our family and taste what you’ve been missing!

Why Share-Life Farms?

Some have asked us how we came about the name of our farm. When we decided to assign a name to our farm, we wanted something that reflected our beliefs not only about farming, but about life as a whole. We are organic by conviction. We believe that many of our health problems are caused not only by a poor diet but by unnatural compounds in the food we eat. While we know God said the earth would not yield the increase he originally designed and weeds would grow because of sin. However, we came to understand that even in discipline his mercy showed through. We learned that weeds can indicate certain deficiencies in the soil and work to correct them. Instead of trying to control nature through poison and soil amendments we decide the soil needs, we should work with nature to achieve our goals. The soil is filled with living organisms and when we restore the life in the soil it will in turn restore life in the plants which in turn can share that restored life with us when we consume them. We strive to restore that life cycle on our farm and would like to share it with you through our produce.

Just as sin separated us from the true bounty of the Earth it also separated us from the very God that made us. The penalty for sin was severe, calling for our physical and spiritual death and eternal separation from God. Just as in the Earth, God in his mercy provided a way of escape, he has done the same for us personally. He paid the penalty for sin through the death of his Son, which He offers to us as a free gift. When we acept this gift He will restore us to the life he intended for us to have. As a patron of Share-Life Farms we wish to share the bounty of life in the soil with you. As your friend we wish to share the contented life that a personal relationship with Jesus Christ can bring. You see this is not simply an occupation with us, it is our life. We would count it a privilege to share our life with you.