Deep Roots

[

] 61

which originated in Europe and Japan in the 1970s – could be

applicable to the developing world but that the model would

necessitate “interest and commitment from both the produc-

ers and the consumers.”

The CSA model fits very well in the United States with

consumers who are increasingly seeking a more direct connec-

tion to either their food, their farmer, or both. With the vast

majority of Americans now having very little involvement in

agriculture at all, this trend could start reconnecting the popu-

lation to its agricultural roots.

It might also be applicable for those in developing nations

who have a small plot of land and are willing to seek support

from their urban neighbours. “We’re a small CSA, feeding 12

households on roughly one-eighth of an acre or about the

size of a city lot,” said Schneider. “This could be something

that might work in the developing world since for many, risk

management tools just aren’t there. People can read this, inno-

vate and make the model work for them or their country.”

Schneider noted that in countries where input costs, espe-

cially fossil fuels and fertilizers, are daunting, small-scale

CSAs have found a way to better manage their environmental

footprint. “We’ve reduced our on-farm gasoline use to about

a gallon per year, so that means we’re able to produce 8-11

calories of food for each calorie of energy we use, roughly 90

times the efficiency of conventional agriculture,” she added.

Hilltop runs entirely on renewable energy. “Our goal is to

be as bountiful as possible with as little drain on resources

as possible,” said Schneider. “We’ve installed solar panels

to erase our energy footprint from the grid. We’ve installed

2,500 gallons of water storage so we can irrigate with rain-

water rather than pumping from our well. Our orchard was

designed to produce fruit almost without input, using species

that would grow symbiotically together and not be attacked

by pests. In our CSA fields, we compost, mulch, rotate crops

and plant crops that either attract or repel insects.”

Overall, CSAs are very labour intensive, and the success

of Hilltop has been through the farmers’ ability to grow a

large variety of crops on a small area. “We feed 12 families,

although some CSAs feed 1,000 families, so there is a lot of

room for flexibility,” said Schneider.

Schneider believes that CSAs hold a bright hope for the

future because they turn the current, industrialized-world

model of modern agriculture on its head. “The dominant para-

digm is that agriculture is an inefficient use of energy and

land, but we’re changing,” she said. “Agriculture is maybe one

of the last real democratic systems that we have.”

In addition to growing vegetables, Hilltop has another 25

acres in prairie, 11 acres of woodland and one acre in niche

fruit production. In 2009, the couple started a sustainable

fruit programme. “We grow fruits like elderberry, currants

and honeyberry in a forest-like setting,” said Scheider.

The approach, widely known as agroforesty, is also a

model that is applicable to developing regions because it uses

perennial, multipurpose plants that share resources and are

mutually supportive. “I’ve had the opportunity to support

farmer-to-farmer programmes around the world and every

time I’d visit farms, I noticed that fruit and nut trees would

be interplanted with the vegetables or along hedgerows and

living fences,” noted Scheider. “I was inspired to try a few of

these techniques gleaned from other farms, to tweak, research

and adapt them to our farm’s management system. Again,

through intensive cultivation and careful planning, you can

select plants that help each other, cutting down on your over-

head costs substantially.”

Schneider said that although languages and locations vary,

farmers across the world have one thing in common: their love

Financial support from CSA subscribers early in the season supplies funds for

seeds and other inputs, eliminating the cost of production loans

Currant Events participants at Hilltop Community Farm, sampling

blackcurrants while touring through the young food forests

Image: Rob McClure, Hilltop Community Farm

Image: Ian Aley, Living Earth Community Farm

eep

oots