What is Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)?
At their most fundamental level, CSA farms provide a pre-scheduled delivery of sustainably grown farm produce or products to consumers during the growing season. Those consumers, in turn, pay a participation fee in advance. By “pre-paying” for their food, the subscribers help the farmers defray the costs of production and also help the farmer know that there will be a waiting market for their food. But CSA consumers don’t so much “buy” food from particular farms as become a “participant” of those farms and help to support their local farming community.
CSA Shares
The Full Share Plan may include beef, bison, pork, lamb chicken, and emu with opportunities to add turkey and duck when in season. The Half Share Plan includes the same meats as the Full Share Plan, but in smaller quantities.
The farm is centrally located in the Ann Arbor area between Manchester, Clinton, Saline, Grass Lake, Dexter, and Chelsea, Michigan.
If you think that you are interested in joining our meat CSA, Contact Old Pine Farm for availability of our CSA Participation Guide. Participation benefits include tours, animal feeding days for kids, field trips, recipe competition/chef demo, monthly educational handouts/newsletters and, most importantly, locally produced, humanely raised, great tasting meat - monthly!
How Do We Process Meats and Poultry?
Our farm produces conscientiously raised free-range, hormone-free meats and poultry. Animals are raised in a manner that is humane and respectful. Whenever grain is required for our animal management plan, we make every attempt to use organic or GMO free to help provide you with a “clean animal”. Animal bi-products, feed antibiotics, and growth hormones are never used. Our sustainable, more holistic approach to animal husbandry yields better tasting, safer and more nutritious meats and poultry.
We cannot sell cuts or samples.
What is in a share?
A share in the Meat CSA consists of a combination of beef, pork, lamb, chicken, and sometimes emu and bison cuts. Monthly pick-ups include a range of meats and cuts, such that some monthly shares may include more or all pork and lamb selections, while other months may include more beef and chicken cuts. Shares are assembled on the farm based on what is available and processed that month. Chicken is included in the shares as whole birds. Meat CSA participants receive their meats freshly frozen. No Nitrate, No MSG is used for smoking the pork cuts.
What are Our Seasons?
Why Should Participate in CSA?
(Some of these are seasonal only!)
- Humanely raised, hormone free, locally produced, great tasting meat!
- Visits and Tours at no charge on tour days
- Animal Feeding days for kids
- Chef Demo and/or Recipe competition
- Occasional farm work volunteer opportunities
- Educational Info Sheets and/or Newsletter with pick ups
Where Do I Pick Up?
Once a month Members can pick up their shares at one of several designated pick up sites. We will have at least two pick up dates in Ann Arbor per month on the west side; one of which is on a weekend. We are currently delivering at:
- Zingerman’s Roadhouse
- Near Scio Church and Wagner Road
- Washtenaw Community College in Ypsilanti
. In addition there will be one on-farm pick up day.