Signing up for a CSA is one of the most effective ways to support small farms and help community agriculture thrive
The farmstand at Foxtrot Flower Farm in Stanfordville is closed up for the winter.
STANFORD — International CSA Day is Thursday, Feb. 22! So what is a CSA, and why should you sign up for one?.
Like any good idea or innovation, the CSA (community supported agriculture) model was created out of a vast shared need: the economic survival of small farms and farmers.
A CSA is a subscription service. You subscribe to a local farm’s CSA for a fixed cost, and the farm regularly provides you with its produce and/or products for a set period of the year.
The concept is that local customers invest in a farm when the farm needs it most: up front, before a farmer has any produce to show for themselves or with their investors.
Without the CSA model, farmers work, pay and invest back into the farm year-round but only make their income seasonally.
I founded Foxtrot Farm & Flowers in Stanfordville three years ago, after working for eight years in agriculture. I built Foxtrot around a CSA model because in my experience it’s financially effective, time efficient, and most rewarding for a farm of my scale to sell directly to their community, building relationships over the years.
A year on the farm
At Foxtrot, the year of expenditures on the new crop begins now, in mid-February, when I begin to sow, tend to and heat — with propane — this year’s crop.
Apart from the CSAs, my income doesn’t start to trickle in until the blooming of narcissus and tulips in April, followed by a small seedling sale in early May. Then there is a gap during heavy planting season until around mid-June, when my annual and perennial flowers start to bloom.
Come July, August and September, I’m hustling, harvesting for retail and wholesale outlets, designing flowers for weddings and special events. Money is coming in and I feel buoyed, but come mid-October, reminders of frost are just around the corner.
When the frost hits, so does the financial crash: the flowers burned and browned, and the cyclical crunch season begins again.
A little economic boost comes around the holidays with wreath sales and the like, but so do the holiday expenses, so it just about evens out. The bank account that I felt accomplished and proud of in November starts to look less shiny come January, after three months of — hopefully — paying myself a wage, without income.
Come January and February, I’m ordering seeds and supplies for the next growing season, I’m making expensive improvements on any number of things — to date: building a walk-in cooler ($5,000 plus operation costs); a germination chamber ($1,000 plus operation costs); a lean-to for farm storage ($7,000); a farm stand ($2,000); and a growing tunnel ($23,000).
In March and April, self-employment taxes are due. I’m starting seeds and experiencing financial security-induced panic attacks.
The breakdown
A Foxtrot bouquet might cost $30. To break that down, let’s borrow Lennie Larkin’s “The Flower Dollar” framework and apply it to a bouquet from Foxtrot:
— $3.50 into infrastructure and machinery (money to reinvest in machinery).
— $4.50 into land costs (mortgages, taxes and rents).
— $4.50 into farm supplies (seeds, plants, bulbs, compost, fertilizer, irrigation).
— $4.50 into administrative costs (insurance, permits, bookkeeping, accounting and utilities).
— $6 into employee payroll — fair, living wages for farm workers. A quick note on wages: many farms struggle to keep up with the ever increasing living wage in the area. Most local farms are able to offer their employees between $18-$22/hour, while the true living wage in the Hudson Valley is now $24.75/hour.
— $7 into profit — a hopefully living wage for me, and reinvestment in capital expenses.
Most farmers hope to make a profit, but often we just about break even.
I’ve worked in agriculture for the last 11 years, as a crew member, a manager and as a farm owner. I’ve had second jobs and third jobs to stay afloat.
Only this year as a business owner — going into year three at Foxtrot — have I started to be able to pay myself a year-round wage and that is largely due to the CSA model that I’ve built Foxtrot around.
The money that my CSA members invest in Foxtrot from November through April enable me to keep the business afloat. In return, once the flowers are blooming, I share them generously with my members.
There is good value in a CSA for its members — most farms position their CSA pricing between wholesale and retail value in gratitude for the upfront investment on the part of their CSA members (a $30 Foxtrot CSA bouquet might be valued at $40 elsewhere).
Let’s just say, a farmer remembers these customers.
A labor of love
Farming is a labor of love, and that’s no body’s burden but our own. But ultimately, most career farmers must work with a bottom line, and operate without another means of income or a large security net.
If we value small farms as a community, we must ask: How could the task be made easier?
The CSA as an economic model is an answer to this financial dilemma. It creates a small but critical seasonal security net for working farms and farmers, and a built-in, community-driven customer base for a farmer’s harvest.
Joining a CSA isn’t a donation. It is a subscription model similar to so many that we rather passively participate in these days — Amazon Prime, Netflix, Spotify, and Blue Apron, to name a few. The difference is that a CSA is a subscription to your neighbors, your community, your local economy, your landscape in exchange for something that is tangible, important and life-giving in return.
I have had the pleasure of being a part of the leadership committee for the Hudson Valley CSA Coalition, a network of over 120 farms whose aim it is to advocate for the CSA model.
Visit Farm Search as a part of the Hudson Valley CSA Coalition’s website, hudsonvalleycsa.org, to explore the CSAs that are available in your community.
A few other local farms’ CSAs include:
— Rock Steady Farm, Millerton: produce, with partner farm add-ons available.
— Chaseholm Farm, Pine Plains: beef, pork, dairy and cheese.
— Foliage Botanics, Pine Plains: a seasonal apothecary of plant medicine.
— Sisters Hill Farm, Stanfordville: produce, with pick-your-own add-ons available.
Kate Farrar is the farmer and florist at Foxtrot Farm & Flowers, 6862 Route 82, Stanfordville. For more information email foxtrotfarmflowers@gmail.com.
The Millerton 175th anniversary committee's tent during the village's trunk-or-treat event on Oct. 31, 2025.
MILLERTON — As Millerton officially enters its 175th year, the volunteer committee tasked with planning its milestone celebration is advancing plans and firming up its week-long schedule of events, which will include a large community fair at Eddie Collins Memorial Park and a drone light show. The events will take place this July 11 through 19.
Millerton’s 175th committee chair Lisa Hermann said she is excited for this next phase of planning.
“As we enter our anniversary year, there is a clear sense of excitement throughout the village and surrounding communities,” Hermann said. “Local businesses and organizations have been eager to get involved and help make this a truly special event for our community.”
Throughout 2025, committee members attended local events and gatherings to promote the celebration and hear ideas from businesses and residents.
Hermann said momentum continues to build as the committee works to finalize details and ensure the celebration honors Millerton’s rich history while remaining fun and engaging for all ages.
“It has been especially meaningful to hear longtime community members share stories from past celebrations and reflect on their cherished village memories,” she added.
In the months ahead, organizers plan to finalize vendors, secure additional sponsors, and continue spreading the word. Submissions are now open for musical acts, food truck vendors and sponsors wanting to promote their business while offsetting the cost of hosting such an event. Several sponsorship opportunities are available, including support for fair elements such as a stage, tent, activation and more.
The committee is also working with local businesses, including The T-Shirt Farm, to stock branded anniversary merchandise. Marketing efforts have increased, and members plan to attend more community events and seek opportunities to spread the word on TV, radio and printed materials.
Locals and visitors can follow updates on the committee’s Facebook page, which is beginning to reveal a schedule of events packed with family-friendly fun. Organizers hope people will share the page widely as a one-stop-shop for event information.
“This week-long celebration is shaping up to be another unforgettable chapter for our community,” Hermann said. “We hope the event itself will become one of the many memories that make Millerton such a wonderful place to call home.”
As I noted here in an article last spring entitled “Hands off Greenland”, the world’s largest island was at the center of a developing controversy. President Trump was telling all who would listen that, for national security reasons, the United States needed to take over Greenland, amicably if possible or by force if necessary. While many were shocked by Trump’s imperialistic statements, most people, at least in this country, took his words as ill-considered bluster. But he kept telling questioners that he had to have Greenland (oftenechoing the former King of France, Louis XIV who famously said, “L’État c’est moi!”.
Since 1951, the U.S. has had a security agreement with Denmark giving it near total freedom to install and operate whatever military facilities it wanted on Greenland. At one point there were sixteen small bases across the island, now there’s only one. Denmark’s Prime Minister has told President Trump that the U.S. should feel free to expand its installations if needed. As climate change is starting to allow a future passage from thePacific Ocean to the Arctic, many countries are showing interest in Greenland including Russia and China but this hardly indicates an international crisis as Trump and his subordinates insist.
Researchers believe that, buried beneath the mammoth glaciers covering most of the land are rich deposits of various rare earth minerals including those needed for modern batteries and other hi-tech devices. Trump has already made a deal with Ukraine to supply them more arms in return for rights to its underground “rare earth” deposits. Some have called this extortion but to Trump it was business as usual. Greenland’s buried treasures could be a much bigger deal.
But perhaps Trump’s lifelong obsession with size is the dominant reason he feels he must have the world’s largest island; like his planned White House ballroom, for him this is essentially an ego trip.
Greenlanders and Danes have made it clear from the beginning that they do not wish to become American and are not for sale, Trump’s subordinates have tried to advance a scheme whereby Elon Musk might buy a majority of the individual Greenlanders’ votes to sell their country to the U.S.; however Denmark has the last word and is not about to agree to selling Greenland to anyone.
Although Greenlanders have largely been in favorof eventual independence, since Trump’s intemperate demands they have locked arms with Denmark. Recently, large demonstrations in both places have expressed anger, but even more, sadness that their staunch ally would turn against them.
Other than Trump’s appointees those who support the President’s claim to Greenland are hard to find in the U.S. or elsewhere. While most Republican political leaders have avoided speaking out on the matter, a few have including Senators Thom Tillis of North Carolina and former Majority leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, both condemning the possible “taking” in no uncertain terms . Seasoned diplomat, Michael McFaul has called Trump’s insistence on “owning” Greenland as “the worst idea in American history.”
After speaking to the assembled crowd of political leaders and industrialists at Davos, Trump began discussions with Mark Rutte, secretary General of NATO and others after which, in a striking turnaround,he announced that they had put together the basis of a “deal” regarding Greenland.
But neither Greenland nor Denmark had been involved in those discussions; both rejected the agreement’s proposal that the United States would have sovereignty over the military bases both new and existing. Another facet of the proposal giving the U.S. control of underground mineral rights may proveexcessive to both Greenland and Denmark.
Although everyone seems relieved that the crisis appears to be largely over, the rupture between Europe and the U.S. remains. Considering President Trump’s erratic state of mind (in his speech at Davos he referred to Greenland as Iceland at least 3 times), who knows what he may demand tomorrow?
Architect and landscape designer Mac Gordon lives in Lakeville.
It is hard not to equate military spending and purchasing with diplomatic or strategic plans being made, for reasons otherwise unknown. Keeping an eye out for the physical stuff can often begin to shine a light on what’s coming – good and possibly very bad.
Without Congressional specific approval, the Pentagon has awarded a contract to Boeing for $8,600,000,000 (US taxpayer dollars) for another 25 F-15A attack fighters to be given to Israel. Oh, and there’s another 25 more of the F-15EX variant on option, free to Israel as well.
Meanwhile, many European countries have switched their purchases of the F-35 fighters to the French Rafale or the Joint European Fighter as well as Saab’s advanced concept fighter Gripen.Turkey and Airbus, meanwhile, have sold the Hurjet trainer to Spain and other countries over the US trainer. And France is about to begin laying the keel for a new aircraft carrier (though that will take almost a decade). Meanwhile, Airbus is now, since 2024, the primary supplier to all EU countries for military helicopters… Saab is making GlobalEye airborne aircraft for France, Italy and Germany… France’s Rafale Company is making and delivering Iron Beam high-energy laser weapons… Airbus has ramped up delivery to all its new EU customers of 18 new C295 tactical transports.
Some may wonder why EU leaders as well as the UK, have been so soft tongued when it comes to this Administration’s recent diplomatic transgressions over Greenland (oops, Iceland?). The reason is simple: For decades the US has been the cheapest and best supplier of the finest military hardware – planes, tanks, weapon systems, and defense capability. What every nation understood was that the US held the controls of the safe operation of those aircraft. For example, the electronics of every F-35 can be controlled remotely from the US. Go against us? We can pull the plug. That was never an issue before, where we had trust and mutual goals. The current rush to re-prioritize local EU manufacture and longer term self reliance in the EU is a direct consequence of this Administration’s changing of priorities and allied trust.
It is true that DJT can take credit for EU and UK increased military budgeting and preparedness, his actions have forced them to that reality. It is also true that his long term damage to American jobs and industry are just now becoming evident as less of our hardware is attractive to foreign buyers and our military oversight will be slowly eroded to a position where nations no longer feel the need for diplomatic or industrial reliance on America.
Peter Riva, a former resident of Amenia Union, New York, now lives in Gila, New Mexico.
A small group of protesters voice opposition to President Trump's administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement at Amenia's Fountain Square at the intersection of Route 44 and Route 22 on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025
The fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, and before him Renée Good, by federal agents in Minnesota is not just a tragedy; it is a warning. In the aftermath, Trump administration officials released an account of events that directly contradicted citizen video recorded at the scene. Those recordings, made by ordinary people exercising their rights, showed circumstances sharply at odds with the official narrative. Once again, the public is asked to choose between the administration’s version of events and the evidence of its own eyes.
This moment underscores an essential truth: the right to record law enforcement is not a nuisance or a provocation; it is a safeguard. As New York Times columnist David French put it, “Citizen video has decisively rebutted the administration’s lies. The evidence of our eyes contradicts the dishonesty of the administration’s words.”
Separately, law enforcement agencies across the country are expanding their capacity to watch the public. Here at home, as we’ve reported, Dutchess County’s Real Time Crime Center brings together feeds from automated license-plate readers, including systems provided by Flock Safety, allowing police to track vehicles across jurisdictions in real time. These tools collect detailed movement data on vast numbers of people who are not suspected of any crime, often with limited public discussion of safeguards or oversight.
When citizens document state power, they are told to step back or trust official explanations. When the state documents the public, continuously and at scale, it is framed as efficiency. One form of observation is treated as suspect; the other as routine.
What magnifies the alarm in the Minnesota shootings isn’t just the loss of life, but the response that followed. Federal force was used against members of the U.S. public, and officials responded not with clarity or accountability, but with statements that collapsed under visual evidence. That willingness to lie, and to do so reflexively, signals a deeper problem: an administration increasingly willing to treat truth as an obstacle rather than an obligation.
A democratic society depends on shared facts. The right of citizens and journalists to observe, record, and document matters because it anchors truth in evidence, not authority. That right is not a threat to public safety. It is among the few remaining tools the public has to insist that power remains answerable to the truth.
