Ben Kline Farms CSA Membership Agreement

2015 Season

Member Agreement for 2015 Farm Contact Information: Ben Kline Farms 3884 Walmsley Rd Alpena, MI 49707 (231) 735-6131 benklinefarms@gmail.com

Introducing Our CSA

Becoming a Part of Our Farm

We, the farm, wish to provide you with fresh, local, seasonal food and you, the member, wish to receive a portion of our harvest. This agreement outlines our shared commitments to that relationship. Community Supported Agriculture offers the chance to build beneficial relationships between farmers, eaters, and the land.

In exchange for a commitment to our produce before the season begins, we commit to providing local, healthy, and

sustainable food to you, our members, throughout the growing season.

Our CSA runs for sixteen weeks, from June through September. Members are responsible for showing up at either the farm or in-town drop-site each week to pick up your share of freshly harvested produce. You will generally receive a half-bushel of vegetables, equivalent to one grocery bag of produce, per share.

Our Growing Practices

Organic produce is grown without using specific conventional pesticides, fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge, bioengineering, or ionizing radiation. Our farm is neither organically nor naturally certified, but we have plans to pursue certification in the future. Regardless, we are committed to growing our produce without the use of chemicals and using responsible land stewardship practices.

Volunteering at the Farm

We will be offering the opportunity for you and your families to volunteer your time at the farm and be a part of the growing process. We will not be requiring volunteer time as a part of your CSA membership, but we encourage you to come see what we are up to and get your hands dirty!

For the 2015 season, open volunteering blocks will be Fridays from 11am-6pm and Saturdays from 3pm-6pm. These are open sessions so feel free to drop by for any or all of them without notice. We will try to have tasks ready and waiting for all ages so everyone can get involved. Because some aspects of farming can be dangerous, we will ask that you sign a liability release to be on the property. We won’t ask you to do anything you aren’t comfortable with and we will do our best to ensure your safety in every way possible while you are with us at the farm, but we will still need to receive waivers for insurance purposes.

Our Shared Commitments

The Produce We Expect for 2015 The chart below outlines some of the fruits and

vegetables we hope to deliver and when you may see them in your share. This chart is based on our

best estimate, but of course weather, pests, and other events will affect actual production.

Month

Harvested Expected Crops

June Salad Mix, Radishes, Spinach

July Spinach, Salad Mix, Radishes, Head Lettuce,

Early Tomatoes, Peas, Beans, Zucchini, Fresh

Herbs, Cucumbers, Kohlrabi, Napa Cabbage,

Beets, Carrots August Broccoli, Cabbage, Kale,

Cucumbers, Melons, Zucchini, Fresh Herbs,

Spinach, Salad Mix, Head Lettuces, Peas, Beans,

Peppers, Tomatoes, Sweet Corn, Chard, Fennel,

Beets, Carrots, Cauliflower

September Onions, Shallots, Brussel Sprouts, Cabbages, Cauliflower, Kale, Melons, Squashes,

Pumpkins, Fresh Herbs, Eggplant, Peppers,

Tomatoes, Head Lettuces, Salad Mix, Spinach,

Chard, Carrots, Parsnips, Potatoes

October Onions, Kale, Squashes, Greens and Herbs, Parsnips, Potatoes

Sharing in the Risk of Crop Failure We promise to do our best to provide you with a bountiful share each week. The quantity of produce in each share, however, may vary from week-to-week due to extreme weather, insects, or other production factors despite our best efforts. By joining our CSA, you are agreeing to share the risk of crop failure with us and other members. In the unlikely event of a crop failure, our procedure is as follows:

If only a small portion of crops fail, we compensate for the failed crops by filling your share with other crops grown on the farm that are ready for harvest at that time. If a large portion of crops fail and we don’t have enough produce to deliver sizable shares, we will attempt to buy in from other farms (with our same commitment to chemical-free and sustainable growing practices) in order to replace our lost produce. If we are unable to buy-in or recover our crops and we have nothing to offer, members will receive a full refund for any week they aren’t receiving their shares.

Sharing in the Reward of Crop Surplus In addition to our CSA, our farm sells at the local farmers market. Although production is not segregated, our CSA receives priority. After filling our CSA share with the week’s harvest first, the remainder is sold to our other markets. When there is a surplus of goodies we will pack your baskets with extra wonderful!

Food Safety We take the safety of your food seriously. Although we don’t use any chemicals to grow our produce there are still chickens, pigs, and cows sharing the farm and we do use our own compost mix to amend the soil. For your added protection, wash all produce before eating.

Picking Up Shares You are responsible for picking up your share each week from your drop site. Please indicate your preference on the next page. We are currently waiting for approval from the Alpena Farmer’s Market board to deliver our shares at market each week. If they deny us, we will still have in town pick-ups on Wednesdays and Saturdays at a different time and location. We will notify everyone as soon as we know for sure either way.

PICKUP LOCATION NUMBER

Area

Name of Location

Address

Day of the Week

Time

1 Long Lake Ben and Chelsea Kline’s Home

3884 Walmsley Rd. Alpena, MI 49707

Tuesdays 5pm-6pm

2 Downtown Alpena

MaryBeth and Casey Stutzman’s Driveway

144 S. First Ave. Alpena, MI 49707

Wednesdays 5pm-6pm

3 Antrim County Members

Only*

Rob and Patti Bussa’s Driveway

7172 Birch Lake Rd. Kewadin, MI 49648

Thursdays 7/2, 7/16, 7/30,

8/13, 8/27, 9/10, 9/24, and 10/8

5pm-6pm

4 Maple Ridge On the Farm at John and Kay Kline’s

4111 Wooster Rd. Alpena, MI 49707

Fridays 3pm-6pm

You are responsible for observing our drop site rules, which are as follows:

1. Return last week’s basket every week. If you would like to keep a basket, they will be available for $5 each. 2. Pick up your share within the time frame stated. Although we deliver high-quality produce to the site, it will decline quickly if not picked up in time. 3. Be respectful of our drop site hosts’ property.

If you cannot pick-up your share, you must arrange for someone else to pick it up for you. You are responsible for explaining the pick-up location and procedures to your substitute. If you wish to change your drop site, you must call or email at least 48 hours in advance of the time you would like your shares to be available. Please indicate in your email, or tell us, if your site/day change will be for one week only or permanent. Shares that are not retrieved within the pick-up time will be donated to the drop site host or to the local food pantry.

Communicating with Us The best way to communicate with us is via telephone or email. Our numbers are (231) 735-6131 (Ben Kline) and (231) 676-7416 (Chelsea Kline) and the best times to reach us are in the morning or evening during the week. Our email is benklinefarms@gmail.com, and we will try to respond by the next day, if not within two days. We will do our best to respond as soon as possible, but please understand that we spend most of our time in the field growing your food and not at our desk. Please contact us with any news of the following: changes to your postal or email address, changes to your drop-site location, problems with your drop-site, or dissatisfaction with your share. We will communicate with you by email. When you sign up, you will be added to our distribution list. Please read your email from us. We depend on being able to communicate important information such as necessary changes to your distribution schedule or to our farm events. Every week or so we will try to email a farm newsletter with information about the crops we’re growing, recipe ideas, or other farm news.

Member Fees

By selling membership in advance of the growing season, CSA reduces the burden of up-front costs for the farm. Your membership fees provide us with money to purchase seeds and equipment before the season starts, and we appreciate your commitment. Place a check mark next to the share type you would like from the list below. **Half Share only available to members in the Antrim County Area because of the bi-weekly delivery schedule.

CHECK YOUR SELECTION Share Type Share Size Price if postmarked before January 1st

Price if postmarked after January 1st

Vegetable Half Share** ------ $250

Vegetable Single Share $350 $400

Vegetable Double Share $650 $700

Total Amount Due:

By signing below, I agree to purchase the membership share indicated. I understand that, although unlikely, the farm may change parts of this agreement related to production and distribution from time to time. I understand that they will contact me via email in advance of any changes to this agreement.

Name (please print): ____________________________________________ Date: _________________

Signature: ____________________________________________________

*Please return only the last page of this agreement with your contact information, personal preferences, signature, and enclosed check. The rest of the agreement is for you to keep for your reference and records. We will be mailing membership cards in the spring to use as a weekly pick-up reminder on your fridge! This card will also tell you which week our deliveries will begin, as it depends on the weather and how soon we are able to get started. We hope to start deliveries by June 16th, 2015.

PLEASE INDICATE WHICH PICKUP LOCATION YOU WOULD LIKE TO USE

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

If you choose to pay the membership fee upfront, please enclose a check for your total amount due, made payable to Ben Kline Farms, with this signed agreement form. If you choose to pay the membership fee in installments, please enclose four checks dated for the 1st of each of the next four consecutive months. Payment in full must be received no later than May 1st. By submitting an agreement form you are agreeing to pay the membership fee for the share you indicate. All payments are non-refundable beyond May 1st 2015. We plan the year’s planting based on the number of members we have as of May 1st, which is also the cut-off date to join, or change your mind about membership for the season.

Member Contact Info: Name: ______________________________________________

Address: ____________________________________________

___________________________________________________

Telephone: __________________________________________

Email Address: _______________________________________

Personal Preferences We are committed to providing you with produce that you will enjoy and that will fit into your lifestyle. Please indicate your preferences below and we will do our best to make sure that every share you receive is filled with foods that you are able to utilize.

Is there any produce you would be interested in receiving extra quantities of to preserve for the winter? For example: An extra ½ bushel of tomatoes for canning. There will be an extra fee based on quantities desired which can be paid upon delivery.

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Would you be interested in group-canning and preserving sessions hosted by the farm to help share in the work of processing? If we have enough interest we will send out information about possible sessions in one of our newsletters.

Tomatoes: Yes / No Pickles: Yes / No Jams and Spreads: Yes / No Frozen Veggies: Yes / No

What are your favorite vegetable varieties? Please list; we will try to include extra quantities of these in your share.

___________________________________________

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Are there any vegetables that you would NOT like to receive in your shares? Please list; we will try to make up for the unwanted varieties with some of your favorites.

___________________________________________

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Would you be interested in pastured poultry? If so, we will mail you a preorder form this Spring. We plan on ordering birds during the first week of July so that they will be ready to butcher during the first week of September.

Yes / No Would you be interested in more information about a weekly egg share? We would be able to partner with another local farmer to provide weekly eggs if there is enough interest.

Yes / No