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Community shareholders support veteran farmer
By Ron Jackson
The Oklahoman
7-6-05
Charlie Maloney, with three college degrees and 25 years as a
psychotherapist, now finds harmony and a meaningful way of life in the
freshly tilled soil of his 18-acre farm in Cologne, Va.
Five years ago Maloney retired from his psychotherapy practice to farm
full-time. How?
He began community supported agriculture farming 14 years ago as a small
way to supplement the family income. He began with a handful of customers.
"We started out with 20 shareholders," Maloney said.
"I always stress to people to start small and build a core base. We have
grown just through word-of-mouth, and we have always had a waiting list."
Today, Maloney has 121 shareholders. Full shareholders pay $440 for 24
weeks of vegetables. Half shareholders pay $250.
The farming operation alone brought in $55,000 last year, Maloney said. He
expects to surpass that mark this year, and he said he is confident he
could handle more shareholders if desired.
Maloney, however, is cautious not to label community-supported agriculture
farms as the way of the future.
"We need to be careful not to expect any sort of magic bullet," said
Maloney, who spoke at an Oklahoma workshop in November.
"But a small CSA farm can grow if given time. It's a building-block
process."
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