CFBF committee discusses legislation affecting CSAs

Developing a clear definition for community-supported agriculture, while keeping the program's original integrity, dominated discussions of the California Farm Bureau Federation Organic and Direct Marketing Ad Hoc Committee.

The new committee met for the first time last week during the CFBF 2013 Leaders Conference in Sacramento. The group was formed because of growing interest in organic agriculture and direct marketing of farm products, said CFBF Second Vice President Jamie Johansson, who chairs the committee. He noted several pieces of legislation have been introduced this year to address issues relating to farmers markets and CSA operations.

One measure—Assembly Bill 224—defines the different types of CSAs: a single-farm CSA that delivers farm products from one certified farm; a multi-farm CSA that involves more than one farm; and a California-grown box program that aggregates farm products from a variety of sources.

Since there is currently no definition of CSA in state law, AB 224 would establish those definitions—and potentially a regulatory framework for how the state could create a CSA program, said Noelle Cremers, CFBF director of commodities and natural resources.

The idea is to have a set of requirements for each type of CSA, with the single-farm CSA having the "least onerous," she said. CSAs involving a group of farms or ones that are buying from a variety of sources would have more requirements, such as with labeling. And CSAs that are selling food such as meat, dairy products or anything that requires refrigeration could potentially be required to obtain a retail food permit, she added.

County environmental health departments, which enforce food safety, require that any food sold in the state must come from an "approved source," but there is currently no clear definition of what an approved source is, Cremers said.

She noted some counties have begun to crack down on CSAs, prompting CDFA to want to create a system that would protect CSAs against being shut down and not being in compliance with the "approved source" requirements.

"Environmental Health doesn't have experience regulating farming and direct marketing, and we don't think they're the best entity to conduct inspections," Cremers said.

But under current law, county health inspectors are required to regulate the "approved source" requirements, she added, and are looking for help in regulating food products from CSAs.

There is recognition that very few CSAs are single-farm CSAs, since the vast majority of them include some products from other farms, she said. Some farmers oppose the aggregation concept, saying that since those who currently market their produce via certified California farmers markets can sell only what they grow, CSA farmers should follow that same direct-marketing model.

The committee also touched on the proliferation of farmers markets and the impact that has had on farmers. Rick Jensen, director of the CDFA Inspection Services Division, spoke to the group about the department's role in regulating the state's organic program and certified farmers markets.

"Our position is, we love farmers markets. I think that's obvious by the number of farmers markets in the state now," he said, noting there are currently more than 800 in California, up from the 500 range just four years ago.

He acknowledged that fraudulent practices do occur at farmers markets, such as what media reports have uncovered in recent years in Southern California. But he questioned whether fraud is widespread, noting it tends to occur more frequently in urban markets where there is more incentive.

Dan Best, who manages the California Certified Farmers Markets in Sacramento County and sits on the CFBF committee, discussed the challenge of protecting the integrity of farmers markets in the face of growing demand while trying to ensure "every dime that comes into that market be focused on the farmer's pocketbook and not somebody else's."

(Ching Lee is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. She may be contacted at clee@cfbf.com.)