More Details About Our CSA

Trumpeter Swan Farm CSA is now YEAR-ROUND, with weekly delivery during the summer season (June thru Oct) and biweekly delivery in the Winter Season (Nov-May). Members can pick from all farm products including eggs and honey. Members can opt for eggs only with limited or no produce.

During times when there is less produce and fewer choices, you can leave empty space in your box and get credits. You can use those credits later when there is more items available to get extra stuff.

We love the CSA model for providing local food to our members. And we go year-round, providing whatever we can as we move through the seasons. Inspired by Eliot Coleman's "Four-Season Harvest" book and techniques, we try to do the same here in Minnesota. While not always possible, it is so cool to be picking lettuce on a sunny day in December when is cold and snowy outside. In 2013, we had high tunnel produce until mid-January. However, in 2014, our high tunnel produce only lasted until end of November, after the unusually cold November descended upon us. We also have hydroponic growing. While our success varies, each year is an ADVENTURE in how long we can have produce grown in Minnesota!

We continue our ZERO LANDFILL program. You return all of our packaging and we do something good with it. Some is re-used, others re-cycled and the rest is composted.

We offer HOME DELIVERY at no extra cost, right to your door, in the Northwest Metro area.

Quantities vary by season, with lesser amounts as we start out the growing season. At peak season (August and September), a full share will be about a bushel basket of fruit and vegetables. A FULL SHARE is good for a FAMILY OF FOUR or a VEGETARIAN COUPLE. A half share will be about a half bushel. A HALF SHARE is good for a COUPLE. Our honey or free range brown eggs can be added as desired. We try not to overload you with produce, striving for a little of everything, with a WIDE VARIETY. Half the people who drop a CSA do so because they RECEIVED TOO MUCH and were not able to use it - we all cook less than we think we do. However, the other half drop a CSA because they DO NOT GET ENOUGH - they were thinking lots of stuff for juicing or quantities at a discount. Getting the amount JUST RIGHT is always a balancing act for us. Your PREFERENCE RANKINGS that you maintain guide our system to fill your box with things you want. You then REVIEW THE BOX and make any final additions and subtractions.

EGGS ARE OFFERED AS WELL. Eggs are treated as another one of the products we produce on our farm. You can add a dozen eggs to your box as desired. If you need more than one dozen a week, increase your farm share to the next size up, so you get enough produce. A member can also get eggs only, by declining produce. Buy a half share for up to 3 dozen per week, or a full share for up to 6 dozen per week. A member getting only eggs will still have the option to add produce items as desired.

Our online system makes it easy to signup and monitor your membership. Each member maintains their Farm Savings Account which is used to pay for their deliveries as they are received. Members maintain a balance in their Farm Savings Account using periodic deposits - as desired or on a monthly schedule. Members receive interest on their ending balance each month.

Our farm is owned and operated by Phil Hannay and Kathy Kubal. Along with Ian, our son, and some additional employees, we plant, grow and harvest everything on our farm to insure the highest freshness and quality. Occasionally, we may add some special items grown by a neighbor, by one of our employees, or even by a member. Our EMPOLYEES ARE LOCAL, so your money stays here. Typical employees are high school or college students who live in the Buffalo area.

We are BEE, BUTTERFLY AND INSECT FRIENDLY preferring to keep a balance of good and bad bugs. We have prairie and woody areas among our fields providing a lot of diverse habitat for our fellow creatures - some nice (bluebirds and squirrels), some not so nice (robins and deer) - with all being tolerated as part of a healthy sustainable rural farm. We use simple biological practices like cover crops, compost, lighter fertilization, cultivation and mulch, and limited tilling. And if a herbicide or pesticide is needed, we limit them to safe biodegradable ones that require no special safety equipment or licensing and will not contaminate land or water.

Your SATISFACTION IS GUARANTEED. If you have any concerns, just talk to us. We will make it right!

If you have questions, you may email Ian at csa@trumpeterswanfarm.com or call Ian at 763-732-3052