The CSA (community supported agriculture) concept is a fantastic, but relatively new idea. The principle involves several families purchasing "shares" of a garden, either with one annual payment, or split into smaller monthly payments. The "shareholder" then receives a "share "of the bounty from that garden on a weekly basis throughout the harvest season. A May share could include escarole, radishes, baby greens, rhubarb and green onions, while a September share would more likely contain things like tomatoes, pumpkins, onions, garlic, potatoes, and cabbage. Every vegetable sent to you at its peak flavor, in season. This is living off the land when you don't have the time or space to grow these things yourself. We don't spray pesticides on our garden either, so you don't have to worry about residues. Our veggies don't have to survive a 1,500 mile trip to get to you every week; you pick them up right on the farm where they grew. This allows us to grow varieties that, while they might not ship well, or have a three month shelf life, will have ten times the flavor of their produce dept. counterparts. We grow Cherokee Purple and Garden Peach tomatoes, round Italian zucchini, blue and fingerling potatoes, heirloom garlic and lots more. We grow standard varieties too, but these heirlooms (in the same class as heritage animals) are what make our CSA fun and flavorful. We enjoy doing things a little differently, and so do the folks who share our garden. Community Supported Agriculture is more than just a garden share program; it's a way of life. Sustainable agriculture is not only good for the farm and the farmer, it?s good for the consumer and the environment as well. For centuries, consumers have been using their food dollars to tell farmers what they want. If you go to the local discount superstore, and spend your food dollars on Brazilian produce, Chinese honey, feedlot beef injected with MSG and salt solution, and battery-farm chicken, you are supporting ecologically unstable monoculture farming. Shop at the Farmer's Market instead, and let your food dollars tell the farming community what you want; fresh, local, healthy food. Please, support your local sustainable farmers! We can't do it without you.

The Shepherds Fold is a family owned & operated farm. We raise everything here for our personal use first. We keep healthy honey bees (beeswax and raw honey)and beef cattle, a spinners flock of Shetland sheep for their lovely natural colored wool, as well as katahdin & crossbred heritage breed meat sheep, free range hens for eggs, and pasture raised/range fed broiler chickens. We have heirloom garlic available in the fall. In 2007 we started a small CSA operation. We offer 3 sizes of shares, for small, medium, or large families. Our goal is to provide healthy food for ourselves and our customers, so we strive to bring you only the best. Our products come to you the way God made them, with no artificial chemicals, hormones, or additives.

CSA Details:
Season:  June through October
Type: Single farm
Since: 2007
No of Shares: 10
Full Share: (1/2 bu.)large $500/season
1/2 Share: (peck)small $300/season
Work Req? No

Pick Up/Drop Off Points:

The Shepherd's Market  (Thu)
Shareholders pick up their produce Thursday afternoons between noon and 7. Our only pickup location at this time is at the farm. We are conveniently located only 15 miles from Wooster or Millersburg, and about 10 miles from Loudonville. If you can't pick up your share we ask that you send someone else to pick it up, or let us know ahead of time so we can donate it to someone in need. If there is something in your basket that your family absoloutely will not eat, we have a swap bowl where you can trade it for something you enjoy.
Contact: Joseph & Marion Yoder
Phone: 330-496-3143
Address: 13306 Co. Rd. 100, Big Prairie, OH 44611