'Crisis' at Granby's Holcomb Farm CSA Discussed

While the town’s increased collaboration with may have been recently described as evolution not revolution, the farm’s 26-acre organic vegetable CSA is undergoing dramatic changes to maintain its short- and long-term viability.

Indeed, Bill Bentley, the president of Holcomb Farm Inc.’s board of directors, has even gone as far as to say that the CSA - short for community-supported agriculture - is enduring a “crisis.”

Since the beginning of March, Holcomb Farm has: lost its two top farmers, Farm Manager Sam Hammer and Assistant Farm Manager Susan Mitchell; cut down the number of CSA shares available from 732 to 400; increased the price of a share 50 percent from $330 to $495; and eliminated the availability of pork and eggs.

Those who already bought a share at $330 will also have to pay an additional $165 to meet the price increase. Members have until today to commit to the increase and until May 1 to pay it. Those who paid $330, but do not want to pay the increase will be refunded their money.

“We couldn’t make it through the season without doing something dramatic without going broke,” Bentley said in a recent interview.

Sustainability, fiscal responsibility, social objective

In a letter to members dated March 26, Bentley said that the price increase and share reduction were necessitated for three reasons: the sustainability of the farmland; the fiscal health of the CSA; and to to meet the social objective of providing urban areas with fresh produce.

Specifically, Bentley said that a consultant hired by the board of directors said that the farmland needed to be worked less for responsible soil management.

“We overworked our land,” Bentley said in his letter. “Now, we must reduce and rotate the acreage we farm and allow portions of the land to rest. It’s the right thing to do for the land, as well as for you, the shareholders, who expect and deserve responsible, effective land management-practices to preserve the CSA for generations to come.”

In a telephone interview, Seth Wilner, one of the consultants hired by the Holcomb Farm board of directors, said that the "soil resources had been pushed really hard."

"There's all kinds of ways to farm," Wilner said. "If you go for maximum production year after year, you run the chances for increased disease, reduced yield and increased soil compaction."

Wilner said that if the farm continued to operate in that capacity, it would require more input at a higher cost with less productivity.

In addition to the soil management issue, on the fiscal side, the farm had lost about $57,000 last year, Bentley said, which also was not sustainable for a non-profit organization. Some of those costs were due to expenditures that were not approved by the board, Bentley said.

“The revenue losses and expenses went beyond what was budgeted,” Bentley said, noting that the Hartford Food System used to manage the CSA until 2010 and that through various means the CSA’s operation was “quietly” underwritten. 

The combination of fewer acres of land to farm, the farms financial issues and the relatively low price for a share led to the increase to $495, Bentley said.

“We were way underpriced,” Bentley said.

Turnover at the farm

As for Hammer and Mitchell leaving just before the growing season, Bentley and other farm directors declined to get into specifics, other than to say that they both found new positions at other farms.

In a recent telephone interview, Hammer, who managed the farm for nine years before leaving in mid-March, acknowledged that there was friction between himself and the board.

“I had differences with the board and with how the organization was governed and I felt like I needed to move on after prolonged difficulty,” he said, adding that the decision to cut back on the number of shares available also could be due to his departure. “My leave was abrupt and that’s tough on any farm operation. Ideally, an operation would want a longer transition time.”

Hammer said that the two-week notice he provided wasn’t enough for a smooth transition, though the farm has since hired Karen Pettinelli as the new manager. The farm is currently still looking for an assistant farm manager.

Hammer, for his part, did not paint a glowing picture of the board.

“In terms of organization, I don’t have much positive to say,” Hammer, who is working at Honey Brook Organic Farm in New Jersey, said. “I had a frustrating experience there.”

Specifically, Hammer said that he did not believe that a non-profit board of directors should run a produce farm.

“It should be leased out under an owner/operator that’s held by the town,” Hammer said. “I think it would work better for the land and the customers if it was run as a business.”

With that said, Hammer said that he sympathized with the struggles that the CSA is currently enduring.

“I did not leave on good terms … [but] this should be up for a wider discussion,” Hammer said. “Even though I’m out of the picture, I hope the town, the CSA members and volunteers will work to develop a good future for farming no matter what organizational framework it is.”

CSA members chime in

At an informational meeting Tuesday evening attended by over 50 people, several CSA members expressed their frustration and disappointment at how the whole matter - including Hammer’s and Mitchell’s departures as well as the price increase, and reduction in numbers, of shares - was handled.

“I am really concerned about what happened in terms of the treatment of the staff and the community,” CSA member and Granby resident Debby Reelitz said. “There are a lot of red flags here.”

Reelitz asked if the town’s greater involvement with the learning center and other operations at Holcomb Farm meant that the CSA’s costs would also be turned over to the town as well.

Bentley, however, assured that the CSA was not being subsidized or run by the town.

Reelitz and other members in attendance also defended Hammer, stating that the letter sent to them implied that Hammer was to blame for the farmland being overworked, which the members found insulting.

“[Hammer’s] name was top dog in town when you are looking for a CSA,” said Farmington’s April Mock. “If something wasn’t available that season, he still made up for it.”

Loretta Waldman of West Hartford said that Hammer “built up a lot of goodwill over many years. … That you are saying the fields were overused is clearly a criticism of Sam.”

Bentley acknowledged that while Hammer left on poor terms, he did a lot for the CSA and maintained a good relationship with its members. Nevertheless, Hammer's suggestions as to how to run the farm appeared to have been in contravention to the CSA's mission of delivering locally grown, affordable food to its members while also taking part in the Fresh Access program.

Pettinelli, who has over 10 years' experience of organic farming in New England, said that she and the board were working to remain on the same page to avoid the friction that her predecessor encountered.

"[Friction with a board] is not abnormal," Pettinelli said. "[Farmers] want to be left alone. ... Everyone [at Holcomb Farm] is well intentioned. I see good intentions with the board and I have faith in that."

Pettinelli said one thing that she would follow through on is having winter shares.

But Waldman objected not only to Hammer's departure, but also to the manner in which she received the notice of the changes at the farm.

“The way this was communicated was absolutely unacceptable,” said Waldman, noting that she got the message after several of her friends noted that the e-mail had been sent. “It was a fluke I even read it. That’s just disgraceful and a total lack of respect for the members.

“I was horrified at the gravity of the information. … That’s not the kind of thing you send by e-mail. ‘Oh, by the way, the cost of shares have been raised by 50 percent.’”

Waldman said that she was now in a position where she had to make an economic decision as to whether to continue with her shares.

Bentley acknowledged that mistakes were made in terms of communicating with the CSA’s members.

“We haven’t done as good a job as we want to,” Bentley said. “We’ll keep working at it.”

There was even a discussion on whether the size of the bags had decreased over time to the point where the newest bag is merely half the size of the original ones that went with the share nearly 10 years ago. Some members said that the reduction in bag size meant that they were really only buying half shares, not full shares.

Bentley said that any changes in bag size was made by Hammer and that there had been some confusion generated on that point.

While there was plenty of criticism directed at the board, there was also support for what it was trying to accomplish as well.

“These guys got hit with an earthquake and a tsunami,” said Jack Lareau, adding that one of the places that the town explored building a new high school was around the Holcomb Farm property. “What we’re seeing here is small potatoes compared to what we’ll see if we don’t support this.”

Granby resident Kevin Gough, who has been a CSA member for nine years, said after the meeting that while he wasn’t thrilled with what was taking place with the CSA, he was satisfied with the information that he was provided.

“There’s so much angst about it,” he said. “We love the farm.”

Bentley said that there would be more informational meetings like the one on Tuesday evening to keep CSA members in the loop.