Hello out there to all you Miles Citians! My name is Valerie and I am was wondering if I could lean on a few of you to give me some feedback on an idea that my husband and I are thinking about bringing to Miles City when we move to town next year.

We are looking at running a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Farm. I have listed below a few survey questions to get some feedback about this idea and if there is any other information that you may want to pass along to us feel free to post it here.

My husband has designed this idea as his project for his senior capstone class at Montana State University this spring but if we get a good enough response to it, we would like to see it operational. We will not use any names or addesses in this report of feedback for the class project. And we thank you for your time and feedback with this. Have a great day!

John & Valerie

Survey Questions

1. Do you have a Garden?
2. Do you wish that you had more space or time for a garden?
3. Do you wish that you had access to fresh garden vegetables that
you picked?
4. Would you be willing to pay someone to grow & maintain a garden
for you that you had access to when ever you needed produce?
5. Would you be willing to travel to pick fresh produce? How far
would you be willing to travel?
6. Would you pay to have fresh locally grown produced delivered to
your door?
7. What would you be willing to pay to recieve 13 weeks of locally
grown fresh produce?
8. Would you be willing to support a CSA (Community Supported
Agriculture)Farm with time, money, and resources to get a good
price on locally grown produce?
Any other feedback you would like to leave would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions!

[This message has been edited by Valerie Pachl (edited 2/19/2008).]

Bump

A very good friend of mine who is a Horticulturist (sp?) decided to quit his good job here in Denver and move back to KS to start one of these. He figured with his plant background he should be able to help people. He and his parents bought a farm and off he went. Now, a year and a half later, he is tending bar to make money. Not exactly what he was hoping for. Great concept, but I don't see it as profitable.

Just my 2 pennies.

Valerie:

Hang in there and don't let the initial silence discourage you. Yours is a valuable service and I'm thankful that you're thinking of making it available to our community. I hope you'll contact our restaurants and local grocery stores as outlet prospects when the time comes. There are a number of vacant lots with available water in town that could be put to productive use in the form of community gardens.

Let me suggest that you visit Scott Elder at Great Grains Health Foods (9th/Bridge St.) when you come to town and clue him to what you're doing. Also, I'd like to visit with you at City Hall about your efforts.

Survey Questions

1. Do you have a Garden?

I have a large lot in town with a well that would be suitable for what you've described.

2. Do you wish that you had more space or time for a garden?

Lots of space but very little time.

3. Do you wish that you had access to fresh garden vegetables that
you picked?

Yep.

4. Would you be willing to pay someone to grow & maintain a garden
for you that you had access to when ever you needed produce?

I would. I'd pay a premium for fresh, local produce as well as food prepared from fresh local sources served at local restaurants.

5. Would you be willing to travel to pick fresh produce? How far
would you be willing to travel?

Yes, as long as the source was within five miles of Miles City.

6. Would you pay to have fresh locally grown produced delivered to
your door?

Not really. I enjoy shopping at our farmer's market.

7. What would you be willing to pay to recieve 13 weeks of locally
grown fresh produce?

(See number 7.)

8. Would you be willing to support a CSA (Community Supported
Agriculture)Farm with time, money, and resources to get a good
price on locally grown produce?

Sure!

You might contact Tim Hall at Garden City Harvest in Missoula to see if he'd have any advice to offer.

Tim Hall, Community Garden Director
406-550-3663
timofmissoula @ earthlink.net
http://www.gardencityharv...rdens.html

I don't live in MC so my personal preferences aren't relevant, but I have to interject that I never realized how bad supermarket produce was until I started visiting the farmer's markets here in CA. Obviously the climate allows for more variety and a longer season that you would get in MT, but the farmer's markets here are hugely popular, and for good reason. Once you eat a few heirloom tomatoes from the farmer's market, those hard, orange things at the supermarket get a lot harder to stomach.

Anyway I wish you luck, and I hope people realize that the quality of produce that is ripened on the vine and picked the same day it's delivered is not even in the same galaxy as something that was genetically engineered for shipping, not flavor, picked green and shipped to Montana on a truck from California or worse yet Chile or Ecuador or something like that.

I think a lot less people would hate vegetables if they ate fresh, high quality ones and not what you get at the store or worse yet frozen or canned ones. Anyway, if I lived in MC I would be very excited to hear about something like this.

[This message has been edited by Levi Forman (edited 2/20/2008).]

Valeri,

Yes, I would have an interest and would offer you some of our experience with co-op marketing as well as gardening. A friend donated the land for use by My wife, myself and about seven others. The land was arable and located adjacent to irrigation.

It is difficult to find the people who are willing to commit with their backs and hoes. Many told us "what a great idea, we would love to participate". We started with seven members. We ended up tending the garden ourselves. It was way to much garden and way to few people. When my Mother grew ill and we needed an extended trip to Denver to care for her needs, non-active participants told us not to worry "we will tend the garden". We returned to a dead, overgrown garden.

I am still optimistic that it will work and will work here in Custer County. I don't think the people that committed to get involved with this project were ill intentioned. We just didn't get the right people. I agree 100% with the Mayor. Scott Elder @ Great Grains Health Foods would be a great resource. I work for Scott, part time and we bring in fruit and veggies during the season from the Pacific NW. We also purchase some locally grown produce for resale. MC sure makes for some fine tomatoes.

1. Do you have a Garden?

Currently, no, I intend to remedy that.

2. Do you wish that you had more space or time for a garden?

I am working on that as well

3. Do you wish that you had access to fresh garden vegetables that
you picked?

Yep.

4. Would you be willing to pay someone to grow & maintain a garden
for you that you had access to when ever you needed produce?

No, I prefer hands on.

5. Would you be willing to travel to pick fresh produce? How far
would you be willing to travel?

Yes, 10 mile radius

6. Would you pay to have fresh locally grown produced delivered to
your door?

No

7. What would you be willing to pay to receive 13 weeks of locally
grown fresh produce?

This is a difficult question at best. Perhaps a little too nebulous to answer.

8. Would you be willing to support a CSA (Community Supported
Agriculture)Farm with time, money, and resources to get a good
price on locally grown produce?

Yes, through co-op and labor trade.

[This message has been edited by Tucker Bolton (edited 2/21/2008).]

If you will click on my name, you can e-mail me. I will e back to you with Scotts phone number so you can give him a call. He is a little techno shy.

Are you planning on an organic project?

Bump

Survey Questions

1. Do you have a Garden? I have a huge weed patch.

2. Do you wish that you had more space or time for a garden? Space I have too much of. Time, water and tolerance for heat is what I need more of.

3. Do you wish that you had access to fresh garden vegetables that
you picked? Yes.

4. Would you be willing to pay someone to grow & maintain a garden
for you that you had access to when ever you needed produce? If I could afford it, I would but I am poor.

5. Would you be willing to travel to pick fresh produce? How far
would you be willing to travel? I'd go a couple of miles. I used to go a couple of miles to pick raspberries when I lived in Bozeman.

6. Would you pay to have fresh locally grown produced delivered to
your door? Maybe. Depends on the price. See #4.

7. What would you be willing to pay to recieve 13 weeks of locally
grown fresh produce? See number 4. SInce there are just two of us, we don't need tons of veg.

8. Would you be willing to support a CSA (Community Supported
Agriculture)Farm with time, money, and resources to get a good
price on locally grown produce? I'm not sure what you mean. You mean work in your garden? I'd rather work in my own if I had one. Resources? What does that mean? Money? See #4.

Any other feedback you would like to leave would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions!

I love fresh veg. I grow some--although the on-going drought ain't helping--and we shop the Farmers Market regularly but price does come in to it. See #4.

Valerie, I will try again. Are you planning to grow organic?

I am glad to see this back up on the radar again. I feel that we can create community interest, support and awareness. I hear through the grapevine that Farmers Market will not fire up this year until BHS.

Tucker, sorry it has taken me a while to post back.....things have been a little crazy around here. Yes my husband and I are looking into the option of organic. But you must understand to have produce labeled as organic there are many steps you must go through. Right now we are researching all of our options and would look forward to any advice you can offer.

I also want to thank those of you who have taken the time to respond to our little survey we have put on here. We are planning a trip to Miles City the weekend of March 7-9 to look at some property and check some things out. We will also be doing a in person survey throughout town to get peoples feedback so please fell free to stop and say hello if you see us sitting outside a local business. Thanks again for all your support Miles City.

Survey Questions

1. Do you have a Garden?
Yes, most used for flowers and berries, not really right for veggies.

2. Do you wish that you had more space or time for a garden?
Yes and yes.

3. Do you wish that you had access to fresh garden vegetables that
you picked?
Yes.

4. Would you be willing to pay someone to grow & maintain a garden
for you that you had access to when ever you needed produce?
Yes, but depends on the price.

5. Would you be willing to travel to pick fresh produce? How far
would you be willing to travel?
Yes, if it's within a 10-15 mile radius.

6. Would you pay to have fresh locally grown produced delivered to
your door?
See #4.

7. What would you be willing to pay to recieve 13 weeks of locally
grown fresh produce?
#4 again, but I'd be willing to pay up to ~$200.

8. Would you be willing to support a CSA (Community Supported
Agriculture)Farm with time, money, and resources to get a good
price on locally grown produce?
Time is tough, but I could help break ground with a large tiller I own, possibly lending it for use.

Tucker: I am curious what you mean by "organic". Pesticide free I can understand. On the other hand phosphorus is phosphorus regardless if it comes from manure or 10-34-0. What do you mean by organic?

valerie:
Just a thought on growing it organic. I have been a organic grower and we produce sweet corn and watermelon for the miles city farmers market. Most of the people we sold to dont care if its organic or not,(many didnt even know what organic ment), they just want good fresh from the garden stuff at a reasonable price.

Richard: Organic, pesticide free, all natural, grass fed, They are all confusing goverment labels. My neiboring feedlots are all natural beef, but are fed roundup ready corn ,And stuffed in a feedlot. Dont sound all natural to me?

The time of CSA's are coming, but we in Miles City need some education. Many of us live in this small town because we want to have time to raise families and do things like garden, so having someone garden for us is something of a luxury. I would sincerely recommend finding a location with irrigation rather than using chlorinated city water although many raise amazing gardens using it.

If the city is interested in letting you use abandoned lots and plots - WOW! We have a kids day program that goes year-round called ROCKS and you might consider getting them involved if you need more labor. Also our FFA club has a greenhouse as part of the votech program at the highschool and there may be opportunities there if you need space or seedlings.

I work at a local church and we have been reading in denominational magazines about "going green" and how throughout the US church members have subscriptions to CSA gardens and the produce is delivered to the churches weekly for pickup rather than "door-to-door" saving gas costs along with recipes they can use if they have "unusual" produce. If you are interested in going through some of our church communities or at least using them as a one of your contact points, I would be interested in talking to you or having you come and present at a lunch or special meeting. Please contact me by clicking on my name and remind me why I asked you to contact me. It sounds very exciting.

oh and WELCOME to MILESCITY!

Sincerely, Christina Ostendorf

What a great idea Christina! Brings the idea of community back into the community!

I hope this is something that will be considered.

Some of the local wells have their problems with high saline. Often, what works best is using both city and well water. I know if I used just my well, my sidewalks would be bright orange and my lawn would be brown. Very nice in the fall, mind you, but not what I really want.

Just a heads up to everyone....we are coming to town this weekend to look at a plot of 20 acres! I am so excited to be looking at land back in my hometown. I appreciate all of your responses to our questions, they have been so beneficial to us with our planning stages. And we look forward to meeting many of you in the future. Please keep us posted if you have any more questions or ideas! Oh and the land we are looking at this weekend is irrigated!

Valerie & John

Got the chance to visit with John today, pleasant young man! I like this idea that you folks have proposed and I like that you're taking to the time to visit with people face to face.

I wish you well! Stay in touch with folks on this thread, you'll find a lot of help and support here in town, just need to let us know.

Tony