A Choose-Your-Own CSA?

For many years, Hannah and I have relied heavily on the CSA model to get our season started. And we’ve received absolutely incredible support for it––support that has built our farm and made us many dear friends over the years. We would not still be here without it. 

But the CSA has always been limiting for the customer. Albeit with unrelenting enthusiasm and rarely a complaint, you who have supported us have still received your  produce exclusively at the mercy of the farm, the season, and our schedule. You’ve been amazingly supportive in the face of that, but we have come up with something a little different––something that supports our family farm while also offering those who believe in us a lot more flexibility. 

We’re calling it a market card, but it’s really a choose-your-own CSA in disguise.  

The idea here is that you buy the card upfront––which gets us growing in these leaner times (like we are honestly in right now) ––and in return we give you some extra veggie money ($5 for every $100 card or $10 for every $200 card). You can pick up at the Lexington Farmers market on Saturday or Sunday or at the farm (on select days). 

-Cardholders will get a text message every week with what we have. 

-Cardholders can reserve items at market so they don’t sell out (looking at you, strawberry and summer lettuce fans!) 

-Cardholders are not obliged to use any specific amount every week (though we will ask you to please let us know if you’re in the market for bulk items). 

Truth be told, without the classic CSA we’ve offered for the past 8 years, January has been very tight for us and we hope that you will see enough value in this idea to snag a card and help support your farmers!

It’s admittedly a bit experimental for us, but it’s an experiment in which we would love if you would join us! We’re limiting the number of cards for the season as we trial this new approach, so if you are interested please let us know or snag your card ASAP! You can purchase them online HERE in our store.

Thank you as always. 

Your farmily, 

Jesse + Hannah + Further + Ellis 

photos by Cassie Lopez

THE 2019 CSA!

Hi everyone! 

We are now taking CSA sign-ups for our Spring/Summer share—delivered straight to your door—for the NEXT TWO WEEKS. We will close the sign-ups on January 15th and only open them back up if we have to. 

We sold out last year by April and had a waiting list, so please sign up as early as you can secure a spot!  

The CSA will run for about ten weeks starting in either late April or early May (depending on weather). 

The CSA cost is $250 for a 10 week share.

How it works: We are a certified organic family vegetable farm and our CSA includes a fresh mix of vegetables—everything from tomatoes to lettuce, carrots, and garlic—delivered straight to your door every week for ten weeks. Please don’t hesitate to email us at roughdraftfarmstead@gmail.com with any questions you have! 

We deliver to Lawrenceburg and Versailles. IF YOU ARE NOT WITHIN THE 8 DRIVING MILES OF THE CITY CENTER OF LAWRENCEBURG or VERSAILLES WE CANNOT DELIVER TO YOUR HOUSE but please contact us as we may be able to work something out. We can drop off at a work place in that area and also take a few pick-ups here on the farm. 

We have ONE share that we are reserving to trade for someone helping us with deliveries (using our vehicle, of course). You would need to be available in the afternoons. Please contact us for details if interested in a work-trade!

Sign up online HERE!

Thank you and we’re looking forward to a great, healthy 2019! 

-Jesse, Hannah, Further, and Ellis.

FARM TOUR: AUGUST EDITION.

Wendell in August.

Trying to take an honest and simple farm tour video every couple months so you can see how the farm is progressing (or sometimes regressing). Watch it HERE. Anyhow, hope you enjoy! Like Wendell..

-Farmer Jesse     

“CAN I HELP YOU, PAPA?”

Further on compost.

There is nothing I want more for my child than to grow up around food, in the garden, outside, alongside us. But when trying to run a farm business, that dream gets complicated.Like any business, though this is especially true of farming, the success and longevity of our operation hinges on efficiency. It hinges, for us, on being able to spend as little time on our knees, or bent over, or out in the sun as possible while still accomplishing what we need. But then, in the middle of the workday, your son wants to help you and you know two things: 1) this is exactly what you had dreamed of when you started farming, and 2) it’s going to make the workday that much longer, slower, harder.Do I hate having that second thought? Of course I do. But this is the bizarre reality of farm life—your family and business are always occupying the same space even when their needs conflict. Whatever you do for work, just imagine trying to do it with an ever-present 3.5 year old.However, I have decided as of late to ignore that second point about my workday and just say yes, “Of course, baby boy, you can help your papa.”And you know what? Not only has he been helpful, but I’ve realized how little he actually slows me down. For a minute, maybe, but then he does his little bit of work and goes back to playing by himself. Or he continues to help me—handing me soil blocks, or grabbing a tool I need from the shed—genuinely making what I do easier. Part of this is his age and maturity. He’s grown up a lot this year.The other part of it is my age and maturity. I, too, have grown.I have always been a very serious employee. I have always dedicated myself to work in a way that is myopic, even unhealthy. This is the kitchen culture in which I learned to work and it is only work culture I know. So it so no surprise then that I would copy/paste this approach onto my own business—that I would struggle to integrate someone I love into something I actively make impersonal, prosaic, and painfully serious.But when I really step back and think about what I got into this farming thing for in the first place, I realize something jarring and profound: I never started farming to start a business. I never wanted to be an entrepreneur. What I wanted was a family farm that fed a community, and a diverse, healthy life for my children. So when I don’t let them help me when they ask, all I have is what I never wanted.Luckily, I have come to find that all it takes to circumvent that fate is a few simple words.“Yeah, baby boy, let’s plant.” And together, we grow.

-Farmer Jesse