Curtis Millsap grew up in Springfield. He wasn't raised on a farm, but was a regular at his grandparents dairy farm. In college, he didn't study to be a full time farmer, but he knew that he had a deep passion for the outdoors and a sincere love of the land. Never did he realize that this interest would lead him to what he's doing today.
Curtis met his wife Sarah while working at a YMCA camp in Colorado. After they were married they worked on a camp ground in New Mexico that had camps during the summer and a charter school/foster home during the school year. "We loved working with the kids and being in the country. Part of the curriculum in the school included outdoor activities. This really reiterated our desire to want to be in the country," Curtis said.
Curtis started reading books about sustainable agriculture and 'how to be a farmer.' He was intrigued by the idea of producing food from the land. Once he and Sarah had adopted a son from the foster home in New Mexico they decided Springfield, Mo., was a much better place to raise a family.
"We moved back to the city and quickly realized that we were only going to be happy on a piece of land in the country," Curtis said. The family bought a farm house and lived in it for four years. "That's where our three girls were born," added Curtis. There, they raised chickens and pigs and started selling the eggs from their front yard. "We had more demand than we did eggs," he said, "and we soon realized there was a huge market for home grown food."
The current farm Curtis and his family live on is about five miles north of Springfield, Mo. The man who owned it before had a nursery for 30 years and had already established the entire infrastructure that Curtis and Sarah desired for their new partnership with community supported agriculture.
Community supported agriculture (or CSA) is a program where members of the community buy shares in a produce farm and in return receive 25 weeks of fresh produce. According to a CSA website, "Community supported agriculture reflects an innovative and resourceful strategy to connect local farmers with local consumers; develop a regional food supply and strong local economy; maintain a sense of community; encourage land stewardship; and honor the knowledge and experience of growers and producers working with small to medium farms."
Curtis and Sarah sold around 30 shares last year for this summer's 25 weeks of production. The members who buy the shares are also required to work eight hours on the farm during the growing season. They come to the farm once a week to pick up a basket of fresh vegetables from the garden. There are usually about 12 different varieties of vegetables in the basket each week.
"Our clientele tends to be a lot of city people," said Curtis, "It develops a great sense of community, and the customers really love knowing where there food comes from."
Next year the Millsap's will sell 50 shares. They also sell produce at the local farmer's market. The shares were sold at $450 last year, but will probably go up a bit for next summer. "We also do a 25 week winter storage crops share. We give canned beans, squash, etc. and some cool season veggies like carrots and greens," Curtis added.
He concluded with, "We're selling vegetables, but we're also selling an opportunity to be a part of sustainable agriculture and to know exactly where your fresh produce is coming from."
