CSA and Farm Update

Dear Members of the Weir River Farm Community, CSA Shareholders, and Trustees members;

By way of introduction, my name is Leslie Cox and I am the Trustees’ Farm Director; For the last several years, I have had the pleasure of working with Rory and other Weir River Farm staff to shape and grow a CSA operation that serves the community and evokes the spirit and legacy of this spectacular property. We are deeply grateful to Rory for the vision, energy, and community spirit that she built at the Weir River Farm CSA over the past several years, and through this time of transition, we will carry her learnings and experience forward with us as we map out our next steps.

With Rory’s departure, we have been exploring CSA and farm production options for this coming summer that we can offer, in light of  the farm staff transition and the limited land base of Weir River Farm, which we have pushed to its limits in recent years. Rory’s learnings about the farm’s productivity and capacity are informing our thinking about our next operation – we are building one that fits the capacity of the land and the farm staff while still providing our community with healthy vegetables, beautiful flowers and unique experiences at one of Massachusetts most special farms.

Though we are in the midst of a transition and have a more limited offering for this season, we are pleased to be able to offer a limited number of CSA shares for the 2016 season. These 50 CSA shares will largely be sourced from the Trustees’ Chestnut Hill Farm, though we will supplement the offering with Weir River Farm produce as our growing gets underway this season.  Shares will go on sale very soon and, to honor our long-term shareholder community, will be offered first to our multi-year CSA shareholders before being opened to all past shareholders on a first come-first serve basis.

In addition to offering the CSA shares, we are exploring other opportunities to ramp up production and share the bounty, including u-pick veggies, flowers, and pumpkins, plant and seedling sales out of our new greenhouse, expanded meat sales, and a weekly retail farmstand.  Logistics on these options are currently being worked out and we will share more information on them as the details are confirmed.

In the meantime, we appreciate your patience and your shared commitment to a sustainable, vibrant future for our Weir River Farm operations. Though this transition period is difficult, we are optimistic that, with your help and support, we will continue to evolve the farm operation into an even more sustainable, vibrant, and engaging place that supports the property’s agricultural history and feeds its rich and bountiful future.

If you have questions about the farm options for this season, please contact me at lcox@thetrustees.org or reach out to Weir River Farm’s General Manager, Fran Blanchard at fblanchard@tthetrustees.org.

Warm Regards,
Leslie Cox, Farm Manager