OUR HISTORY

Pitcher Mountain CSA is part of a growing community-supported agriculture (CSA) movement brought to the US in the 1980s from Japan through Europe. It is a way to help promote sustainable community based agriculture by supporting local farmers. Shareholders pay up front for a share of what the farmer grows over the season, thereby helping to ensure the farmer a fair wage and spreading the risks and benefits of the farm over a community of shareholders.

In the Fall of 1999, Gael Minton of Stoddard had a vision of starting a community run vegetable farm in town. She presented her ideas to a group of local folks, and in the spring the group broke ground at Pitcher Mountain Farm. In its first season, PMCSA included a part-time farmer, 10 shareholders, and lots of volunteers!

Meanwhile, Tim Wichland, a local Keene High School graduate fresh out of college, was finishing a summer internship at Stonewall Farm in Keene. He had met Gael at the Beginner Farmer’s meeting and the rest is history! Using Core group meetings, grant writing, office work and garden planning, we figured how this second year would go. It was a smashing success! In 2006 after seven years enhancing the soil and increasing our shareholders to 120 families, Farmer Tim moved on, making way for our next farmer, Marilyn Chamberlain, of Stoddard. Marilyn worked for the 2007 season and then returned to her own garden business.

Ryan Karb tilled our land during the very productive 2008 season and the more challenging, rainy 2009 season. He streamlined the method of pick-up for shareholders. We now use bulk tubs from which the shareholders directly choose their vegetables.  Everyone enjoys this aspect of the CSA.

This year, PMCSA is delighted to welcome Farmer Catherine Condella!  Catherine has several years experience on CSA's in New England.  She is very excited to join us on the mountain and looks forward to working in our new greenhouse.  We anticipate a season's bounty of market sized, organically grown, delicious vegatables, flowers and herbs, plus a few fun, exotic teasers like endamame and kohlrabi!

Pitcher Mountain CSA is a small farm situated on about one and a half acres of land leased from and surrounded by the Pitcher Mountain Farm that raises beef cattle. It is beautiful agricultural conservation land near the highpoint of Route 123 in Stoddard. Early on, many raised beds were created to help drain the heavy, rich soil. Since it’s inception, the CSA land has been treated organically with only compost, natural soil amendments and natural pesticides.

STRUCTURE

Pitcher Mountain CSA is somewhat unique among CSAs.  Most are organized by a farmer who owns his land. Ours is administered by a “Core” group of shareholder volunteers who seek out a farmer as necessary to work the land.  Some of the members of the Core group have been with the PMCSA since its inception; others join for a few years based on their schedules and interests.

Membership in the Core group is open to any shareholder who would like to help improve or to oversee the business of the farm by doing fund raising, liaison work, securing a new farmer when necessary, planning events of community interest and for community visibility, coordinating workers or interns and bringing in fresh ideas. The farmer, together with the Core group, draws up a yearly budget that will cover the farm’s and shareholders’ needs.

THE WEBSITE

In 2005, we acquired a website domain through the generosity of a shareholder. Another volunteer shareholder now maintains it.

THE SURROUNDING AREA

Pitcher Mountain Farm, with buildings on both sides of the road and a picturesquely framed red farmhouse, raises natural, grass-fed Scotch Highland Cattle on 200 acres. It sells various cuts of natural beef in small portions. Eggs and chicken are also available. CSA shareholders, as well as the general public, are welcome to contact the cattle farm to purchase any of these items. (Farmer Dave Weaver: 446-3350). This farm is totally separate from the CSA.

The cattle farm and PMCSA are part of Andorra Forest which encompasses 10,000 acres of conserved land. Much of it is open to the public for hiking, birding and wild blueberry picking in late July and August. These are all situated on a most beautiful and scenic location at the high point of Stoddard. Hikers up to the Fire Tower on the top of Pitcher Mountain at 2,200’ can get a 360 degree view on a clear day north to Mt. Washington, northwest to Sunapee and west to ski areas in Vermont, including Killington, the backside of Ascutney, Okemo, Stratton and Mt. Snow. To the southeast, recognized by its well-defined ridge, rises Mount Monadnock at 3,265’, arguably the most climbed mountain in the world!