Dividends Keep Growing for Farmer Steve's CSA Shareholders

We circle back this week from grape growers’ vineyards to farmers’ fields. I’ve discovered another Ramona farmer offering a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. That’s the program where the farm sells shares in its crop for a fee. In return for the fee, the “shareholder” gets a box of fresh, organically grown produce each week or twice a month, depending on the particular program.

“Farmer Steve Inc.” is the business name for Steve White, a Ramona resident who grows avocados, citrus and deciduous fruit on 20 to 25 acres here.

White’s clients receive produce from his farm and associated farms in Bonsall and Vista. They may also get eggs, either cage-free or not.

The average price is $45 dollars for a bi-weekly delivery of a box of fruit, vegetables and eggs, White said. For lesser amounts, customers can get boxes of individual items.

White’s commitment to offering people locally grown produce is clear when he says he gives his customers “whatever’s in season.”

But he quickly adds: “If the quality of a particular item has been affected by the weather or other conditions, we’ll change it. We have a lot of flexibility to our program. We’re small enough that we can do that.”

Farmer Steve delivers directly to some customers. Other pick up their boxes at designated drop-off  locations.

“We let the customers design their orders,” White said, adding that getting quality local produce requires an equal commitment from his customers. “A lot of people don’t know how to keep and prepare a lot of produce.” 

In this he was echoing a complaint I’ve heard before from farmers running CSA operations, who get phone calls from customers of the “What can I do with this?” variety.

White, who has been an avocado grower for decades, expressed amazement at people who tell him they’re wary of avocados because they have cholesterol.

“But they’re not an animal, they’re a plant,” he said. “They don’t have cholesterol. They’ve got good fat.”

White said he and his wife offer recipes and other advice to clients to educate them. The Farmer Steve website is currently being revamped, but people interested in the CSA program can call 760-751-0805 or email fruitfamily@dishmail.net.

White’s sense of equal commitment on both sides of this business is also reflected in the fact that he takes payment on delivery rather than in advance.

“If you sign people up for six months, they’re not happy,” he said. “And if they’re not happy, you’re not happy.”

The variety of farm products White can offer reflects the various farm operations with whom he has what he calls “informal agreements.” These agreements are the product of his years spent working in agriculture in the county.

White, now in his 60s, still does some farm work himself, although he also has employees.

“I’m putting my brain to work more than my back,” said White, who has a degree in agronomy from Cal Poly.  “I grew up in Escondido, tended citrus groves there. I thought of going into forestry, but with my type-A personality, I wasn’t suited for government work.”

He planted and tended orchards in Valley Center and Highland Valley, among other places. He also got into the packing business, he said.

White became a managing partner in a farming business that at one point was working nine farmers markets. But he tired of that pace, wanting to spend more time with his family, and voluntarily downsized.

He said his CSA has been largely “word of mouth,” although he has taken out some ads in local newspapers.

“The key to farming is to control your marketing,” White said. “Being a grower is like being a link in a chain, and the farmer is just one link.”