CSA Network UK - Community Supported Agriculture

09/10/2025

🌱 Launch or Grow Your CSA Farm 🌿

Our intensive two-day course equips you to turn your passion for growing food into a thriving, community-rooted business.

Join Ed Hamer of Chagfood CSA - with over 13 years of hands-on experience - for a practical and inspiring weekend designed to give you the skills, knowledge and confidence to start or strengthen your own Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) project.

📍 Tomnah’a Market Garden, Comrie, Scotland
📅 November 1st & 2nd
💷 £180-£200 (limited bursary places available)

✨ What you’ll gain:
🌾 Real-world insights from a leading CSA farmer
📋 Step-by-step guidance on building a sustainable, community-focused farm
🤝 A supportive space to share ideas and challenges
🚜 First-hand experience on a working CSA

💡 Who it’s for:

Aspiring growers exploring the CSA model

Community groups launching new CSAs

Existing farms ready to expand or diversify

🌍 Why CSA?
The CSA model builds strong community ties, ensures fair returns for farmers and creates lasting local food systems.

🍅 From identifying demand and planning your first season to growing membership, marketing, and diversifying, this weekend will equip you to cultivate a truly resilient future.

🎟️ Book your place at https://communitysupportedagriculture.org.uk/setting-up-scaling-up-a-csa/
CSA Network UK members: look out for your discounted link.

Photo of Tomnah'a Market Garden by Andy Buchanan

08/10/2025

🌿 Join Us for Our AGM!

🗓 Tuesday 14th October | ⏰ 3-5pm | 💻 Online

It’s that time again! Our Annual General Meeting is coming up, and we’d love you to be part of it!

This is your chance to help shape the CSA Network’s work for the year ahead, connect with fellow members, share ideas and celebrate what we’ve achieved together.

We’re especially excited to hear from Ben Raskin, who’ll share fresh insights from his research on part-time farming, exploring how it can support farmers, strengthen local food systems and open up new ways to connect with the land 🌳

If you're a member, grab the calendar invite with the zoom link: https://calendar.app.google/KMQTAwR9fhSmKAdf9

07/10/2025

🌿 Webinar happening tonight 🌿

Join the Agroecology Research Collaboration this evening (Tues 7th Oct) for a session on ADOPT (Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies), a fund within the UK’s Farming Innovation Programme that supports farmer-led, on-farm research and trials.

We’ll be joined by Tom Slattery, Farming Innovation Support Manager at the UK Agri-Tech Centre, who will explain how the fund works, what support is available, and how to apply.

If you’re a farmer, grower, or forester in England interested in testing new or existing agroecological practices, this is a great opportunity to learn more.

🕖 Tonight – don’t miss it!
🔗 Sign up here:

ADOPT - Agroecology Research Collaboration Webinar – Zoom, Tue 7 Oct 2025 - The Agroecology Research Collaboration warmly invites you to this webinar about ADOPT. ADOPT (

01/10/2025

We're hiring a development worker in Wales!

Thanks to funding from The Ashley Family Foundation, the CSA Network UK is looking for a new Wales-based, part-time team member to support Community Supported Agriculture development in Wales.

Hours: 8 hours per week for two years (funding secured)
Salary: £31,858 pa (pro rata)
Location: Home-based within Wales

The deadline for applications is midnight on Sunday 19th October so be quick: https://communitysupportedagriculture.org.uk/work-with-us/

We imagine this role might be taken by an existing CSA farmer with the relevant skills who is looking for a small amount of work outside their farm.

25/09/2025

"I took on a bare field site in Somerset just about two and a half years ago now.

So, we've kind of gone from nothing into something that I'm really proud is now feeding our community and working with lots of local families, local food banks and supplying some local wholesale as well."

Cam grew Offgrid Organics, a 5-acre, organic certified market garden and CSA, from a bare field to a thriving CSA that is feeding the farm's local community in Somerset.

One of the stepping stones was taking our online starter course, Grow Your Own CSA, which starts on Tuesday 30th September.

Cam says:

"Tom's Grow Your Own CSA course was fantastic. I learned heaps and heaps. Every week there was a different guest speaker. Each one of them brought so much knowledge to the table.

How open everyone was to sharing financial data, crop planning data, varieties like all the kind of details that are really important and really key was beyond helpful as an entry grower."

18/09/2025

Grow Your Own CSA, our 12-week online training programme with Tom O'Kane of Cae Tân CSA starts in less than two weeks!

Please SHARE so as many people as possible can benefit from this headstart into Community Supported Agriculture.

And if you're thinking about joining us, now is the time to book your place at https://communitysupportedagriculture.org.uk/gyocsa/

The course covers everything you need to know to get started in CSA from business planning and finance to crop planning, tools and equipment to funding, working with volunteers to navigating planning permission - and more!

Tom O'Kane is a well-known and respected name in agroecology. In this popular course, he also brings in guest speakers to share their expertise.

CSA is about so much more than selling directly to a hyperlocal market. It's about working with your local community in a way that is *genuinely* mutually beneficial - supporting both the growers and the people who eat the food they grow

05/09/2025

Just over one week to go! Come join us at the Scotland CSA Gathering on Saturday 13th September.

Open to all farmers, growers and community organisers running a CSA or interested in running a CSA.

More information and tickets: https://communitysupportedagriculture.org.uk/regional-csa-gatherings-2025/

Please SHARE with anyone you think might benefit from this event!

03/09/2025

Five reasons to consider adding flowers to your Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) scheme:

1. The hunger gap
The flower "hunger" gap differs from the veg hunger gap - so flowers can help top up your income when there's not much veg in the field or in storage

2. Shared risk & reward
You can pick what's there for customers (members) who understand that sometimes there might be a huge offering and sometimes a smaller handful

3. Reduce waste
If you grow flowers for other sales avenues, running a CSA can make use of the flowers that aren't going to be used for gifts or weddings

4. CSA members understand
Marketing your flowers to your CSA members as add-ons for veg boxes makes sense because they already value sustainability and locally grown

5. Local & organic matter
If we recognize that we urgently need to care for the earth in growing food - a bare essential - then the case is even stronger for the way we grow & sell ornamentals

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Our Scotland CSA Gathering includes a workshop on "Adding flowers to your CSA" led by Hannah Lamb of Yorkshire Edible Flowers.

Hannah will be sharing from her extensive knowledge of growing and selling flowers in the context of CSA. Dvdn as a standalone this would be a hugely valuable session!

If you're a grower or community organiser in Scotland, running or interested to running a CSA, come join us!

📅 Saturday 13th September

📍Lauriston Farm, Edinburgh

🎟️ £40-50

For more information and to book your place: https://communitysupportedagriculture.org.uk/regional-csa-gatherings-2025/

28/08/2025

Last week we had the privilege of joining in with The Organic Growers Gathering as both sponsors and participants.

We offered sessions on different models for community supported agriculture, community engagement and growing and selling flowers for CSAs.

We also learned lots about making agroecological growing work through sessions and conversations.

It's always valuable spending time with others with shared passion and mission.

🥬 In that vein, if you're running a CSA and you're in Scotland or Wales, come along to one of our in-person September gatherings: https://communitysupportedagriculture.org.uk/regional-csa-gatherings-2025/

🍎 And if you're ready to start your CSA journey, our bestseller online course Grow Your Own CSA with Tom O'Kane and other highly experienced CSA growers starts on Sept 30th and is now open for booking: https://communitysupportedagriculture.org.uk/gyocsa/

🌽 We're also running a two-day, in-person course led by Ed Hamer on Setting Up and Scaling Up your CSA on Nov 1st and 2nd at
in Comrie, Scotland: https://communitysupportedagriculture.org.uk/setting-up-scaling-up-a-csa/

Links for all are in our bio

Thanks especially to Hannah or , Gareth of and Ed of for sharing your expertise and wisdom at our sessions

🍎 And if you're ready to start your CSA journey, our bestseller online course Grow Your Own CSA with Tom O'Kane and other highly experienced CSA growers starts on Sept 30th and is now open for booking.

🌽 We're also running a two-day, in-person course led by Ed Hamer on Setting Up and Scaling Up your CSA on Nov 1st and 2nd at Tomnah'a Market Garden
in Comrie, Scotland

Links for all are in our bio

Thanks especially to Hannah of Yorkshire Edible Flowers, Gareth of Canalside Community Food CSA and Ed of Chagfood for sharing your expertise and wisdom at our sessions

26/08/2025

🌱 CSA Gatherings in Scotland & Wales this September 🌱

This September, CSA farmers and landworkers will be coming together in Scotland and Wales for two gatherings.

These days are about more than workshops or farm tours. They’re a chance to:
✨ Share experiences and ideas
✨ Learn from one another
✨ Collaborate and support each other
✨ Reconnect with why we do this work

With the increasing risks facing our food systems, the role of community-supported farming has never been more vital. These gatherings are about strengthening the networks that help us keep going 🌾

What’s included:
🚜 CSA farm tour
🛠️ CSA workshops
🤝 Networking and discussion
🥗 Shared food (lunch & evening meal)

📍 Scotland Gathering
Lauriston Farm, Edinburgh
📅 Saturday 13th September
💷 £40–50

📍 Wales Gathering
Ash & Elm, Llanidloes
📅 Saturday 27th September
💷 £40–50
✨ In collaboration with CSA Network, Social Farms & Gardens, Organic Growers Alliance & Landworkers Alliance

Let’s gather, share, and build resilience together. All are welcome 💚

More info and tickets: https://communitysupportedagriculture.org.uk/regional-csa-gatherings-2025/

26/08/2025

🚜🌱 Join us and our friends from the (SAP) – a network of over 3,000 farmers and crofters – in demanding a meaningful just transition for farming in Scotland 👇

📅 Wednesday 3 September
📌 Outside The Scottish Parliament
⏲️ 12–2pm
📢https://www.tickettailor.com/events/thescottishagroecologypartnership/1774961

The Scottish Government promised a just transition for farming – but their current rural support plans don’t deliver justice or meaningful backing for sustainable food and farming. Too much of the agriculture budget risks flowing to large-scale landowners and agribusiness, while agroecological farmers, crofters, and local food producers struggle.

We believe Scotland’s food system should prioritise stronger local food supply chains that connect farmers and communities directly.

This is about building a food system that works for farmers, crofters, communities, and the environment – with fairness and resilience at its heart.

Find out more about our policy asks and join us on 3 September: https://www.agroecology.scot/news/join-sap-outside-scot-parl/


Nourish Propagate Pasture for Life Landworkers' Alliance Nature Friendly Farming Network Food, Farming and Countryside Commission Scottish Crofting Federation Scottish National Rural Network NatureScot CSA Network UK - Community Supported Agriculture Agricology

19/08/2025

We hope you can join us next month. Grab your spot now and SHARE with others in Scotland & Wales; https://communitysupportedagriculture.org.uk/regional-csa-gatherings-2025/

Scottish gathering: Saturday 13th September at Lauriston Farm in Edinburgh

Welsh gathering: Saturday 27th September at Ash and Elm in Llanidloes

The Welsh gathering is a collaboration with Landworkers' Alliance Organic Growers Alliance Social Farms & Gardens - Ffermydd a Gerddi Cymdeithasol