Our CSA member management service, the Member Assembler [1], was a success in it's first season with over 5,000 CSA members signed up. From farms with well over 1,000 members to farms with 25 members, the system eased data entry, collected payments, and is now serving as a repository for membership information as the season progresses.

It is fun to watch the automated "pickup reminders" go out each night to CSA members that are receiving a CSA box the next day. I can imagine a great box of veggies and fruit behind each one of those emails. Quite exciting.

If you are running a CSA in 2010, consider using our system for online member sign-up, balance tracking, credit card integration (or old fashioned checks; your choice), member management, pick-up reminders, and more.

We are planning a lot of improvements for later this season and next season:

• Survey/questionnaire integration for end-of-season surveys and next season we'd like to have a way for members to give feedback on a weekly basis like Village Acres Farm does it now [2].
• PayPal integration to complement/replace Google Checkout.
• Improved interface for easier interaction with membership information.
• And much more based on the feedback from our subscribers.

Google Checkout Problems

The biggest hiccup for the Member Assembler this Spring was related to Google Checkout. Google apparently does not understand or appreciate the collective risk of the CSA system and, for a couple of farms, was holding back 10% of gross sales to cover any charge-backs.

Despite reasonable explanation from Small Farm Central, our farms, and numerous emails from CSA customers, Google could not be budged. If we cannot get a guarantee that this will not happen for 2010, we will remove Google Checkout as an option in the Member Assembler and move to use PayPal as the credit card processor.

We Love CSAs

We love the CSA concept -- I've helped start and manage a CSA farm, been a member of a number of CSA programs, and seen the logistical issues of complex CSA programs in my experience delivering CSA boxes for Penns Corner Farm Alliance which collects products from 25 farms in the Pittsburgh area, packs CSA boxes, and then delivers them across the city.

Keep up the hard work this year - I know the CSA delivery season has just started for most of you. Another 20 weeks, give or take, left! We'll keep working for you to make sure the Member Assembler [3] continues to improve and can become an even more useful tool for your CSA.