CSA Policy Letter The Farmer/Member Agreement – SPRING TO FALL 2018
The stuff the lawyers make us put in writing, you read, and then, acknowledge.
These are the guidelines that keep our CSA running smoothly, and you will be responsible for knowing them.
The Philosophy of CSA – Community supported agriculture is a relationship one step above a simple convenience, a give and take, of produce for cash. It is based on mutual respect between the customers and the farmers. Under the CSA model, subscribers pay in advance for the food they will receive, reflecting the risk that the farm takes to plant, tend, and harvest crops.
Payments: We use a web-based software program called Harvie to help manage the financial interactions between our customers and our farm. With it, Fisher Family Farm & Ranch subscribers have online access to their own accounts, with the exceptions of changing email addresses or requesting vacations. We accept payment via credit card, check or electronic check.
Minimum payments – To join Fisher Family Farm & Ranch’s CSA, or for your first online payment, we ask for an initial payment of at least 25% of your CSA commitment. After that, the system invoices you according to your next due payment.
Communication: By agreeing to join our CSA, you are also agreeing to open and read email communications or newsletters from us including:
Payment due emails: All billing issues regarding your account will be emailed to you, including start ups and notice of suspension of service.
Other: You may also receive specific emails announcing important changes to our service. Especially important are emergency site moves. Please read our emails as soon as you see them. Please add to your address book to protect our communications from spam filters.
Since we count on the emails for communication, if you fail to read an email related to delivery changes or delays, and then respond, we are not at fault for a missed or changed delivery. You will not be credited for a loss of delivery in this instance.
We encourage subscribers to give us feedback about box quality and contents by emailing us at csa@fisherfarmandranch.com. It’s very important that you include your full name, and your email address login which you used to create your online account, on all correspondence. For quality issues please include when you picked up your box and how you’re storing the produce.
The pickup site list is our way of communicating to you whether a box was delivered for you, and what size, which is also emailed to you each week. We do not go back and pickup the site lists later, so please do not leave any checks or correspondence at the pickup site.
Start me up: Follow the JOIN OUR CSA Link to enroll. A confirmation of your account will be automatically emailed to you.
Vacations: If you can’t pick up your box on a given week, why not tell a friend to pick up your box while you’re gone. If you’re going on a longer vacation, please email us 7 days in advance and we will hold your service and credit the missed deliveries. If we don't get a full 7 day notice, you will not be credited for the period you missed.
Suspension of service: Your box will not be delivered if you do not have money in your account to cover the price of the box. If we don’t receive a timely payment from you, you will receive an email letting you know that your service has been suspended. If you make a payment after this time, you need to wait for email notification of your next delivery. Restarting your box delivery often takes seven days, as the lists are made in advance, so don’t expect a box that week unless you get an email saying it will be there. If you do not get a box, there will be no charge for delivery that week.
Cancellation: To cancel your Fisher Family Farm & Ranch subscription, email the office at csa@fisherfarmandranch.com. You can cancel at anytime, but there are no refunds. You are welcome to transfer the remaining shares to a friend. They will need to be able to pick up at the normal location. Alternatively, we are still fans of North Texas Food Bank and can donate the remaining shares to them in your name.
Credit: If you believe you deserve a credit for poor quality, damaged, or otherwise un-useable produce, please contact the office at csa@fisherfarmandranch.com. We are happy to replace bad produce and apologize for the inconvenience. Please be sure to include what day/time you picked up the produce, and how it was stored.
Crop Failure/Quality: We deal in a nature rules business and there are crop failures and there are crops that suffer the whims of nature. Everything we put in the box is inspected before it is delivered. However, heat, cold, rain and wind, both before and after harvest often affect the quality of produce. We do our level best at all times to ensure the best quality, but we cannot control nature. If there is a particular crop failure, your box will reflect it via extra quantity of something that is producing better. If something such as summer squash has gotten too much rain, we will no longer include it in the boxes, rather substitute something of better quality. However, we cannot always control these matters and some quality issues will arise. Please be patient and ;et us know when this happens.
Pickup Location Etiquette: Fisher Family Farm & Ranch relies heavily our own private drop sites, and we ask everyone to follow the following rules:
Please observe the pick-up times carefully. Doors may be locked or hosts gone to bed during other times. We do not coordinate or recommend after hours pickups.
Don’t take a box if one doesn’t have your name on it. All boxes are labeled; if there isn’t one there for you, there’s probably a reason. If you have someone pickup for you, do not forget to inform them of this policy.
Please do not look through other people’s boxes.
Return your boxes for recycling. We use the boxes multiple times so as not to abuse the environment. There is a fee of $2.25 for boxes not returned.
Late pick-ups are not eligible for credits, due to natural deterioration of fresh produce. Lots of things can happen to boxes after hours, we can’t credit for any of them.
If for some reason, we cannot deliver, you will not be charged for anything. Your account will only be charged for weeks we deliver.
Other Holiday Changes: The newsletter will have the schedule changes, which can also be found posted here Newsletter Archives.
New Subscribers — We strongly urge you to read the FAQ section of our website. There are many common questions answered there, and it’s always good to know things in advance!
Important Information about delivery dates. Things happen on the farm, like weather, kids and work. Some of our delivery dates and routes will need to be changed from time to time because of this. It could be not enough people have signed up for a particular day of the week and we need to shift it to a day that has more deliveries to both save fuel and time for work on the farm. We will let you know when we need to change, but by signing up, you are agreeing to allow change as needed. We will always notify you in advance if we need to change it though, so do please keep an eye on your email.
The stuff the lawyers make us put in writing, you read, and then, acknowledge.
These are the guidelines that keep our CSA running smoothly, and you will be responsible for knowing them.
The Philosophy of CSA – Community supported agriculture is a relationship one step above a simple convenience, a give and take, of produce for cash. It is based on mutual respect between the customers and the farmers. Under the CSA model, subscribers pay in advance for the food they will receive, reflecting the risk that the farm takes to plant, tend, and harvest crops.
Payments: We use a web-based software program called Harvie to help manage the financial interactions between our customers and our farm. With it, Fisher Family Farm & Ranch subscribers have online access to their own accounts, with the exceptions of changing email addresses or requesting vacations. We accept payment via credit card, check or electronic check.
Minimum payments – To join Fisher Family Farm & Ranch’s CSA, or for your first online payment, we ask for an initial payment of at least 25% of your CSA commitment. After that, the system invoices you according to your next due payment.
Communication: By agreeing to join our CSA, you are also agreeing to open and read email communications or newsletters from us including:
Payment due emails: All billing issues regarding your account will be emailed to you, including start ups and notice of suspension of service.
Other: You may also receive specific emails announcing important changes to our service. Especially important are emergency site moves. Please read our emails as soon as you see them. Please add to your address book to protect our communications from spam filters.
Since we count on the emails for communication, if you fail to read an email related to delivery changes or delays, and then respond, we are not at fault for a missed or changed delivery. You will not be credited for a loss of delivery in this instance.
We encourage subscribers to give us feedback about box quality and contents by emailing us at csa@fisherfarmandranch.com. It’s very important that you include your full name, and your email address login which you used to create your online account, on all correspondence. For quality issues please include when you picked up your box and how you’re storing the produce.
The pickup site list is our way of communicating to you whether a box was delivered for you, and what size, which is also emailed to you each week. We do not go back and pickup the site lists later, so please do not leave any checks or correspondence at the pickup site.
Start me up: Follow the JOIN OUR CSA Link to enroll. A confirmation of your account will be automatically emailed to you.
Vacations: If you can’t pick up your box on a given week, why not tell a friend to pick up your box while you’re gone. If you’re going on a longer vacation, please email us 7 days in advance and we will hold your service and credit the missed deliveries. If we don't get a full 7 day notice, you will not be credited for the period you missed.
Suspension of service: Your box will not be delivered if you do not have money in your account to cover the price of the box. If we don’t receive a timely payment from you, you will receive an email letting you know that your service has been suspended. If you make a payment after this time, you need to wait for email notification of your next delivery. Restarting your box delivery often takes seven days, as the lists are made in advance, so don’t expect a box that week unless you get an email saying it will be there. If you do not get a box, there will be no charge for delivery that week.
Cancellation: To cancel your Fisher Family Farm & Ranch subscription, email the office at csa@fisherfarmandranch.com. You can cancel at anytime, but there are no refunds. You are welcome to transfer the remaining shares to a friend. They will need to be able to pick up at the normal location. Alternatively, we are still fans of North Texas Food Bank and can donate the remaining shares to them in your name.
Credit: If you believe you deserve a credit for poor quality, damaged, or otherwise un-useable produce, please contact the office at csa@fisherfarmandranch.com. We are happy to replace bad produce and apologize for the inconvenience. Please be sure to include what day/time you picked up the produce, and how it was stored.
Crop Failure/Quality: We deal in a nature rules business and there are crop failures and there are crops that suffer the whims of nature. Everything we put in the box is inspected before it is delivered. However, heat, cold, rain and wind, both before and after harvest often affect the quality of produce. We do our level best at all times to ensure the best quality, but we cannot control nature. If there is a particular crop failure, your box will reflect it via extra quantity of something that is producing better. If something such as summer squash has gotten too much rain, we will no longer include it in the boxes, rather substitute something of better quality. However, we cannot always control these matters and some quality issues will arise. Please be patient and ;et us know when this happens.
Pickup Location Etiquette: Fisher Family Farm & Ranch relies heavily our own private drop sites, and we ask everyone to follow the following rules:
Please observe the pick-up times carefully. Doors may be locked or hosts gone to bed during other times. We do not coordinate or recommend after hours pickups.
Don’t take a box if one doesn’t have your name on it. All boxes are labeled; if there isn’t one there for you, there’s probably a reason. If you have someone pickup for you, do not forget to inform them of this policy.
Please do not look through other people’s boxes.
Return your boxes for recycling. We use the boxes multiple times so as not to abuse the environment. There is a fee of $2.25 for boxes not returned.
Late pick-ups are not eligible for credits, due to natural deterioration of fresh produce. Lots of things can happen to boxes after hours, we can’t credit for any of them.
If for some reason, we cannot deliver, you will not be charged for anything. Your account will only be charged for weeks we deliver.
Other Holiday Changes: The newsletter will have the schedule changes, which can also be found posted here Newsletter Archives.
New Subscribers — We strongly urge you to read the FAQ section of our website. There are many common questions answered there, and it’s always good to know things in advance!
Important Information about delivery dates. Things happen on the farm, like weather, kids and work. Some of our delivery dates and routes will need to be changed from time to time because of this. It could be not enough people have signed up for a particular day of the week and we need to shift it to a day that has more deliveries to both save fuel and time for work on the farm. We will let you know when we need to change, but by signing up, you are agreeing to allow change as needed. We will always notify you in advance if we need to change it though, so do please keep an eye on your email.
