On Saturday, Perry and Lelia Mackall of Sumpter Township introduced their new Community Supported Agriculture site that would offer local consumers fresh, locally grown vegetables throughout next growing season.
Mackall said he had researched the CSA project, which is encouraged by the US Department of Agriculture to support farming in America. The program has been in use in Europe for years and has been spreading throughout the US.
The Mackalls determined CSA would work for their farm on Arkona Road, which is 15 acres in size, plus another 15 in leased acreage.
CSA allows consumers to buy what amounts to a share of the farm and get produce each week all summer as a result. The farmer gets paid early, which improves his cash flow and provides funds for seeds, tractor fuel, and other necessities.
The Mackalls treated a crowd of supporters to a buffet luncheon last Saturday at the Sumpter Township Community Center. Then, when everyone was praising their cooking skills and finishing off the peach cobbler, Mackall gave his pitch.
He read off the list of 68 different kinds of vegetables he is planning to grow this summer. He said he uses no pesticides, so consumers can be assured the food is not only fresh, produced locally, but is healthy to eat.
Once a week, during the 20 weeks from June to October, the Mackalls will provide either a full bushel of vegetables, which feeds four to six, or a half bushel, which feeds two to three people, whatever the customer orders.
Total cost for the season is $550 for the full bushel and $325 for the half bushel and payment plans are available.
Actually, the bushels are not the old-style wooden bushes, but cardboard boxes with waxed interiors that hold a bushel – or half bushel — of product and are reused each week.
The consumer will select the best pick-up location for the weekly produce – Ypsilanti Farmers Market, Taylor Farmers Market, the McKall farm in Sumpter, or any other agreed-upon location. For a small fee, the vegetables will be delivered to a person’s home weekly.
The consumer is asked to realize that the crops offered may vary according to the weather, pests, diseases, and other production factors.
Mackall said the consumer can get a full bushel of one vegetable or a mixture. He said occasionally they will put in a free sample of fresh eggs, Amish chicken, smoked bacon or ham, for the consumer to sample and, perhaps, order separately in the future.
He said their sister company is Alabama Rib House, which will provide some of the free samples.
When asked about hormones in the chickens, Mackall replied, “My chickens don’t do hormones.”
Lelia Mackall said some people have told her they don’t even know the names of the different fresh vegetables and don’t know how to prepare them.
She said she will offer information to consumers on how to use the produce and will tell them how to preserve whatever is left over after meals to make sure nothing goes to waste. The vegetables can be canned, frozen, or dried for future use, she said.
Mackall rattled off the list of the vegetables consumers will get from him: beets, potatoes, tomatoes, beans, peas, mustard, turnips, spinach, collards, cabbage, corn, okra, cauliflower, pumpkin, squash, peppers (bell and ultra-hot) … He’ll get asparagus from another farmer for the customer.
“You’ll get more than you bargained for,” he promised, noting a bushel of vegetables is a lot of vegetables.
He said last year the rabbits ate his crowder peas, so he got even. He ate the rabbit.
He also said last year there were three freezes in the spring and he had to replant a crop three times. This year he has hoops with covers and warm air to protect tender seedlings from freezes.
The Mackalls run a flexible farm business. Although fruits are not a part of the vegetable project, he can get fruits for the consumer in season. He grows a variety of watermelons and said he can get peaches from a contact in Georgia by overnight shipping.
“We’ll find what you want,” he told the crowd. “We want to attract as many people as possible.”
He explained that CSAs are cropping up all over the place, but he is the only one in Sumpter.
When a man asked if the farm would take investors, Lelia responded that the money paid for the produce is an investment in the farm, making participants shareholders.
She said the project makes it easier for everyone to have the vegetables they need.
Mackall said people can tell him what vegetables they would like. Consumers should apply for the project by the middle of March because he will have to start planting in April.
He said he will send out alerts throughout the summer about which crops are coming in.
“I’ll give you recipes and tell you how to fix it,” Lelia said. “Don’t let that be an excuse for not eating vegetables.”
Mackall likes to experiment with cooking and makes a popular pumpkin stew, with rump roast and a wide array of vegetables, including pumpkin.
Louise Barnes commented, “That pumpkin stew is delicious and I don’t even like pumpkin.”
Mackall also experiments with natural ways to keep the squirrels away (coyote urine or used kitty litter), the deer away (wolf urine or Mennen’s after shave), and rabbits (coyote or wolf urine).
He also enjoys experimenting with natural ways to enrich his sandy loam soil so it is optimum for growing.
For more information call the Mackalls at 461-4834.