Contract purchasing from farms is an agreement between a farmer and a buyer made before the crop is harvested. The buyer agrees to purchase agreed quantities of produce at a predetermined price, while the farmer commits to growing it.

Why does CFS contract purchase?

Supply Challenges: Before implementing contract purchasing, CFS was not able to source enough volume and variety of the desired produce we needed to meet community needs, just by buying surplus bumper crops from local farms.

Financial challenges farms face: On the farm side, with razor-thin profit margins, small farms can’t afford to not sell what they grow.

Risks that small farms face: With so much uncertainty, small farms can’t risk making the investments needed to sustain or scale their business.

How does CFS effectively contract purchase with local farms?

Our market data enables us to use community demand to drive food production and contract-purchase the crops we need for the upcoming market season (we offer nearly 100 items throughout our market season!).

• Each winter, we analyze our purchase data from previous seasons to estimate the typical range of pounds of each produce item sold per week during the season.
• We then meet with farms to evaluate who can grow those produce items at volumes that add up to the total amount we need.
• We work with farms to establish a standardized price list for the upcoming season, taking many factors (including supply and demand, market analysis, and inflation) into account.
• Farmers receive shared spreadsheets on estimated agreed purchase volumes over the season. Through our procurement process, both farmers and CFS have transparency into tracking produce offers and orders throughout the season.
• CFS understands the challenges inherent in small-scale farming, and remains flexible in situations where contract plans need to be adjusted.

CFS’s Impact:

• $1,214,000 invested into local farms
• By contract purchasing, we provide small farms with reliable sales channels that they can access in addition to other retail outlets such as CSAs, farmers markets, restaurants, and direct farm sales. Diversifying income streams helps small farms reduce the risks associated with increasing crop production and expand their business. 
• Additionally, because we track our market and wholesale purchase data so closely over the years, our farm partners are able to use this reliable data for future planning year after year, improving farm business management.

“Because CFS has offered us a steady outlet, we have been able to invest over $100,000 in new equipment over the past two years that have made our farm vastly more efficient to the point that we are preparing to sell our produce directly to restaurants, in addition to farmers markets, through our CSA, and to CFS.”

Marc Grossman, co-owner of The Farm at Our House (Brookeville, MD)