In the 2009 UK CSA survey, producers rated their
“overhead and fied costs of production” as the
most important factor in setting their share price.
In other words, many producers use their CSA
shares to cover the costs of production that they
know for certain they will incur during the year.
Some producers that are also marketing through
other channels (farmers markets and restaurants
are the most common) set their share price to cover
their “up-front” expenses for their entire crop.