Similar percentages of men and women hire labor, 65 percent and 62 percent, respectively. But,
annual out-of-pocket cost for female respondents ranges from $0 to $8,000, whereas this cost for
male respondents ranges from $200 to $48,000. Again, sample sizes are small, so only limited
conclusions can be drawn from these results. But, they may indicate that male CSA farmers have a
higher tolerance for hiring paid labor. For the male respondents with labor costs of $12,500 or more,
all indicate working on the farm 90 percent to 100 percent of the time. Three farms have CSA/
market garden operations and one has sheep. For the female respondents with labor costs of $7,000
or more, two of three have off-farm jobs and family members provide 75 percent of the labor. One is
a CSA and market garden operation. One is a CSA and market garden with 28 dairy goats and the
third is a CSA and market garden with broilers and 50 acres of a cash grain crop.
Hiring other labor is correlated with percent of labor provided by family members. This may
indicate that as family members provide more of the labor, less hired labor is needed. Labor costs are
correlated with higher CSA membership, larger capital investments and greater seasonal input costs