Mission of Laughery Valley Growers, Inc.

To provide naturally grown local vegetables, herbs and fruits to all interested persons living in the Laughery Valley and its Environs. 

To provide a collaborative opportunity for farmers and other specialty growers in the Laughery Valley and its Environs to sell their produce and value-added products for a variety of direct market venues. 

To use natural and organic methods of growing food crops so as to harvest farm fresh, nutritious food grown on healthy soil thereby protecting the environment, conserving natural resources and fostering a healthy ecosystem. 

Laughery Valley Growers, Inc. is an agricultural trade cooperative incorporated by the State of Indiana in June 2006.  Most of the CSA growers are members of this co-op.  The farms of co-op and contract growers for 2012 are located in the watershed of Laughery Creek in Ripley County or the nearby watersheds for the towns of Brookville, Cross Plains, Dillsboro, Holton, Madison, Moores Hill, Oldenburg, Osgood, Sunman and Vevay, Versailles, Indiana. 

2012 Board of Directors of Laughery Valley Growers, Inc. include:

Robert White (president), Mike Swango (vice-president), Sue Keyes, Christopher Merkel, Shelia Merkel, Marie Nett, OSF, Richard Salatin, Ande Schewe. Claire Whalen, OSF, is executive director and secretary of the Board Meetings while John Greiwe is the financial manager. 

Below is a link to a short biographical sketch for the FarmFreshCSA Growers, most of whom are members of Laughery Valley Growers, Inc.  Their names also appear on the Local Producers page of this website under the various categories listed there. 

The Laughery Valley Growers are committed to using ecological friendly practices with minimum or no input of synthetic pesticides or fertilizers and no genetically modified seeds.  Growers use natural mineral fertilizers, compost, cover crops and crop rotation practices to build organic matter in soils to protect plants against insect, weed and disease problems.  All CSA growers are required to submit a written Food Safety Plan and have a farm inspection related to that plan.

 

FarmFreshCSA

This local agricultural coop will offer two additional weeks to its CSA program extending the former 20-week season to 22 weeks. The price per week for subscribers wil remain the same in 2012, $30 per week for large shares and $20 per week for small shares. To sign-up, subscribers will pay a deposit before May 1, 2012 of $60 for the large share and $40 for the small share and then choose a payment plan for the balance.  Later registrations can be accepted if shares are still available.  Please inquire at 812-934-5591 or 812-933-0818.

Payment options for the balance of fee payments are as follows:

For large shares:

Option A - three payments of $200 each, payable June 1, July 1 and Aug 1, 2012
Option B - four payments of $150 each payable June 1, July 1, Aug 1 and Sept 1, 2012

For small shares:

Option A - three payments of $133.33 each, payable June 1, July and Aug 1, 2012
Option B - four payments of $100 each payable June 1, July 1, Aug 1, and Sept 1, 2012.

Full payment is also accepted at sign-up time: $660 for large share and $440 for small share. 

Make check payable to FarmFreshCSA and mail to:
FarmFreshCSA, %John Greiwe, 52 Bridlewood Trace, Batesville, IN 47006 

The weekly large share box contains about 3/4 bushel of fresh seasonal produce (7-9 different items) for a family of two adults and two-three children. The small size share contains about 1/2 bushel (5-6 different items) for two adults and a small child. The box fee includes a fair price for the growers and costs for labor and overhead to pack the weekly boxes. The fee also includes a weekly newsletter emailed to all subscribers. 

Fresh produce expected in the weekly boxes in 2012: 

Early to mid-summer selection of fresh seasonal produce

Selected from: beans, beets (w/greens), broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, cherries, cucumber-slicers, corn, garlic curls, kale, leeks, lettuce, onions, pac choy, peas, peppers (sweet), peaches, potatoes, scallions, spinach, rhubarb, Swiss chard, tomatoes, salad tomatoes, mixed salad greens, summer squashes, turnips (w/greens).

Asparagus, strawberries and rhubarb may still be available in early June for a time - these are very early items and may be finished by the end of May. 

Late summer/Fall selection of fresh seasonal produce

Selected from: beans, beets (w/greens), broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, garlic bulbs, kale, leeks, lettuce, onions, peas, potatoes, scallions, spinach, Swiss chard, tomatoes, turnips, sweet potatoes, salad greens mix, sweet peppers, apples & pears (from local orchards), pie pumpkin, melons (cantaloupe, honeydew or watermelon), winter squashes (acorn, butternut, delicata, spaghetti) 

Laughery Valley Growers, Inc. provides CSA boxes for local subscribers in the greater Batesville area and sends packed CSA boxes to The Christ Hospital for its wellness program where the hospital encourages its employees to purchase CSA shares. The hospital offers payroll deduction for the fee payment and distributes the CSA boxes at three convenient times to fit the shift schedules of subscribers. 

Weekly box pick-up time for local subscribers is on Wednesdays, 3:30-7:30 pm at Walhill Farm in Batesville beginning June 6, 2012 and continuing through October 31, 2012. Walhill Farm is about two miles from the Hansen Center on 857 Six Pine Ranch. 

Directions to Walhill Farm:

From SR229 turn onto Six Pine Ranch Road at the Hansen Center and drive about 2 miles to mailbox #857 - just past Shrine Road. 

From SR 46, take Lammers Pike to Merkel Road, turn left there (after you cross I-74). Follow Merkel Road to its end at 1600N. Turn left to continue to mailbox #857. 

Enter the farm property at mailbox #857 and drive past the lodge and tennis courts to the building attached to garage. See the sign on the door for the CSA site - that entrace is at the left of the garage area.

 HISTORY OF THE COOP

In the fall of 2005, a group of farmers in the Laughery Valley* came together to discuss the feasibility of joining forces to develop local markets for their produce. Several of these farmers were (and still are) actively involved in the Food and Growers Association. They agreed to begin their marketing efforts with the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) model. The initial meeting stirred the creativity of the group and soon FarmFreshCSA became a reality with six local growers. They created a produce availability chart with each farmer committed to growing certain produce for 2006. Two other growers joined the group in 2006. By early spring of 2006 they recognized the importance of becoming a farmer-owned trade cooperative and took the necessary steps in that direction with the assistance of Chad Martin of the Indiana Cooperative Development Center and Jason Bartell, a lawyer recommended by ICDC. By the time they packed their first weekly boxes in June, 2006, they had their legal papers and were officially incorporated as an agriculture cooperative with the legal title of Laughery Valley Growers, Inc. 

In 2010 LVG Coop began selling CSA boxes to employees at The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio and has been reaching out to other health care sites to follow this hospital's example as a wellness opportunity for its employees. The "fresh and local" concept continues to be attractive to more and more people as they realize the importance of naturally grown, or organic, produce for their health.   At an awards ceremony in Cincinnati, Ohio, on March 20, 2012, Sister Claire Whalen, OSF, Executive Director of Laughery Valley Growers Coop, joined The Christ Hospital staff in receiving a Green Business Award for the hospital’s Seed-to-City CSA program.  The award--in the category of “market strategy” for a non-profit organization--acknowledged the collaborative efforts of this Batesville area coop in selling its CSA shares of fresh naturally grown produce to The Christ Hospital as the hospital’s unique wellness initiative for its employees.  Read More & Photos

 

 *Why the title? The Laughery Valley comprises the complete watershed of the Laughery Creek with some headwaters in Decaturand Franklin Counties, but most in Ripley County and a central flow through Ripley County. Laughery Creek eventually picks up northflowing streams from Ohio and Switzerland Counties and empties into the Ohio River near French, Indiana, joining the largerOhio Valley watershed. All farmers in our local area depend upon the waters flowing through the Laughery Creek watershed. Members of this cooperative acknowledge their responsibility to preserve the quality of this natural resource by the ways they choose to grow their produce.