Assessing the Market Premium for Organic Certification among Canadian Community Supported Agriculture Programs

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a farming concept that allows growers and consumers to partner together to share the risks and benefits of food production. This study examines the impact of organic certification on Canadian CSA share prices. I use Canadian CSA data collected from online sources that documents CSA share prices and characteristics of CSA farms. Results suggest that CSA farms that self-identify as organic charge a 13% premium over conventional farms. I also find that CSA farms that are certified organic charge a 16% premium. These premiums are not statistically different from each other, which suggests that organic certification does not increase the premium relative to uncertified organic. It appears as though CSA, which is a direct marketing concept, acts as a substitute for third-party certification. This study also identifies several parameters that are important for CSA programs, namely the number of weeks the CSA provides produce, the average number of vegetable varieties, and the number of pick-up locations.