CSAs and Black History Month: Words of Wisdom from Booker T. Whatley

By February 4, 2026News
Book cover of "How to Make $100,000 Farming 25 Acres"

February is National CSA week, hosted by the CSA Innovation Network. February is also Black History Month, and we’re highlighting one of the founders of the CSA model: Booker T. Whatley, author of How to make $100,0000 Farming 25 Acres, published in 1987. 

Whatley was a believer in “smaller and smarter,” instead of “bigger is better,” and encouraged farmers to diversify their products based on local demand. He argued to let the bigger commodity crop farmers focus on national outlets, while smaller farmers focus on feeding communities and neighbors. This is where the CSA model came into play. 

Book cover of "How to Make $100,000 Farming 25 Acres"Whatley called his idea “clientele membership clubs,” but the model is essentially the same. Diversify your income but also cultivate your customers and relationships like you do your crops and the community will support itself. Whatley wanted farming to be a good business option for small farmers too (maybe they even get a Caribbean vacation once a year?!) and offered this advice in his book: 

  1. Provide year-round, daily cash flow.
  2. Be a pick-your-own operation.
  3. Have a guaranteed market with a Clientele Membership Club.
  4. Provide year-round, full-time employment.
  5. Be located on a hard-surfaced road within a radius of 40 miles of a population center of at least 50,000, with well-drained soil and an excellent source of water.
  6. Produce only what their clients demand—and nothing else!
  7. Shun middlemen and middlewomen like the plague, for they are a curse upon thee.
  8. Consist of compatible, complementary crop components that earn a minimum of $3,000 per acre annually.
  9. Be ‘weatherproof’, at least as far as possible with both drip and sprinkler irrigation.
  10. Be covered by a minimum of $250,000 worth ($1 million is better) of liability insurance.

Source: https://www.bloomingglenfarm.com/booker-t-whatley-and-the-untold-history-of-csa/

While some of the advice is dated–those numbers don’t translate today–much of it remains relevant for operating a successful small farm business. Whatley’s book is out of print; however, it is available for free through the Internet Archive website with a user account. Find it HERE. 

 The NMFMA looks forward to supporting the work of our small farms across the state and will share more ways to directly support New Mexico farmers through CSA options. More to come next month.