Development Supported Agriculture (DSA)
Harvest sets a new standard for rural living with a model that we call Development Supported Agriculture (DSA). Consisting of a master-planned community with farming as the primary amenity, DSA provides residents with the benefits of, and the opportunity to participate in, small-scale organic farming.
Property owners at Harvest have the option of farming their own land or leasing their land to the Harvest Farm Group, an independent group that manages the community’s farming operations. Regardless of which option is chosen, farmland is protected from development in perpetuity by conservation easements and property covenants. Homesites are restricted to certain locations and continuous areas of farmland are maintained across multiple properties.
DSA has its roots in the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) movement. However, whereas CSA typically focuses on establishing a direct business relationship between consumers and farmers, DSA focuses on establishing a sustainable model of land use for the urban-rural interface that preserves farming culture, agricultural land, and community-based food security. Another goal of DSA is to establish a new generation of farmers through a farm incubator program. By using the revenue from real estate development to establish small-scale organic farms, DSA supports new farmers as they begin their careers producing food for local markets.
Five Points of DSA
In the spirit of Le Corbusier's "Five Points of a New Architecture," DSA focuses on five core principles:
- Preservation of farmland through limited development and continuity of previous farming uses
- Agreements between developers and farmers (development provides farm infrastructure, farmers provide farm products to residents and the local community)
- Low-impact development techniques, sustainable architecture, and careful ecological/environmental planning
- Establishment of wildlife corridors and animal habitats, promotion of native plant species, and protection of water quality
- Utilization of an open-source development model that provides a framework for master-planned farm communities and integrated local food systems
