Loan

These days, it's hard to figure out where to put your money; that is, if you are a saver of any sort. The days of 5% return for merely putting your money at ETrade or ING are gone, and well, sure it is a good time to buy stocks, IF you are doing long term investing. But what about the short term? CDs give you next to nothing as well, and keeping your money as cash is not useful to anyone, and well, pays next to nothing in interest.

Well, I'm investing in a farm.
Not just any farm, but the local farm (about 1.5hr drive away) that supplies my weekly organic, sustainable farmed and super delicious vegetables.

I have been a happy subscriber to Capay Farms, or better known as Farm Fresh To You, for a few months. I share a regular box with another friend, and half a weekly box is about right for us who cooks dinner about half the time. A month or so ago, they announced in their weekly farm news (that's included with some recipes in each box) that they have an annual Green Loan program. Every spring, the Farm goes into high gear and obviously needs a bit more cash flow than normal, so they solicit loans from their subscribers to do the big spring planting. The loans range from $1000 to $25k, and you can either get paid with 7% in produce, or 4% in cash back. There is no minimum term, but they would love to at least have the money for a year, and they will return your money within 60 days if you request for it in writing.

I figured, if I take $3000 out of my savings account, and invest in the farm, I will get 7% or $210 worth of free produce in a year, which is more than 1/4 of a year of my greens paid for. That is great, since it is money I spend anyway.

And guess what? The brothers who run the farm (they inherited it from their pioneering mother), are all around my age. Thaddeus, the farm manager, I believe is exactly my age. You can read about their various stories, about how they grew up on the farm, went off to college for Agricultural Economics and/or Engineering, and have turned a little family farm into a fantastic business, with excellent customer service and even a store front in the San Francisco Ferry Building (which I am sure is not cheap in rent).

They will host a Farm Tour on April 25 with strawberry and peaflower picking. I look forward to meeting them in person.


In this time of financial crisis, I think it is even more important to think about how we all utilize our money. It is only part of being socially responsible, to think about the utility of your money, and how it might be useful in real ways. Invest in real things. Learn about how the returns are generated. In the end, we would all be better off, including your bottomline.