Across Carlton County, northern Minnesota and western Wisconsin, farmers are firing up the heaters in their greenhouses, ordering seeds and preparing for another season of feeding families across the region.

For one unique type of farm, this is also the season when they begin to take orders from households that will receive weekly deliveries of farm fresh produce and other products throughout the summer and fall.

It's called community supported agriculture, or just CSA, and it is an approach to farming that connects consumers directly with the farms where their food is produced. It may seem...