Hello,
Like many CSA TA providers, the Hudson Valley CSA Coalition collects an annual survey of farms to gauge how the season went for our Coalition members and what our members want the Coalition to prioritize going forward. Do any of you have advice for increasing survey completion rates? Despite numerous newsletters, individual emails and phone calls, we only got about 50% completion last year. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
PACSAC includes the survey in their annual registration -- a 10 page Google form. If the farmers complete the registration, they get to table at our annual Share Fair. Thought I'm not sure that's the best solution -- sometimes I wonder if the survey itself discourages the farmers from going through the hassle.
Also, we always send it in the winter (December) during the slow season.
I know part of what we do at FairShare is we ask farmers what sort of data they would want us to collect from our network in a survey. That way, the results are valuable to farmers and they're eager to participate. I bet @Claire Strader could offer good insights on this topic, too. Claire, any advice for increasing member survey completions? Do we offer any specific incentives around the annual meeting?