JOHNSTON COUNTY - The area's community-supported farms are wrapping up their summer seasons. The farms, called CSAs, sell their crops directly to customers and are one of the more-visible fronts on the local food movement in Johnston County.

Smith's Nursery's CSA had about 150 members for its inaugural season. "We didn't know what to expect, really," said Heather Rollins, a manager. The farm did well enough that it started a fall season, which will continue until November.

The farm offers boxes of leafy greens, collards, turnips, cabbages and sweet potatoes every other week. Members can sign up at any time.

Like other CSAs, Smith's allows members to pick up their boxes at a few off-site locations.

Double T Farm, near Cleveland, starts its winter season in November with produce like carrots, turnips, radishes, green onions and beets.

This year, the farm's CSA program has twice as many members, 200, as the year before. "There's more awareness to local food," said owner Tom Kumpf, who started the CSA program five years ago.

TayLee Organics, a first-year operation southeast of Clayton, found its finances stretched thin over the summer.

"We ain't had a real bad year, but we ain't had a good year either," said James Taylor, one of the owners. The farm won't run a fall CSA and won't try the program again unless it can triple membership.

"We've got bills we've got to pay," Taylor said, explaining that the farm might sell its crops to brokers and distributors instead. The fledgling farm also found that the costs of organic farming can be astronomical -- a gallon of organic treatment for a squash disease ran seven times as much as the conventional option.