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Barbara
Berst
from the March 2001 editon of Acres USA.
Good
news for eco-farmers: Out going Agriculture Secretary
Dan Glickman announced at the end of his tenure that
a record number of farmers markets were operating
in the United States. In fact, they've increased 63
percent since 1994. In California's
Certified Farmers Market program alone, what started
as little more than a handful has now blossomed into
more than 350 communities with Certified Farmers Markets,
and the number is growing every year. In
the '80s, many cities established farmers markets
as a way to bring life back to the center of town,
and it worked. Society is acknowledging the benefits
as markets produce a strong sense of community identity,
bringing together the urban and rural segments of
the population. This rare meeting of farmers and non-farming
citizens serves to educate, as customers learn about
their food sources, gather and swap nutritional information,
and enjoy inter-generational experiences while becoming
aware of agricultural issues. And farmers, of course,
benefit from smaller markets as a way to sell direct,
with no middlemen, get instant customer feedback,
and sell produce too delicate or specialized for wholesale
packing and shipping. Large producers can profit side-by-side
with small- and part-time growers, allowing larger
farms to offer the more familiar staples in quantity,
while smaller farms fill in the gaps with the more
unusual and new introductions. Farmers markets are
flexible. They work well in small local communities
over-seen by volunteers and backyard growers, or where
organic production is highly concentrated. In California,
the largest 7 percent of organic farms claimed three-fourths
of the total gross sales, while half of the farms
were smaller than five acres, with annual sales of
under $7,500.
This
growth in farmers markets has created much positive movement forward for
eco-farms of all sizes. Steve Violette of Lunenburg, Massachusetts, was
able to continue a three-generation family farming operation by skillfully
selling at five different farmers markets. The methods the markets employ
to succeed are also expanding. Below are some of the ways farmers markets
across the country create environments that draw more customers and keep
them coming.
Signs
With Prices
Customers
are shy about asking a price and will sometimes move on rather than take
a risk. Vendors with clear signs that give name, price, as well as a little
bit of a description, create a more customer-friendly atmosphere.
Shallow
Displays Versus Deep Displays
This tip comes from Linda Chapman of Harvest Moon Farm in Spencer, Indiana.
When displays are shallow and parallel to the main walking path, customers
feel safer approaching the stands. This way they don't have to walk into
narrow aisles off their path.
Freebies
for Children
Handing out free cherry tomatoes or surplus
bachelor buttons helps children (and their parents) enjoy the market,
as well as keep young hands off the salable merchandise.
Friendly
Farmers
Farmers' markets allow non-farmers to meet with those
who grow their food. Though buying fresh-picked produce is the number-one
reason people shop the farmers markets, positive human contact is another
stapler humans need plenty of. Tony Manetta, director of Greenmarket in
New York, feels the actual farmers are one of the biggest draws for the
market, and that sales always increase when the farmers – rather than
their employees - are present at the market. Friendly contact with farmers
can make the difference between a customer stopping off at the supermarket
or returning next Saturday for field-fresh lettuce. If vendors don't like
people, they need to find another outlet to sell through. One rude vendor
can cast a dark cloud over an entire market. These gathering places are
considered one or the greatest public relations programs for agriculture.
p
Diversity
Many choices among vendors will bring a greater number of customers with
different needs to the market. Unusual items, new introductions, along
with familiar staples that customers can count on, make a very good mix.
A regular supply of organic, vine-ripened tomatoes and ongoing supplies
of lettuce and greens complement such hard-to-find products as fresh trout
and just-picked gourmet mushrooms.
Promote
Sustainable Agriculture
The rise in farmers markets has paralleled the growth in health consciousness
at the turn of the century. Farmers markets are a good place for posters
or brochures describing the methods and benefits of organic farming. This
educates consumers and adds to the appeal of being at the market, reminding
citizens that they are contributing to the greater good by shopping there.
Products
Networking Among Vendors/Farmers
The University of California Small
Farm Center created holiday gift baskets which included products from
15 farms and a brochure describing the farms. Participating farmers were
thrilled with the success, and all of the baskets sold. Such products
create a further sense of cooperation and unity, create another outlet
for farmers' products, and promote the farmers and their market at the
same time.
Promotional
Extras
Free promotion through well-timed press release can
be invaluable. So is word-of-mouth promotion that's created when customers
leave the market with a sense of goodwill. If the market is small, informal,
and utilizes volunteers, one successful method is to have each vendor
choose a month and volunteer an "extra," such as writing a press release,
organizing a cooking demonstration or printing up recipe cards that include
items from each vendor. If the market is larger and can hire a director,
more elaborate products such as a farmers market exclusive cookbook or
ongoing contact with the local press can turn a quiet market into the
place to be on Saturday.
Market
Events
Special events, especially those put on in conjunction
with the harvest of local produce or locally celebrated holidays, will
attract more customers and more media attention. Here is a list of some
successful events put on by farmers markets around North America:
- Mother's Day – Vendors are encouraged to create Mothers' Day specials of flowers, garden gifts, hanging baskets, and crafts.
- Strawberry (or other berry) Festival, with special booths for shortcake.
- Local Entertainment – Scheduling local entertainment will attract more customers, including the musicians' own families. The Davis, California, market regularly schedules local youth talent, such as the Suzuki strings group, local school bands and the civic choir.
- Pancake Breakfast – In the small town market of St. Mary's in Ontario, the vendors and board put on a pancake breakfast each month to encourage regulars to return and to attract new customers. The breakfast is made special by using homemade pancake batter, real maple syrup, and fruit that is in season.
- Chalk Art/Kids' Day – In conjunction with a local arts association, Bellingham, Washington's, farmers market hands out awards for the sidewalk chalk art produced by local citizens and allows local kids to rent space to sell their wares.
- Salmon/Corn Festival – A very popular
salmon barbecue cooked and served by market vendors is put on by a maritime
farmers market.
- August Peak Season – Markets that
offer this find creative ways to sell surplus, whether it's with canning
demonstrations or free salsa recipes.
- Harvest Festival – Popular at markets
across the country, customers are drawn to pumpkin-carving demonstrations,
most creative scarecrow contests, fresh-pressed apple cider, a large assortment
of ornamental gourds, and multi-colored corn and pumpkins that local farmers
have been aiming to harvest for this day. One market has expert pumpkin
carvers available to carve customers' pumpkins for a donation, which is
given to a local women's shelter.
- November Food Drive – Canned foods
are collected at the market by volunteers for local food banks, creating
a sense of community spirit and goodwill.
- Closing – A last market day of the
season can be enhanced by emphasizing winter storage supplies of squash,
honey, preserves and Christmas gifts.
- Customer Visiting Areas – Places
where a few tables and chairs are set aside for informal community gathering
can turn a farmers market into the town watering hole. Again, human contact
is another sort of sustenance that humans need in our fragmented society.
- Fair Fees – Fees for vendors at markets
vary greatly, depending partly on the size of the market and the number
of people drawn to it on a regular basis. But some market directors feel
that the percentage fee is the fairest, as well as the best for the overall
health of the market. As long as the percentage is fair and there is perhaps
a minimum fee (to Keep extra garden produce from being dumped at cheap
prices next to the serious growers) the percentage system can create a
wider variety of produce. This helps assure the diversity necessary mentioned
above. The larger producers provide familiar staples, and the smaller
growers can participate with unusual specialties without paying as high
a price.
- Create a Collective Web Page – A
website containing such links as a directory of vendors, recipes for seasonal
eating, parking map, directions and a calendar of events is proving beneficial
to more and more farmers markets. Three good ones to check out are: the
Dane County Farmers market, www.madfarmmkt.org,
the Olympia Farmers market, www.farmers-market.org,
and the Denver Farmers market, www.denverfarmersmarket.com.
- Remember the Most Important Reason Customers
Shop – That's fresh-picked, local, vine- and tree-ripened produce
grown by the vendor. And while some markets add a small percentage
of permanent craft and entertainment booths, the feel of a farmers market
is usually maintained. This can be done through independent market rules
that designate that only a certain percentage of permanent booths be non-farm
related and that all vendors must grow their own. Or, markets can have
formal certification like in California, where certified markets assure
that genuine farmers sell their crops directly to the public. These markets
are approved by the county agricultural commissioner guaranteeing that
certified farmers offer for sale only those agricultural products they
grow themselves.
Barbara
Berst farms and writes from her small-acreage Island Meadow Farm in Washington
state and is author of the forthcoming title, Prospering with a 21st
Century Micro Eco-Farm.
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