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.