Market Farming

["Wiediger, Alison" <awiediger AT Hart.k12.ky.us>]

Something to consider if you are organizing a farmers' market association.
Decide whether it is to be for farmers only, and if it is, set up some way
to certify those farmers in what they grow.  The organization I have been
selling through for 10 years, has rules that say "most of the produce sold
is to be grown by the seller".  Totally impossible to enforce, exacerbated
by the fact that the directors and officers are the worst offenders. On a
typical day, over 50% of what is sold at our market is sold by resellers,
and they sell it as "homegrown".  The average consumer is so removed from
knowing about growing, that they can't tell the difference - watermelons in
May are available at the grocery store, why not at the farmers' market?  For
those of us who do grow, it impacts our sales in a negative way.  The
average customer goes to these "megastands" that have everything available,
regardless of time of year, and buy their entire week's produce.  Just like
a grocery store. Over the years, I have watched many farmers come, and after
a season or two, leave because there is no way to compete with the
resellers.   If this was a large enough city to support two farmers'
markets, we'd start a new one, but it isn't. I keep hoping the resellers
will get too old to want to do it anymore and leave, but as of last summer,
the second generation was involved, so it's not going to happen. So, before
you start, set up the rules, and a way to enforce them, that way nobody can
compete unfairly, and everyone knows what the rules are up front.

Paul and Alison Wiediger
Au Naturel Farm
Smiths Grove, KY