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Subject: Market Farming
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- From: "Jeffery Blake" <echoecho AT bedford.heartland.net>
- To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
- Subject: Re: peddlers, politics & convenience
- Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 19:31:34 -0600
Something I think we should all consider, or at least I should be
considering is where we are selling. I live in a rural community. I go to
one farmers market every now and then. They only have about 2-5 vendors
show up. Customers are very sporadic, probably because there are often times
when there is little to buy. I can see a flourishing market with a full
stock of farmer vendors might operate alot differently. I can also see that
a farmers market in a larger city might have alot more potential customers.
A much tinier fraction of the population must attend to make it fly. I
think these are considerations that we should consider when we talk about
how to run a market in our respective locations. I very seldom sell enough
at the farmers market to pay my gas to get there. A far more lucrative deal
is to set up a roadside stand and sell out of the back of the pickup. Around
here we have peddlers and farmers selling out of trucks at road junctions
during much of the summer. Many have their own street corner and their own
time that they setup. Like Del said consistency is the name of the game.
Most people who buy off of these road side stands have a favoroite vendor.
Whether they buy good food from them or the location or the time is
conveinient is the reason they choose that vendor or not is a good question.
I find as I move from town to town that when the local factory lets out, Or
the state recieves their paychecks or what ever the local circumstance might
be is a good time to set up. Usually I like late afternoons. Its just the
way it works in my part of the country. When I say that the customers
convience is important--it is for those I sell to. In a big market in a big
city maybe it's not. I guarentee there are lot of vegetables being sold in
the when folks get off work. If your not able to sell to them for whatever
reason where your markets are it seems a shame to me. I know folks around
here will buy vegetables off the corner on thursday afternoon, but wouln't
ever consider getting up and going to a farmers market on Saturday morning
at 7 am, half of them are at work. These reasons are probably why I'm not
so against peddlers around here. In these rural communities, if they are
selling boughten vegetables everyone will know it. If they are selling
local farmer grown produce then they are getting locally grown produce in
front of the people who will buy it. Most farmer grown produce around here
is sweet corn anyway, the customer rarely sees anything else, because with
our small population it just wouldn't pay for a farmer to sit out with just
5 bushels of green beans. I'm sure this is rambling, the gist of my tale
here is that marketing conditions surely vary based on a number of things,
and possibly there is no one right answer to setting up a market for your
produce.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Gary & Sarah Rowland" <hcf AT moment.net>
To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2001 8:59 AM
Subject: [market-farming] Re: peddlers, politics & convenience
> Convenience is a great word but very its very scarce in modern day life.
> Having a market location in a desirable [high traffic] location is
supposed
> to be "conveniant" but is a hassel to get to because of the traffic.
Most
> of the other events in life are scheduled to occur at specfic times (do
you
> miss your childs soccer game because it is "inconvenient"? no most people
> make an effort to get there ) School, church, work for most people and
most
> retail stores have set hours. Farmers markets only appeal to a certain
> segment of the population. FM are sucessful as a function of the repeat
> customers. In this area most of our sales at the FM are made in the first
> two hours of the market no matter what time it is. I agree that 7am is
> early our best market is 10am to 1pm Saturdays. In our past experience it
> is always the peddlers who want the longer hours, they don't have a farm
to
> work. The purpose of a Farmers market is for Farmers to sell their product
> and make money. It allows the customer to feel more confident that the
> product they are buying is a fresher better product than they will get
> elsewhere and gives them a connection with the person who is growing it.
> How many of you have a meaningful relationship with the grocery store
clerk?
> The FM is not a grocery store or a convience store it is a specialty
"store"
> a place for people to go to because they want to not because they have to.
> The FM has a special product for sale, one that is not available at the
> grocery store or convience store and that is what needs to be emphasised
> McDonalds makes a lot of money and sells a lot of hamburgers but "Chez
> Pannisse" in California does pretty good too and isn't open McDonalds
hours.
> This has become very convoluted, but I guess what I am trying to say is
that
> if people really want to come to the Farmers Market they will come no
matter
> what the hours are and it is the job of the FM to make them want to come.
> It will always be inconvient for some people no matter how many times you
> change hours or days to accomodate them.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Jeffery Blake <echoecho AT bedford.heartland.net>
> To: Market Farming <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
> Sent: Monday, February 12, 2001 9:05 PM
> Subject: [market-farming] Re: peddlers, politics & convenience
>
>
> > Uuuuh. I guess I'm not advocating anything. I hope I didn't
misundertand
> > the point of the last post. I thought he said the farmer's convenience
is
> > more important that the customer. I'm not certain now. I think length
of
> > marketing day/time/duration of the market is probably relative to the
> people
> > who are customers or are potential customers. That might vary from area
> to
> > area, city to rural, age of populace etc. My point was that the
customer
> is
> > at least as important as the farmer. If I misunderstood Gary, I am
sorry.
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: <mckemie AT inetport.com>
> > To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
> > Sent: Monday, February 12, 2001 8:24 PM
> > Subject: [market-farming] Re: peddlers, politics & convenience
> >
> >
> > > >
> > > > Boy! I couldn't disagree more. I think under no circumstances
should
> we
> > > > ever think that the farmer is more important than the customer! I
> > don't
> > > > think any marketer even if he is a farmer will ever get very far
with
> > this
> > > > attitude. This amazes me. I think perhaps going this far puts the
> > farmer
> > > > on a pedestal. To me the key to this whole farmers market thing is
> the
> > > > customer/farmer relationship. When a balance is struck between what
> the
> > > > consumer wants and what farmers can sustain we should be happy.
> Modern
> > > > grocery stores place the consumer over the producer. We should
never
> > allow
> > > > the farmers market to place the farmer over the consumer. I think
> that
> > > > would make us worse than them.
> > > >
> > > I'm not sure what you are advocating. Can you be more specific? The
> > > post below specifically advocates short duration infrequent markets.
Do
> > > you advocate long hours? If so, how long? Do you advocate frequent
> > > markets? If so, how frequent? Daily?
> > > >
> > > > > The convenience, serving the customer thinking leads to the
everyday
> > all
> > > > day
> > > > > farmers market where there are no farmers just peddlers. The
> farmers
> > > > market
> > > > > is for the convenience of the farmer. Short hours, once or
purhaps
> > twice
> > > > a
> > > > > week lend to the ideal of the customer getting there early to get
> the
> > best
> > > > > freshest produce. The farmers market needs to be a special event,
> > with
> > > > > customers coming because it is special.
> > >
> > > --
> > > Onward! Through the Fog!
> > > Willie
> > > http://austinfarm.org/homegrown
> > >
> > > ---
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> >
> >
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>
>
> ---
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-
Re: peddlers, politics & convenience
, (continued)
- Re: peddlers, politics & convenience, Jeffery Blake, 02/12/2001
- Re: peddlers, politics & convenience, mckemie, 02/12/2001
- Re: peddlers, politics & convenience, Jeffery Blake, 02/12/2001
- Re: peddlers, politics & convenience, mckemie, 02/13/2001
- Re: peddlers, politics & convenience, Del Williams, 02/13/2001
- Re: peddlers, politics & convenience, Wiediger, Alison, 02/13/2001
- Re: peddlers, politics & convenience, Gary & Sarah Rowland, 02/13/2001
- Re: peddlers, politics & convenience, WB Carver, 02/13/2001
- Re: peddlers, politics & convenience, Del Williams, 02/13/2001
- Re: peddlers, politics & convenience, mckemie, 02/13/2001
- Re: peddlers, politics & convenience, Jeffery Blake, 02/13/2001
- Re: peddlers, politics & convenience, Del Williams, 02/14/2001
- Re: peddlers, politics & convenience, S & S Aqua Farm, 02/14/2001
- Re: peddlers, politics & convenience, Del Williams, 02/14/2001
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