John,
You said "Each farmer has to get a farm certificate from their local
county extension agent."
What does the county extension agent do? Go take a look, have
knowledge of the farm operation, interview the farmer?
Was this something the extension agent was already doing or was this a new
program implemented at the request to market? Does the extension
office have criteria on what goes into granting a certificate?
Is there a cost to the farmer? Our extension offices in Colorado are going
through budget reductions and are having to charge for some services that once
were free.
Sheila
Boulder County Farmer's Market
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, January 26, 2007 1:55
PM
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Grower Only
Farmers Markets
Thought I would pass along the following
to see if there's any useful info. John Drury Fresh Harvest
Cooperative 9407 McFarlin Rd. Bon Aqua, TN 37025 jbd3 AT hughes.net www.freshharvestcoop.com
http://www.franklinfarmersmarket.com/home.asp The
Franklin Farmers' Market in Franklin, Tennessee is a true farmer's market.
We do not allow food brokers into the market. The market is what it says
it is: A real farmers' market. Our farmers sow it & grow it and our
customers eat & enjoy it. Because the market features only locally
grown food, customers can ask the farmers questions about the produce,
veggies, fruits and other farm goods for sale & know exactly which
farm the food came from and how it was produced. The Franklin Farmers'
Market is a non-profit organization with 3 easy to understand
goals: Keep local family farms productive and growing. Offer the public
easy access to real food straight from local farms. And educate the public
about the importance of farming and how it affects both environmental and
economic issues in Tennessee. Productive farmland is a limited and
irreplaceable natural resource. The Franklin Farmers' Market works to
protect it. No farms equals No food. It's that simple.
The
market began five years ago with only 8 local farmers. Now the market
features over 45 different farms, with new farmers asking for information
or a booth at the market each year. The market had to work to get farmers
to participate and used several venues in order to do so. To get the
farmers' attention, we worked with the state ag department. They were able
to provide us with a list of working farms and they helped to get the word
out to farmers regarding the establishment of the market. We also worked
to get media attention about the market and while most of that came
initially came under pubic service announcements, it still helped to get
the word out. We sent information on the market to such businesses as
farmers' co-ops and worked to get market info out to city officials.
The market management consists of one paid manager, a board made up mostly
of farmers plus volunteers. After the first year of the market, word of
mouth helped to gain more farmers' to the market. Part of the hesitation
of farmers to become a part of the market had to do with whether or not
this was a real farmers market that would become a stable, dependable
venue with only farmers selling fresh produce, etc. That concern came in
part because of a nearby large "farmers" market that featured mostly food
brokers. While our market allows a small number of local crafts people,
the main focus of the market is and will continue to be Tennessee
farmers.
Each farmer has to get a farm certificate from their
local county extension agent. Market management makes periodic visits to
the farms to take a look at the farm operations. Farms at the market must
be within a 150 mile radius of the market. And we rely on the farmers too,
as they can give info on farms not following market policies or provide
info on farms that may be interested in being at the
market.
Booth sizes range in size and prices. We try to keep
the prices of booths low for the farms. Farmers can purchase a booth space
for the entire season of the market or booth space for market days on a
per need basis. Farmers can also sell the produce of another Tennessee
farm, but they must have a farming certificate from that farm and they
must tell customers where that produce was raised. They can sell the
produce of only one other farm in addition to their own
products.
The success of the market comes from word of mouth
and constant efforts to get media attention for the market and/or
participating farmers. The market also conducts a steady stream of info to
the public via brochures, website and creative signage to get the market's
goals out in attention-getting materials. The market also participates in
some local events, such as the annual garden & flower show, allowing
us to target an audience already interested in gardening. Typically, most
of these events have a few spaces for local non-profit
organizations.
It is a constant effort to keep the market top
of the mind with both the public and the farmers. The market has been very
successful in that effort, even though the organization operates on a
small budget. Most of the financial aid comes booth rentals, state grants
and a very good rental rate on our facility. But the largest part of the
market's success comes from staying true to our
slogan:
----- Original Message -----
From: "Allan Balliett" <aballiett AT frontiernet.net> To:
"Market Farming" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org> Sent:
Wednesday, January 24, 2007 8:15 AM Subject: [Market-farming] Grower Only
Farmers Markets
> I'm really interested in talking our town
council into supporting a > grower only market here. Although I can find
many grower only markets > advertised on the web, I can't seem to find
any succinct 'grower only > market' philosophy laid out, something that
I could show the town > council, something about how supporting local
growers is good for the > entire community. I thought there was actually
a 'grower only market' > advocacy group operating out of PA, but I
haven't been able to find > hide-nor-hair of that group. > >
Can anyone help? > > thanks > > _Allan
Balliett > _______________________________________________ >
Market-farming mailing list > Market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org >
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/market-farming > >
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