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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] interesting article in local magazine: market rules

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  • From: Barking Cat Farm <barkingcatfarm AT mindspring.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] interesting article in local magazine: market rules
  • Date: Sun, 6 Jun 2010 11:37:48 -0500

On Jun 5, 2010, at 5:19 PM, Road's End Farm <organic87 AT frontiernet.net> wrote:

If the produce can come from anywhere, and can be of any quality, the
market can't advertise to and draw customers from the buy-local
movement (and there really does seem to be a significant buy-local
movement, though I'm sure there's a lot more of it some places than
others); and the market can't advertise to and draw customers from the
base of people who really want high quality food.

Agreed on all your points. While we stressed about the farmers market in our town hurting our business when it first opened, we've come to realize it really doesn't affect us. Our customer base, while from a wide variety of socioeconomic stations in life, all put a high priority on buying healthy food grown locally and naturally. The folks who are happy buying from the grocery store chain generally aren't repeat customers for us. In general, our customers might go to our town's FM to buy honey from a local beekeeper, but they they know to ask about produce before they buy and they won't buy the rebottled Chinese honey-like substance bought by the barrel and rebottled into prettily labeled jars by a reseller.

In our area, I think one reason many of these markets have opened and are at least for the time are thriving is that much of the customer base is happy to buy at market the same stuff they could buy at the grocery store in air conditioned comfort. (One of our town's FM regulars drives about 60 miles one way to attend our market; the crops he sells are literally the very same crops his family sells to the region's medium-sized grocery chain. At least they do grow what they sell.) The last time we were by the FM, pineapples were a big hit with customers; don't know where they were grown or how, but they most definitely weren't from TX or anywhere close to the state.

It seems that in our area, which is likely different from a lot of places, FM customers just enjoy the experience of going to the market, the fellowship, etc. What they buy seems to be less important than the act of going to the market. While I applaud whatever gets people out and interacting with one another, can't see how it is sustainable.

While the local (and organic) food movement continues to grow here, it seems that it is not yet as strong as in many other parts of the country. It doesn't appear to be going away, though, at least I hope not.


Luckily, many of the markets in this area do have decent rules and

follow them. (In the case of one of the most recent start ups, I got
to help *write* the rules!)

Wish the markets in this area would do something similar. Ours are run by city employees and volunteers, none of whom have farming experience. It stands to reason. Since we don't have many farmers in our area, it would be hard to find enough that had the time to farm AND to manage a market.






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