Market Farming

[Debbie Moore <caverdjmoore AT hotmail.com>]

Hi Leslie -

I would go with the u-pick. Since  you recently moved from a metropolitan 
area to I'm thinking a more rural one, the issue wouldn't be just with the 
board members but their multi-generational "local" society and established 
politics. A coup would not be in the best interest of your developing 
business. If the community is one which "outsiders" are constantly coming 
through, such as a vacation area or a university town, the social structure 
may be somewhat different. Still, it takes a lot of energy and tact to 
educate the board members and try to change things. I myself moved to 1 1/2 
hour drives to markets where all I had to do was show up and sell. 

Because our market did not have enough funding for advertising the first few 
years, I did my own and encouraged other farmers to do so too. Our community 
advertiser covered 5 counties and people read it like a newspaper, and ad 
rates were reasonable. (Farmer Jones Products now available at Anytown Market 
or check out our website at ---).

There is also the possibility they know your experience with markets and
 are defensive, rather than open to suggestions. I've seen this happen 
too, although it wasn't in the farmers market arena.

I would like to share a story about our market and an unhappy vendor who 
decided to start her own. She found a good location but the four top vendors, 
feeling caught up in small-town politics and having to make a choice about 
which market to attend, pulled out and either went elsewhere or sold from 
their farm. The unhappy vendor, not having a star attraction, barely made it 
through the season. The established market, also now without their 
"destination vendors" is dieing a slow death. Dedicated customers followed 
their favorite farmers and those who were "add-on" purchases and not the 
destination have suffered greatly. Other customers, not seeing a large 
variety, stopped coming altogether. 

Best of luck to you,
DebM