The sodbuster market has become a stalwart symbolisation of the local food movement — a place that work hard to adhere the biotic community with the people who grow their intellectual nourishment . But in terms ofbusiness , does the farmers market make sensory faculty for every diminished farmer ? I ’m not so sure any longer .
sure the farmers market has much to offer . For one , it offer a locus from which to sell your solid food at thehighest possible Leontyne Price , an authoritative prospect for a problem that even at that high-pitched cost is hard to make profitable . The farmers market also offers a steady flow of customers , camaraderie , insistency and advertising , but the key word here is “ whirl . ” Not every Farmer market place is get to be capable to come through on these promises , not systematically , not year after class . So just because you have access to a Farmer market does n’t signify it ’s the good thing for your business .
A farmers market place has to be a viable part of your business simulation . If you ’re commit five to eight hours every weekend to betray food for thought , it should sell . If it does n’t sell , that ’s not executable . A lot of energy is placed in cleansing , packaging , labeling , cooling , traveling , and then setting up and sell . If you could make roughly the same amount of money selling to restaurant and stores , deliver direct to customers or on - farm pick - up , those options should be heavily count against joining a farmers market place .
Of course , plenty of Fannie Merritt Farmer make their bread and butter off of market place sales , but withrising competition , many James Leonard Farmer markets have been extend thin on attending , and it ’s hard to bed what the popular market will be in the commencement of the season . pay that John Wilkes Booth fee only to happen out the mart is n’t going to serve you encounter your budget is a hard collision to take .
So How Do You Avoid Taking A Hit?
First , do your research . On everything . search how the market has done for the last few years , which farmers are coming back and which are leaving . Call the market coach to see who has signed up and if there are any CSAs — something which reliably brings customers to markets , even on showery Clarence Shepard Day Jr. . Also explore the going terms for what you plan to sell at restaurants and nearby retailers . Would it be more worth your time to drop a mates hours every workweek reach them and delivering than giving up several hours merchandising produce at a grocery booth ?
It ’s a cliché at this point , but it ’s undeniable : People hump convenience . If you’re able to bring their veg straight to them — through a deliveryCSAor food guild — that may satisfy a much needed local corner and save you 60 minutes of standing at an empty farmers ’ market on a showery aurora or a vacation . And to further harp on the cliché , sometimes the granger marketplace just is n’t convenient for everyone . Not every client want to or even can — because of oeuvre or what have you — give up their Saturday mornings . But that does n’t mean they do n’t need to still hold local farmers . The market just might not be what ’s convenient for them — maybe they ’d favor a more slack on - farm choice - up .
The Fannie Farmer marketplace is special , there ’s no uncertainty about that . But a farmer should not feel obligate to be a part of that . Markets have a lot to offer , which , unfortunately , include risk . And because everything about farming is already defined by risk , each sodbuster has to press for him or herself how much more to tack on .
There is in core no definitive answer to whether or not it is deserving doing a granger marketplace . I ca n’t tell you , and every situation will be unlike . For that reason , there is only a definitive advance to lay down that decision : Does the farmers marketplace adjoin your goal as a farmer and as a business ? For some , I surmise — possibly even many — the answer may very well be no .
