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- More and More Growers in Country Turn to Farmers’ Markets
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- By Eric Gibson
Western Correspondent
With the flood of produce imports coming into the country from overseas, lots of larger commercial growers are taking a second look at high-return marketing outlets like farmers’ markets.
According to Carol Blake, public affairs specialist with the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, there were 2,746 reported farmers’ markets in the U.S. in 1998, a 56% increase over the 1994 figure of 1,755.
According to Felix Fly, manager with the West Tennessee Farmers Market, Jackson, Tenn., the number of farmers applying to sell in their farmers’ markets has blossomed this year. “Normally we have 12 or 14 new vendor applicants each year, but this year we’ve had 51 so far (as of August),” he said.
“Due to the low prices this year in cattle, cotton, soybeans, hogs, and corn, we’ve found a lot of growers trying something new this year,” Fly said. “I just got a call from someone growing pumpkins who had never grown them before.”
Typically, the new farmers’ market vendors have been growing mainstream commodity items, so they already have a planter, and they often add sweet corn to sell at the markets. “The new vendors selling sweet corn have done pretty well, because our customer base is really growing,” Fly said.
One the biggest challenges markets face is finding enough farmers to supply the growing number of farmers’ markets, according to Randy Buffington, public relations representative with the Illinois Department of Consumer Services. Often, larger-scale growers who want to sell vegetables at farm markets, add greenhouses to their operations to grow more specialized vegetables, flowers and bedding plants, which they often market through their own on-farm retail stands rather than selling at the farmers markets. “We have a farmer coming up from Arkansas with a semi-load of greens every weekend that I can’t find local suppliers for,” Buffington said.
“There’s more and more interest from farmers in selling at farmers’ markets,” agreed Kathy and Brent Rhoads, who sell vegetables and fruit at farmers markets in the Columbus metropolitan area in Ohio. “We’re getting more and more farmers selling at the markets, so it’s a game of keeping one step ahead,” Kathy said. “We quite often run into competition from resellers who buy from the wholesale markets and try to undercut us on price, but they seem to come and go as the market establishes a reputation for quality local produce.”
The Rhoads family sells its vegetables and fruit at three farmers’ markets around the area, four days a week. The advantage of selling at the farmers’ markets, Kathy noted, is that the added diversity allows them to survive in a small to medium-sized marketplace. Circleville has only about 14,000 people, so the market needs to reach out to additional markets.
The market also sell its vegetables and fruit through Rhoads Farm Market, an on-farm retail market, garden center and nursery in Circleville, as well as wholesale to other local farm markets. The operation also includes a Christmas tree farm and 250 acres of grain crops.
For over 20 years the Rhoads family has also operated a satellite market seven days a week in nearby Lancaster, where they set up a seasonal produce stand by selling from the back of a pick-up truck in an empty corner lot.
“Ours is a very diversified operation,” Rhoads said, citing their sweet corn, melons, pumpkins, green beans, strawberries and blackberries. “We’re known to have the best tasting sweet corn around. Our business fills the niche of customers who are looking for the flavor and freshness that you can’t get in a supermarket. A grocery store will look at quality and flavor yet still go with the lower price.”
“The economy is so good that people tend to eat out in restaurants more,” Kathy continued. “They tend to cook less at home, have unique preferences, and want specific items, like unique vegetables they read about in cookbooks or magazines, or have a preference for organic. You can’t grow for all people, so you have to learn what most of your customers want and grow for them.” She said belonging to a commodity organization is a good way to keep abreast of consumer trends.
Another reason to sell at farmers’ markets is the “family factor.” Untiedt’s Vegetable Farm near Waverly, Minn., sells its mainstream market vegetables June-October, seven days a week, at the Minneapolis Farmers’ Market, as well as at the Minneapolis Farmers’ Market Annex and the Richfield Farmers’ Market on Saturdays during the season. Family members from the 1,000-acre farm also market their produce at 15-20 roadside stands scattered around Wright County and the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, and they also sell direct to supermarkets.
Referring to owner Jerry Untiedt, seven other family members and several children, co-manager Paul Nelson said, “The farmers’ markets help keep our family together. Each family member has his or her own job at the markets, and the kids also help out. Our grandparents sell with us on the weekends, and it’s a family get-together. We all grew up in the business — it teaches good family values, and lets the kids learn to deal with people.”
“The farmers markets also work well with our roadside markets,” Nelson said. “We get retail prices, and a lot of roadside stand owners come to the farmers’ markets to buy from us for resale at their stands. The farmers’ markets are a good central place for them to pick up the products, and we pick daily so it’s fresh for them.”
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