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The farmers who put signs like "organic" and "local" on their food but don't want to talk with you are exactly the ones you should be suspicious of.    Find a few farmers who value your business enough to answer your questions respectfully.  If their answers ring true and satisfy your criteria then keep going back.   One tip on talking to farmers - avoid super busy times like during set up and the first hour or two of the market.  You might first ask when they will have a few minutes to answer some questions.  

posted 2 years, 11 months ago
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OK, but now imagine Farmer Dave, who is also a member of your community, and is in the booth next to Bob and is selling the same product as Bob.  The difference is that Dave made the investments in time and money to actually grow the produce and Bob did not.  In fact, Farmer Dave buys his seeds, compost, packaging, diesel fuel, labor, equipment, and everything else from other members of your community.  Dave is committed to the community.  

Meanwhile, Bob buys his stuff from a wholesaler who buys it from a giant farm some where else with overhead costs lower than Dave can imagine.  Or maybe Bob buys it direct from the giant farm himself.  Or maybe the farm is small.  Either way, Bob is buying it instead of growing it because it is financially advantageous for him to do so.  This financial advantage that wholesaling provides is one of the main problems for small farmers that farmers markets were designed to fix.

Stick with Farmer Dave, the guy who is invested in your community.  If Farmer Bob sells some other product that he grew himself and you like it, by all means buy it.  

posted 2 years, 11 months ago
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A counter point to Larry's economic argument for selling someone else's peaches:  Doing so may help Larry's business but it dilutes the market for a different or new farmer who is growing his own peaches and wants to sell them at farmers market.  

posted 2 years, 11 months ago
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My wife and I sell only what we raise at our farmers market booth and the faux farmer problem worries me for three reasons.

First, the "peddlers" do not have the blood, sweat, tears, years, and significant sums of money invested in their farms and products that those of us who actually run a farm do.  They gain an economic advantage by buying from some giant producer who can't be bothered with coming to the market.  Then they gain a time advantage by not having to do the low wage work of running a farm.  All of this allows them to undercut our prices pressuring us to follow to compete.  Ironically, this happens at the farmers market, an institution founded on the idea that small farmers need a place to sell their products at a fair price.

Second, many if not most farmers market shoppers expect to buy product from farmers because they want to support "their" farmer, promote the local economy, protect local farmland, etc.   When they deal with the "peddlers" they are being cheated of the public good they think they are purchasing.

Third, faux farmers corrode the integrity of the farmers market, an institution I dearly love.   That integrity is the foundation on which the whole direct marketing model is built and we must protect it for the long term economic health of both the markets and the farmers.

The media attention and blog activity on this issue indicates that people are becoming aware of it and that they care.  The sustainable agriculture movement, of which farmers markets are an indispensible part, is still an island of civility and progress in a sea of profit-uber-alles retailers and me-first consumerism.   Those of us involved need to act to preserve the progress that we and those who came before us have made.  Market managers and boards can re-evaluate policies and enforcement mechanisms.  Farmers can stand up and demand change.   Shoppers have the biggest lever and can make change happen the fastest - they can find the real farmers and do business with them. 

posted 2 years, 11 months ago
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