What is a Farmers’ Market anyway? At its core, a farmers’ market is a group of farmers (and often other producers) who gather together regularly to offer their wares for sale to the public. In this sense a farmers’ market is itself a business, one whose make up consists of a part of the business […]
Thinking about starting a farmers’ market?
June 22, 2012 CategoriesHow To Go About It There are several specific steps to follow. Generally start by finding farmers, gardeners and others in your area who might consider selling through a market. The success of any market depends ultimately upon the decisions made by the members, the range of products they sell to attract a range of […]
Market rules and by-laws: What’s the difference?
June 22, 2012 CategoriesMany people use the terms “Rules” and “By-Laws” interchangeably. They are similar, but have basic differences. You might think of the difference this way: By-laws are like our Constitution, and Rules are like our laws. Rules (sometimes called “guidelines” or “regulations”) are for the day-to-day operation of the markets. They are often changed a little […]
The no-show rule
June 12, 2012 CategoriesWhen someone joins a farmers’ market, we normally would expect them to show up at least for several market days. Unfortunately, not everyone does. There could be a variety of reasons for this. Sometimes their expectations are higher than reality, and they find that they aren’t going home with the pocketfuls of money they had […]
Good market practices
June 11, 2012 CategoriesThe difference between struggling and success can be good market practices. What makes for a good farmers’ market? Certainly a strong and supportive base of shoppers is an essential ingredient. Yet demand for products is simply the fuel. How well the market is organized is the engine. Some engines waste fuel whereas others are efficient […]
Limiting market membership?
February 9, 2004 CategoriesWe submit that there are two questions in the issue of limiting market membership. These two questions are: “Does the market have the right to limit membership?” “Is it a good idea for the market to limit membership?” Does the market have the right? When it comes to the ability of market members to limit […]
Dependent markets versus independent markets
February 9, 2004 CategoriesConsider for a moment the way farmers’ markets are organized. Not whether or how they are incorporated, not how many or what kind of members they have, but rather how and whether the membership is involved in the management of the business of being a farmers’ market. There seems to be two general categories: those […]