Wanting to start a farmers market... [Archive]

donsgal

April 3rd, 2006, 02:28 AM

Soon I will be moving to a small town that has a lot of people passing through and a lot of tourists and a lot of "upscale" houses being built. I think it would be great to have a farmers market. The problem is where we will be living is not situated well to have the market there, and I would rather have it more toward town where there is more room for parking, etc.

I have not spent a lot of time in this new town yet, but I suspect it is pretty much like every other small town in the Missouri Ozarks who is perfectly happy with the "status quo" and it is going to be difficult to get people interested in hosting and participating.

I would welcome any ideas or suggestions on how to approach this. I am thinking of contacting the chamber of commerce and finding out who the board members are and maybe even putting together a little powerpoint presentation for them. I am kind of out of ideas. Anybody?

donsgal

trudyjean

April 3rd, 2006, 06:02 AM

Would it be affordable to put a survey in their paper and have the people mail the "form" to you or even the chamber. Or encourage the Chamber to get the word out to the public to determine a need and interest. You definitely would need help and support in this. trudyjean

dirtundernails

April 3rd, 2006, 10:04 PM

donsgal

April 4th, 2006, 02:45 AM

Hmmm, is there a market for farmers? :P

I would check with all the burro-crats, and make sure the local zoning and tax nazi's are happy before you get too involved.... but, since your in missouri, should not be too bad. What county are you in. ( We are in Douglas. )
Sounds kind of like you are near branson... :)

There may be something already... lots of towns have stuff "on the square", and you will find lots of little roadside stands in the summer.

HOD

I'm in Stone County, not too far (but just far enough) from Branson. The closest famer's market that I know about is in Springfield, although there may be one in Kimberling City about 20 miles away. To the best of my knowledge there is nothing close.

There might be some roadside stands, and if I can't put together a market that is probably the only option I will have, but my property is really difficult to see from the road.

Cape Fair is the closest town and most likely there won't be much there - it's hardly more than a bump in the road.

donsgal

dirtundernails

April 4th, 2006, 07:48 AM

When I said roadside stand, I was thinking more along the lines of a busier intersection of highways... that type of thing.

Just out of curiosity, are you trying to make some coin on the running the market itself, or do you have some produce to sell and want to find a market for it?

Me, I still have faith that if you work hard, are honest, and do a great job..... you will annoy the tar out of someone who had a similar idea for years and never got off their tail, but now that they see you do it, will want to horn in on the action. :rolleyes:

Go for it!

HOD

TennOC

April 4th, 2006, 09:37 AM

Maybe you can find a business (like hardware store) or something that selling produce is not in competition with, and can use their parking lot to "start small". Have it on saturdays, or all weekend, etc, don't have to be 7 days. Are there a lot of other farmers that would come and sell their stuff too?
If you want to go ahead with a farmer's mkt as a business, then lease a lot in town and get a regular business license and some signs, go in business!

trudyjean

April 5th, 2006, 06:01 AM

We have a couple of farmers around here that just sell off their pickup trucks, parking somewhere in the downtown area, moving around for all to see then park again in a different spot. Reminded me of the old Ice Cream trucks that went around in the different neighborhoods. About 3 yrs ago with the help of the Chamber and a group called "Mainstreet" they opened a farmers market opened only on saturday mornings, starts back up every June I think just for the local folks to sell their produce. Flea market type stuff isn't allowed, only produce. trudyjean

Pharmerphil

April 5th, 2006, 06:41 AM

All the parking lots and many busy intersections here in Mn. have veggie vendors in season. It takes a vendors permit, and to be honest, I never inquired on the price of that. It seems with work and the gaden/yard/critters, we don't find enough time to even go fishin' :( We do live on a county blacktop, that has alot of traffic, and are considering a small business here at home on the weekends, a drive that circles through the place will help, but although it is by a highway, we are a fair distance from any town.
I contracted business's in Missouri, when I lived there to sell tomatoes to, but in Mn. alot have already got their tomato Guy

flowerpower

April 5th, 2006, 07:21 AM

In my county, the Farmer's Market is held in the park. lot of an auto repair shop. It's on Wed 3-5 pm and Sat 9am-1pm. You have to have a Tax Identification Number to set up a stand there.

Bellepepper

April 5th, 2006, 12:03 PM

Last summer we participated in the farmers market in our little town of Coffeyville, Ks. We never had much to sell and didn't think we should mess with it. But it turned out to be a really fun thing to do. We started just trying to get rid of excess eggs. Then we had a couple of extra Zuc squash (who dosen't), a couple of cantalope, a few tomatoes and usually sold out before 8:00 a.m., the time it is supposed to start. We usually spent our $$ on produce from other vendors. It is a good way to visit with local people and farmers especially since no one has time to visit any more.

wilderness1989

April 5th, 2006, 03:15 PM

I've done the farmer's market in Kansas City, MO but it's been several years ago. At that time all you needed was a tax number. And if you are selling stuff by the pound you had to have a scale that was accurate. I just tried to call a friend that I did it with to pick his mind but did not get an answer I'll try again later and if I come up with something more I'll post it. You might call the KC Farmer's Market and ask them what you need to sell there and then tell them what you want to do. I've talked a couple farmer's markets in different cities and they were always nice and helpful. You might ask the KC, MO market to send you the paper work to sell that should be full of information.

dandelion meadow

April 6th, 2006, 10:08 PM

My rocky hill in the Ozarks is in northern Stone County. Aurora, in Lawrence county, a bit east and north of Monett, has a very active farmer's market. Nixa, south of Springfield, has a good farmers market.
I sometimes see articles in the local free paper about the farmer's market in Aurora. Too early in season now. They sound like a great group of people - maybe some would also like to participate in your area. Their articles are interesting and informative, and must help to make the market a strong part of the community's life .
The Nixa group charges $50 a year membership. Well, that was three years ago. I know several of their members participated in other farmer's markets as well. Try calling city hall for each town to get a contact person's #. They will most likely be glad to share their experiences and may be interested in participating in your market as well. If this doesn't work, let me know and I'll make some calls.
Have been to Kimberling City a couple of times. Do you have an annual fall art/craft event in the middle of the city? Seems like I got info on being a prticipant in this a few times. Perhaps the organizers of this could give you some suggestions about general logistics - start-up publicity, etc. Seems like it is done through the city hall???
I had a market garden for two years several years back when was on a farm in mid-MO. Having a bigger vehicle than a VW Jetta would have been a real benefit. Did market directly to a healthier type restaurant, which was great fun - the cook delighted in all the variety and different colors, etc. Even used edible flowers in some dishes. No, I didn't make tons of money, but, gosh, was I happy.

dandelion meadow

April 7th, 2006, 09:43 PM

That newspaper is The Aurora Advertiser, e-mail: advertiser@centurytel.net
Aurora is just up the way from Cape Fair.
From the little I know of your area, seems like Branson West might be a good location for selling - lots of people and many of whom look too busy with work, etc. to grow their own garden. They also appear to have more affluence than the outlying towns. One of the difficulties with a more rural town is that many people grow their own produce.

dirtundernails

April 7th, 2006, 10:16 PM

It is a good way to visit with local people and farmers especially since no one has time to visit any more.

Well.... except the Amish. They usually have time to visit. I think thats because they don't have many "labor saving" devices, and do it all the "hard way" , that it free's up a lot of time. :)

hod.

dandelion meadow

April 8th, 2006, 08:33 PM

After re-reading your original post, sounds like you are in a great location with the traffic, housing growth, etc. Somehow, I'd been thinking you were quite rural and isolated from the traffic, etc. Sorry for the mistake. All the best with your efforts - looks like an opportunity waiting for ingenuity and ... a lot of hard work.
Galena is home to a family dairy that sells its own cheese curds as well as a bison ranch, Fort Bison Ranch. Both sell direct off the farm and both have their products in a locally owned supermarket in Branson West. The bison people sold burgers at a festival in Nixa last May and did good business as well as getting the word out about their business. These people might be interested in working with you at the farmer's market. Galena is Stone county county seat.

ATTRA in Fayetteville, AR has much info on farmer's markets, organic farming, etc. Just do a search on the topic of choice.Their purpose is to help small sustainable agriculture endeavers succeed.
http://www.attra.org/

Well, almost forgot the most obvious source for Missouri farmer's markets -the Missouri Farmer's Market Association. Their info is on this page of the Agri-MO website.
http://www.agrimissouri.com/farmersmarket.htm

donsgal

April 9th, 2006, 11:59 PM

TennOC

April 10th, 2006, 01:39 AM

Good luck, keep us posted.

SunflowerMeg

April 10th, 2006, 05:04 PM

I just moved from an area of large and small farmers markets. There were also MANY active and busy tailgate markets. The whole area is home to "alternative lifestyles" with many people running small organic farms and homesteading craft businesses like soapmaking, candlemaking, etc. Bottom line is this area has been a perfect place to set up something like you're talking about, so they are all doing well at it.

I just moved from a town of 7000 people. Someone there bought a house and turned his whole backyard into a "farmers market." He put up a small building, and a few of the locals got together with him and they started selling jams, jellies, canned goods, crafts, plants, and of course, produce. However, the owner kept his "market" very sloppy and I think it turned people off because he never appeared to be busy.

I guess there are all sorts of possibilities as to how to go about your idea. But it seems the most important aspect of such an adventure is being seen! "Farmers Markets" are appealing to many people (at least around here they are), but I don't know how many people would drive out of their way to get to one. But it can be a whole different story if they happen to be driving by anyhow and see you. You would need good signage, good accessability and advertising. Judging by how crowded all the health food stores are these days, people are willing to spend a little extra money for good stuff - the stores around here are making a bloody fortune, so much so that our regular stores are trying to compete with them and they now carry many organic foods and produce, and charge a lot less.

Maybe you can start out with a tailgate market??? Invite others to come sell their stuff alongside of you and start your own farmers market on wheels. :)

dandelion meadow

April 11th, 2006, 09:21 AM

Donsgal,
Good for you. Only way to do something is to start and keep on going. There's a lot to say for going slow, too. Yes, for now, it's probably all up to you.
Which town are you approaching about the market?
About that"bump in the road", Cape Fair: Have you discovered Koppie's Diner? I met the owner once and she offered to rent me office space in adjoining building. I've never been there, but their ice cream is supposed to be incredible, one of those exotic brands with macadamia chocolate jungle...whatever...which draws people from all around. A friend who has a ranch north of there raves about it. I think pizza is big on the menu? Anyway, here's their number if you feel inclined to contact her (I spoke with the wife, Mary). Really nice person and full of energy and creative ideas. 417-538-4900 corner of Hwy. 173 and 76.

windsng225

April 28th, 2006, 10:18 AM

Donsgal,
I think this is a fantastic idea! Just for the h___ of it, why don't you post a 3X5 card at your local grocery stores and just ask them to contact you if they would either be interested in joining in the farmers market or purchasing products from the market. It would be good information to have to present to the zoning board (or whoever) to show that people in the area are interested in the idea and product.
It can't hurt, it's free, and it's good advertisement plus look at all the info you would get. If not anything else you would know what to expect.
Good luck.
Joyce.

Lilyroseviolet

May 11th, 2006, 12:34 PM

I put a small shed on the side of the road in front of my house and a can, it will be a help yourself to veggies and such on a honor system. Although, I just did this this week and have no veggies to sell yet...I am looking forward to June as I will have veggies to sell.

mrtomatoexpres

May 11th, 2006, 11:40 PM

hi lilyrose good thing you do not live in nyc they would steal your shed and the veggies :eek: i did my laundry the other nite were i work someone stoled my socks and underwear :D :p . when i came out the shower and went to get dressed i thought i went crazy good thing i had extras. :rolleyes: :p

Lilyroseviolet

May 16th, 2006, 11:09 AM

Hi, Yes, I am glad that I dont live in a community that I cant trust an honor system or that my entire shed would be lifted. lol
I havent locked my house nor car in over 8 years, I leave my keys in my car at all times except if I travel into a city. SO yes, I feel very fortunate to live in a slow paced country area where folks know who you are and look out for each other.
So, yes, what I suggest is really not for the average.

I do like the idea of the mobile icecream style truck that goes around, it reminds me when living in SPainin the 1960's a cart pulled by a farmer and all his fresh produce would walk the streets and yell out "Fruits and Veggies Here"- the cart looked like one of those wooden foot pull carts on the corner in the cities.

wilderness1989

May 19th, 2006, 10:35 AM

Here's the web site of our local Farmer's Market it should give you some ideas. http://www.downtownbloomington.org/~farmersmarket/

louanne

February 8th, 2007, 11:16 PM

i DONT KNOW IF YOU ARE INTERESTED...
but I have recently relocated close to where you are....
I have always ben interested in a farmers market....don't know to much on how to try and start one up....but if we can get a few more heads from this general area together...even if we only end up with a good lunch gathering...we could mush it about and see if could come up with a plan to approach someone with it????

If nothing else..
May 18th 19th and 20th. 2007...Rockaway Beach MO has approved an 1840's encampment...Roc and I are trying to help the organizers...
and I plan on taking some of my excess plants..after baker creek... to it...
w do living history stuff...and have the tent and all that to participate...
come by it and maybe by then we can find out how he got his event approved.....and we can go from there.....

Soon I will be moving to a small town that has a lot of people passing through and a lot of tourists and a lot of "upscale" houses being built. I think it would be great to have a farmers market. The problem is where we will be living is not situated well to have the market there, and I would rather have it more toward town where there is more room for parking, etc.

I have not spent a lot of time in this new town yet, but I suspect it is pretty much like every other small town in the Missouri Ozarks who is perfectly happy with the "status quo" and it is going to be difficult to get people interested in hosting and participating.

I would welcome any ideas or suggestions on how to approach this. I am thinking of contacting the chamber of commerce and finding out who the board members are and maybe even putting together a little powerpoint presentation for them. I am kind of out of ideas. Anybody?

donsgal

ceresone

February 9th, 2007, 12:11 PM

Couldnt get much smaller than the towns in howell co. mo. and all 3 bigger towns have a thriving farmers market-twice a week

Ohiorganic

February 16th, 2007, 05:48 AM

Did you get your farmers market off the ground yet?

I was on a steering committee several years ago that created a nice farmers market in SW Ohio. The first thing that was done was the guy who had this market in mind asked a city council member who to talk to and in this town it is the woman who runs the visitors and convention bureau. So we talked to her and she was 110% behind the idea of a FM in the uptown CBD of this town. She really helped smoothing things over with the city.

the other thing we did was we did this in a group. There are a lot of aspects to forming a farmers market like what you will charge, advertising, written rules, etc..

I also have been involved with setting up a market in a haphazard way (no fees, no rules, no board) and I gotta say if you want the market to work well get others to help you out and eventually create a governing board.

An excellent book on the subject is The New Farmers Market by Vance, Corwin and Rosenwieg

Mary

February 16th, 2007, 06:52 AM

I think it is a good idea and fun,so many people work or they don't have room for a garden.Good luck!

nikki

February 16th, 2007, 12:06 PM

We did sell our produce in the beginning of the summer last year at a newly started market in a small town sqaure (in Iowa). I beleive they organized it through the city council- with one person in charge (we were not involved in setting it up- just had a stand there).
Two big things that were forgotten and will be fixed this year.
1) make sure if your wanting to do a Farmers Market that you have bathrooms available somewhere. Not only for the people coming to the market but for you! (very hard to leave your stand to walk a few blocks to use the bathroom).
2) Coffee! Ours was/is Saturday morning. There were three people with produce, one with crafts and a couple selling baked goods. Small- but people liked to wander and we were asked multiple times if there was a place to get coffee. This may not be an issue if it is not a morning market.

Not really big things but both would have helped the market do better. Good luck- we did not really make money last year and it was a lot of work, but it was fun and we will be trying it again this year.

johno

February 16th, 2007, 12:08 PM

Coffee! That's a great idea and a crowd pleaser! Unfortunately, it makes the bathrooms doubly important...

wilderness1989

February 17th, 2007, 12:22 AM

1) make sure if your wanting to do a Farmers Market that you have bathrooms available somewhere. Not only for the people coming to the market but for you! (very hard to leave your stand to walk a few blocks to use the bathroom).

GOOD IDEA Nikki I was at the farmers market in Emporia, KS.....no bathroom to be had, it was burst time by the time the market was over. ;-)

Ohiorganic

February 18th, 2007, 07:47 AM

On the bathrooms, if a Port-A-John is used there must be a handwashing station for the vendors, especially those handing out free samples of their produce.

The farmers' market I helped to set up and where I have been selling the past 3 seasons on Saturday mornings has a rule that you must grow or make everything you sell and since we cannot grow coffee trees in Ohio there is no coffee sold at the market. I agree that coffee at a morning market is a very good thing. We do have a starbucks across the street from the market and a bakery down the street so this has not become a big issue but I suspect we could make more $$ overall and attract a lot more customer if they would allow coffee sales at the market.

winter_unfazed

February 18th, 2007, 10:46 AM

Donsgal, what town are you moving to?

johno

February 18th, 2007, 12:56 PM

I was thinking free coffee... Do you have to grow it if you give it away?

Ohiorganic

February 18th, 2007, 01:41 PM

I was thinking free coffee... Do you have to grow it if you give it away?
At our market I don't believe any of the management people (which are mainly volunteers) want to deal with doing coffee and no vendor wants to give it away for free. Plus since there is a Starbucks and a locally owned bakery within 2 blocks of the market I think the board has assumed this sort of thing would PO the coffee businesses and they would complain to the city council and that could jeopardize the market. Things have been shut down in this town for less.

dirtundernails

February 19th, 2007, 08:10 AM

I'm in Stone County, not too far (but just far enough) from Branson. The closest famer's market that I know about is in Springfield, although there may be one in Kimberling City about 20 miles away. To the best of my knowledge there is nothing close.

There might be some roadside stands, and if I can't put together a market that is probably the only option I will have, but my property is really difficult to see from the road.

Cape Fair is the closest town and most likely there won't be much there - it's hardly more than a bump in the road.

donsgal

WU, I found it!

strong eagle

February 19th, 2007, 08:31 AM

I help run the Farmers Market at Ava, Mo. which has been around the main square for about 25 yrs now. It's really exploded in the past few years to which I had to petition the city council to let us have the entire central part of the square for 4-5 hrs each Sat. The Chamber of Commerce, of which we are a member, have been terrific in their support, along with just about every store on the square, including a restuarant who has their cook come in at 3 AM to get things set up for the markets opening at 6:30. The courthouse has their doors open at 7:30-8Am for those who need the use of their bathrooms,[before that- it's the restuarant or 3 blocks to the MiniMart] We are abnormally low on our set up fees, just 1 dollar for a space, but that is more than enough to pay for our advertising, annual Chamber fees, ect. The market has gotten to be a weekly gathering place for all the locals and a tourist attraction for those on vacation. I like to gauge my success for the morning as to how hoarse my voice is from talking to peaple. Strong

Ohiorganic

February 19th, 2007, 10:00 AM

Eagle you have just stated the best reasons for why cities and towns should be clamboring for a farmers' market in their juristiction. They make any place a better place.

louanne

February 21st, 2007, 03:03 PM

roc just spoke to the man organizing the rendezvous at rockaway...about pitching the idea to the chamber of commerce...hes game....we'll see if he remembers....

GeorgeSims

February 21st, 2007, 03:27 PM

Strongeagle,

What do I need to do to get "licensed" to sell at the Ava market?

Really nothing to sell yet, but should have some seedlings by early May.

JackiP

February 22nd, 2007, 09:58 AM

Shawnee Mission KS has an awesome Farmer's Market that they built complete with nice restrooms. Live entertainment each Saturday and the market was full when we were there. A fairly nominal fee to set up a booth. The Overland Park KS market not only does produce but bread and pastry as well as coffee and other drinks with live entertainment. They are crowded big time each Saturday.

sparrowgrass

February 25th, 2007, 10:49 AM

Talk to your local extension office--they will have all the rules and regs for starting such a thing, and may have a list of farmers who would be interested in selling.

I am an extension specialist in Iron County MO, and have been trying for 5 years to get a farmers market started. There is lots and lots of interest in buying, but I can't find sellers.

I noticed a post above about having a certified scale. One way to get around that is to sell by count or measure. Find something that holds about a pound of tomatoes or green beans or whatever, and charge so much per package. (Tomatoes three for a dollar, or a brown paper lunch bag of green beans for $2, for example.)