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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Serious question - how can you tell when the farmer grew the produce themself vs reselling something they bought from elsewhere?[/quote]

Look at the fingernails of the person ringing you up.[/quote]

I'm a market manager and farmer who sells at our exurb farmers market.  I had to laugh at this because, man, is it true.  In the summer I have no fingernails.   My jeans are also dirty and I may have mud on my boots and maybe even on my shirt.   Getting our truck ready for market days is a huge lift and I may or may not have time to clean myself up in time for opening.

The best way to approach a farmers market is to know what is in season in your growing zone and look for what are called "producer only" markets.  Nothing annoys me (and other farmers) more than someone coming to our tent in May, looking for peaches, tomatoes, or sweet corn. Seriously, every year this happens.  We joke that we should put up a "swear jar" and every time someone asks for X when it's out of season, they have to put a quarter in the jar.   It's amazing to me how so many people are out of touch with how/where/why their food is grown.

I hear you on prices - but keep in mind it's not free for us to sell at the markets - I know the one at Loudoun and the Eat Loco and Ashburn markets have huge fees for the farmers - like 2k for the season per tent per market (so if you need two tents to cover your space, that's 4k for the season for just one market).  That's a LOT of money for the little guy, with no guarantee we'll sell enough to recoup expenses on that.  We've quit markets where it wasn't worth our time to go and we lost a big fee, because the management wasn't doing anything to bring in people.

This is part of the reason farmers markets have become "corporatized" only the big resellers can afford to sell at these markets.   We are also required to have liability insurance, and any state permits required for what we sell (meat, eggs, honey, etc).  It's not like farmers can just show up, pitch a tent and sell.  It's a long, expensive process to get to where we can sell at markets.  I think the better markets are not in the city but out in the suburbs/exurbs where it's closer to the farms - the city markets attract the resellers because that is where the customers with deep pockets live.

I do love our regular customers who stop by for a visit and talk about what's coming out of our farm in the next few weeks, some have become good friends over the years.  I know that they are trying to plan ahead for what we will have each week.   We try to put out a weekly social media post with some photos to keep our followers up-to-date and provide a list of stuff that will be on our truck, but that is certainly not the first priority for us every day when we are so busy with what is ready to harvest, and getting it picked and sorted in time for market.  [/quote]

Thanks for posting this.  Next to your swear jar, perhaps you could post lists of the seasons for the various things you sell.  I’ve spent most of my life living not just in cities, but in apartments, shopping at supermarkets.  While I know that strawberries aren’t going to be local in February, I truly have no idea whether they’re in season in April vs July, or if this changes with different growing techniques, types of strawberries, or the specific regions that are considered “local”.  I also don’t know if strawberries might actually be in season — but you don’t have any for sale because the earlier shoppers bought them all before I got there. While educating customers like me should not be your first priority, doing so would be a kindness, and might save a bit of frustration on both sides of the market stands.

FWIW, when my local market posted a chart showing when different varieties of apples as well as other produce would be available, I was thrilled, and became a much more enthusiastic shopper.  It’s a win-win when I can buy a few pounds of my favorites instead of leaving empty handed because I had no idea that “the last week for those” was “two weeks ago.” [/quote]

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