Competition Heats Up at Farmers Markets

Posted by David on September 30, 2011 under Marketing | Be the First to Comment

I have never sold my farm products at a farmer’s market. I talk to farmers who do and they have been saying for some time now that business isn’t any better this year than last or some have said sales are lower for them.

Several have complained of more markets opening up in the town or city where they are a vendor and I’m sure that has had some impact.

According to the USDA  1,000 new markets opened in 2010. Divided by 50 states that is an average of 20 per state!

A New York Times Article on August 20 2011 has many farmers complaining and some actually saying they are not making money anymore at markets.  Bigger cities are opening up markets too close to one another. The short of it is, many markets are becoming saturated.

Stacy Miller, executive director of the Farmers’ Market Coalition, a nonprofit organization that supports farmers’ markets, said that the growth had been a boon to most communities and that many places still lacked markets that connect residents with fresh, healthful food.

But, she acknowledges, some markets are saturated. One reason is that more community groups want to open farmers’ markets without doing “sufficient planning to ensure the demand is keeping up with the supply,” Ms. Miller said.

One farmer in the New York Times article stated his sales had been cut in half over the last five years.

According to a study by Oregon State University, 62 farmers’ markets opened in Oregon from 1998 to 2005, and 32 failed.

I sell pork, beef,  and chicken and I know most every local farmers market has several meat vendors. The bulk of them are the slaughter houses/butcher shops. They have found the markets as a great way to bolster sales.

This is a sign of things to come. Sooner or later, the farmer’s market is not going to be a viable marketing venue for many small farms.

What can you do?

Start working now to establish other more profitable ways to move your products. My business continues to grow and I am confident it will continue no matter how many farmers markets open up.

Until next time…

 

Get my latest ebook The Secrets of Selling Your Farm Products Revealed and have customers coming to you instead of competing at farmers markets for the customers who come through.