As the Number of Farmers Markets Grows, Join Their Ranks

Reader Contribution by Lynn Byczynski
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Are you an aspiring market gardener or food entrepreneur? Or a serious gardener thinking you could earn money from your garden’s bounty? There’s never been a better time to make your move.

Farmers markets are proliferating and many of them would welcome new vendors. More than 1,000 new farmers markets have opened this year across the country, for a total of 7,175, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on August 5. That’s a 17 percent increase in farmers markets from 2010, which saw a 16 percent increase from 2009. In fact, the number of markets has nearly quadrupled since USDA started counting in 1994.

When Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan announced the new numbers, she was quick to point out that one of the benefits of farmers markets is that they are incubators for new businesses; they help new market farmers get established, find new customers and eventually become successful.

Here at Growing for Market, we have met many new farmers who got their start at a farmers market. A typical path to success is to start selling at a small, nearby market — an inexpensive way to learn to schedule your products, present and market them successfully, keep your books, and learn all the little details every businessperson needs to know. Next, you might move into a bigger farmers market with thousands of potential customers passing your table every week. You might meet chefs looking for local suppliers and customers who encourage you to start a Community Supported Agriculture program.

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