A36-LancastBr Farming, Saturday, June 24, 2000
Leant To Build A Farmers’ Market
SYRACUSE, N.Y. Direct
marketing of farm products has
become increasingly important
to New York state farmers.
Traditional farm enterprises
such as grain farming, dairy and
wholesale fruits and vegetables
are becoming more and more
unprofitable as costs of inputs
continue to spiral while prices
received by the farmer are at all
time low levels.
Direct marketing farm prod
ucts offers farmers an increase
in the share of the consumer’s
food dollar they can receive. But
farmers wishing to take part in
direct marketing enterprises
may need to make changes to
their current farming operation.
They need to focus on a produc
tion technique or identify a
niche that is in demand by con
sumers that they can fill.
Farmers wishing to test new
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Bucks Pomona #22
Members of Bucks County Pomona
Grange #22 donated $2,200 to 11 charities
in June at Plumsteadville Grange #1738,
Plumsteadville.
Each year the money is earned by
Pomona Grange members selling pizza at
the annual Middletown Grange Fair and is
donated back to different Bucks County
charities and communities. One of the mis
sions of the Pomona Grange is community
service.
The following people represented their
respective charity and accepted the checks
presented by the Bucks County Pomona
Grange. Rev. Roland and Barbara Carl
son, Pipersville, represented Discovery
Services Project; Susan Hauser, Bristol,
represented A Women’s Place; Nancy C.
Stroukoff represented Bucks County
Housing Group; James Petruzzi repre
sented Habitat For Humanity of Greater
Bucks; Elsie Wright, Yardley, represented
Chandler Hall; Christine Bowman, Bristol,
represented Special Equestrians; Bruce
McNaught, New Hope, represented Bucks
County Audubon Society; Shirley
Trinchela represented Meals on Wheels
(Riegelsville); Laura Clappison repre
sented Meals on Wheels (Woodside); and
Kim Szymanowsk and Joe Heany, Tini
cum, represented Meals on Wheels (Tini
cum). Meals on Wheels (Central Bucks)
also received a donation.
farm enterprises and products,
such as speciality crops and
value-added farm products, dis
cover that farmers’ markets are
an excellent vehicle for direct
marketing their products to the
consumer. They offer a ready
made customer base that even
newcomers to a market can ben
efit from.
Rents for space are low com
pared with other retailing
outlets. And because displays,
signage, and other fixtures re
quired to start direct marketing
are not as sophisticated as in
formal retailing outlet. Start-up
costs are also significantly less at
a farmers’ market.
However, many farmers have
not taken advantage of the im
portant economic opportunities
offered by markets.
This can be the result of a
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number of factors, including
fanners’ unfamiliarity with the
market’s potential for sales,
their uncertainty about what
products can be sold success
fully, or their lack of knowledge
of the direct marketing and mer
chandising practices needed to
succeed at the markets. As a
result, existing farms faced with
economic uncertainty may be
lost to agriculture when they
could be revitalized and sus
tained through participation at
farmers’ markets.
The Farmers’ Market Federa
tion of New York is undertaking
a new project aimed to eliminate
the uncertainty that prevents
farmers from taking advantage
of the direct marketing opportu
nities of farmers’ markets.
Farmers wanting to transition
their farming operation to in-
Morton Bu
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clude a direct marketing ap
proach and those interested in
starting out in farming will be
encouraged to participate in this
project.
As a first step, farm tours
have been organized across the
state through July and August
2000. The tours will look at in
novative production techniques,
various niches, and value-added
products. Program participants
will leam about each farming
operation; production methods,
business issues, and marketing
techniques; and have the oppor
tunity to ask questions and net
work with others with similar
interests and issues. The pro
gram will culminate in a two
day workshop with classroom
style training in marketing skills
and production techniques.
The program goals are:
• To increase the profitability
of small family farms with tran
sition training.
• To allow people to enter into
agriculture in a cost effective
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manner and with basic knowl
edge and skills needed to be suc
cessful.
• To introduce more growers
and producers to direct market
ing and to increase the farmer
participation in New York’s
farmers’ markets.
• To increase the opportuni
ties for consumers to purchase
local, nutritious, fresh fruits and
vegetables, as well as other agri
cultural products, direct from
the producer.
The summer tours will be at
each farm from 1-3 p.m. unless
otherwise noted. Everyone is
welcome and there is no cost in
volved in participating, but
preregistration is requested so
that we know how many people
to expect.
Reservations can be made by
calling the Farmers’ Market
Federation office at (315) 475-
1101. Partial funding for this
program has been provided by a
grant from the USDA Agricul
ture Marketing Service.
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