Farmers Market Regulations

This webpage is the Marketing archives of the Women In Agriculture webinars.

While some farmers now market their valued-added products year round, for many, late spring signals the start of the new market season in earnest. With so many more value-added products showing up at markets now, it’s good to get the necessary paperwork and required licenses before opening day.

The University of Maryland Extension - Maryland SNAP-Ed Program, in partnership with the Agriculture Law Education Initiative (ALEI) is offering free workshops for farmer vendors and for market managers.

I recently took a call from a vegetable producer who operates a roadside stand. He was selling very large tomatoes and was having trouble pricing them. His standard sales method was to fill a quart container with tomatoes and price them by the container. But he found these large tomatoes didn’t work well in his model. I suggested selling them by the piece or better yet, by the pound. He was reluctant to use a scale because it took time to weigh the veggies and then calculate the price. Also, he didn’t want to have to make exact change.

My apologies to William Shakespeare for mangling the opening phrase of a soliloquy spoken by Prince Hamlet in Shakespeare’s play by the same name. But, as producers start drawing up their marketing plans for 2019, market vendors are questioning whether sales from farmers markets are still truly profitable. An agency marketing person declared to me recently, “Farmers Markets in Maryland are dead”.  At the risk of misappropriating another literary quote, Mark Twain said,“ The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated”.

You have a quality product. You’ve identified your target customers and crafted your promotional materials for that audience. But, consumers have so many buying outlets and product options, how can you convince them to them to choose yours? It’s a crowded marketplace out there.

Despite the colder temps and slow start to the growing season, farmers markets, roadside stands and on-farm markets, need to get ready for sunnier days and the first flush of customers looking for fresh local produce, fruits, and other locally produced foods.

While some of the COVID-19 restrictions covering outside gatherings are being lifted, most states are still recommending folks wear a mask and social distance at events like farmers' markets and pick-your-own farms. Last year, most people complied with wearing masks, but as restrictions are changing and more folks are now vaccinated, more customers are choosing to not wear their masks at these types of gatherings.

With the direct marketing season in full swing, it’s a good time to step back and examine some of the tools and marketing technics that can have a substantial impact on your success as a direct marketer. Whether the outlet is a farmers’ market, your on-farm stand, or working with your CSA or wholesale accounts.

Whether you’re selling raw or value-added farm products, breeding stock, agritourism experiences, or business services, the start of a new year is a good time to develop your digital marketing “action tools”. There’s lots of buzz words or phrases surrounding direct marketing activities, but let’s focus on just four suggestions to improve your marketing results in 2016. Remember that these suggestions still need to be viewed through the filter of your own farm business.