Showing us the way to the market

If you have ever engaged in mountaineering then you know how much harder it is to break trail in the snow than to follow behind the one who did. Kick steps and plunge steps get tiring fast! The Elkins farmers market has done a professional job of blazing the trail for how to do a small market in this region. They have bylaws, officers and a good number of farmers and food crafters involved. Already the lead farmers and organizers have given me some valuable guidance in how to make the Davis market successful. The more people I talk to, the more I learn of micro-farmers in our area. Due to the climate there are certain crops that do particularly well; broccoli is an example.

I learned that some day a pavillion will be an important element of making the market convenient for farmers and attractive to community members. I also learned that organizing and promoting the markets can interfere with the seasonal work demands of being a farmer, making the help of a non-farmer all the more important. This summer we'll be under tents with no bylaws, no officers and will really just be feeling our way forward.

The Elkins market web site outlines the types of goods generally sold during each month, but they also poll their farmers each week to prepare a bulk email listing the specific crops coming to the next market. The local Chamber of Commerce forwards the market email to their list increasing coverage even more.

After a trial summer of sporadic markets with hopefully a growing roster of candidate members, we will create a similar web site for market customers. You will be able to subscribe to the market update letter and see if the bok choi will be in or whether there will be roaster chickens available, for example.

Another element of a robust farming and crafting community is retailing. Businesses such as the Trail Mix in the Valley are establishing relationships with the boutique growers to be able to offer some of these goods on a retail basis. A given farmer in the region might retail their eggs routinely, and take eggs along with greens or fruit to sell directly at the farmers market. There are different health department codes for retail vs farmer's markets as well.

The message I'm gleaning so far is, "This is not only desirable, but it is achievable."