Grow Your Farmer's Market

Grow Your Farmer's Market

Summary

Farmers selling commodities are vulnerable to global markets and low prices. One way to reduce this vulnerability is to focus on value-added production. But marketing value-added products to improve farm profitability requires new market skills. An excellent way for farmers to learn these skills is through farmers’ markets. These markets provide a low-cost practice field for farmers, allowing them to test products that they may later enter into other markets. Farmers’ markets are also an excellent way to reconnect consumers with their food system and develop community support for locally grown foods.

This project will expand the awareness of the role farmers’ markets serve in developing marketing skills and promoting sustainable agriculture. Educators will gain knowledge of how to use business planning to build successful farmers’ markets. As a long-term outcome of this project, Kansans will invest in local food systems through their purchase decisions, formulation of public policies and creation of economic development plans.

This project will train farmers’ market leaders who will then act as educators within their home markets. They will serve as role models for the less-experienced vendors. In addition, they will learn about forming partnerships with community businesses and organizations to enhance their markets. In sum, this project will inform and train a sector of educators who may not think of themselves as educators but who will, through their already-established leadership roles, use their new skills to influence many people in their respective communities.

Farmers’ market leaders will be trained in six conferences over three years. These conferences will provide an overview of the research, marketing techniques, regulations and management approaches necessary to develop successful farmers’ markets. These conferences will directly impact 350 market leaders, managers and organizers.

This project will create twelve mentoring partnerships between master marketers and apprentices. Mentors will transfer management and marketing skills to other farmers and market managers.

A business planning curriculum for farmers’ market organizers will be developed and delivered to 25 leaders in four farmers’ markets. The curriculum will be revised through an iterative process based on the evaluations from each of the four markets. Then, the curriculum will be disseminated through conferences, SARE, ATTRA and posted on the Kansas Rural Center web site.

Objectives/Performance Targets

1. We will train farmers’ market leaders through holding six conferences over three years. Three hundred-fifty individuals will participate in the six conferences.

2. We will create mentoring partnerships between leaders and less-experienced participants to transfer knowledge. Twelve mentoring partnerships will be organized.

3. We will develop and present a business planning curriculum for farmers’ market organizers, board members, managers and community partners. Twenty-five individuals from four farmers’ markets will engage in business planning for their market.

4. Our project will focus on promoting key project activities and on recruiting participation.

Accomplishments/Milestones

1. Two farmers' market conferences, one in Springfield, Missouri and the second in Wichita, Kansas, provided information on market management, promotion and risk management to 131 individuals. Keynote speakers included Randii MacNear, manager of the Davis, California farmers' market and Doug Walton, farmer, market vendor and research partner with Oklahoma State University in developing a farmers' market study.

2. The project organized mentoring relationships with 14 farmers' market professionals with two mentors. The mentors were Randii MacNear and Doug Walton.

3. With additional project support from USDA's Risk Management Agency, business planning workshops were conducted with 14 farmers' markets in Kansas. The project facilitated business planning workshops for 150 professionals as they developed plans to grow their markets. These workshops included strategic planning using a Technology of Participation model, a video, a one page business plan format, power point summaries, promotional display materials, handouts, and slides from many farmers' markets across the country. The New Farmers' Market book was distributed to cooperating farmers' markets.

4. Direct mail, news articles, brochures, flyers, press releases, web site announcements, E-mail invitations, E-newsletters and phone calls helped promote project activities.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

1. Educators will develop an awareness of the viability of farmers’ markets to cultivate entrepreneurship that markets local foods for local consumption.

Impact: In a self-assessment survey, participants stated they increased their awareness by 22%.

2. Educators will advance their knowledge of the role that business planning contributes to successful farmers’ markets.

Impact: In a self-assessment survey, participants stated they increased their knowledge by 25%.

3. Educators will work in partnership with farmers and community stakeholders to develop farmers’ markets.

Impact: In a self-assessment survey, participants stated their commitment increased by 19% to create working partnerships.

4. Educators will improve their skills in marketing through their involvement with farmers’ markets.

Impact: In a self-assessment survey, participants stated they increased their marketing skill knowledge by 50%.

5. Educators will work with public and private entities to generate funding to promote farmers’ markets.

Impact: In a self-assessment survey, participants stated they intended to increase their commitment to work with public and private entities to promote their farmers’ market by 61%.

The project coordinator collaborated with educators at Kansas State University to secure funds from USDA’s Risk Management Agency to expand business planning with farmers’ markets across Kansas.

This project benefits the North Central region by using farmer’s markets as a business incubator for sustainable value-added products. Business planning helps educators guide farmers in developing successful businesses. Mentoring deepens the learning following conferences and business planning.