Overview

A farmers' market allows growers to sell directly to consumers at a given location and time. This marketing method has grown in popularity. Since USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service began tracking farmers’ markets in 1994, the number of markets in the United States has grown from 1,755 to 5,274 in 2009, up more than 13 percent from the previous year. Total annual sales at U.S. farmers' markets are estimated at $1 billion.

Most farmers' markets are operated on a seasonal basis, opening in the spring and concluding in the fall. There are year-round markets and they are generally found on the west coast, southeast and southwest United States.

To participate, a grower, or vendor, pays a fee or percent of sales for booth space. The market has a manager that coordinates vendors and promotes the market. The market is held in a public location, such as a town square or downtown street on a weekly basis. Some markets are open in the mornings and others are open in late afternoon.

A farmers' market allows growers the opportunity to market directly to consumers without dealing with a food broker. Growers can explain how the food is grown and educate consumers on how to prepare it.  

Consumers have an opportunity to put a “face” on who is growing the product, which they do not necessarily get from traditional retail food outlets. This form of direct marketing is also regarded as agritourism. Consumers also have the chance to purchase products that originate locally and are promoted as being “fresh.”

Source

Wholesale and Farmers Markets, Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

Other Links 

• Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
  • Farmers Market Facts
  • Farmers Market Database
• California Researcher: Farmers' Markets Benefit Local Economies, Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program, Agricultural Sustainability Institute, University of California, Davis, 2007.
• A Case Study of the Davis Farmers’ Market: Connecting Farms and Community, SARE Program, University of California, Davis, 2000 - The Davis Farmers’ Market operates year round and attracts 5,000 to 7,000 people each week.
• A Case Study of the Stockton Farmers' Market: An Urban Community Market, SARE Program, University of California, Davis, 2001.
• Community Farmers’ Markets, Penn State - This page includes rules and regulations, sample bylaws, a farmer-vendor application form and a harvest calendar.
• Community Farmers' Markets, Rutgers Cooperative Extension System, 2009.
• Consumer Demand for Local Produce at Extended Season Farmers' Markets: Grading Farmer Marketing Strategies, Michigan State University,  2009 - Growing season extension methods such as hoop houses offer potential to farmers interested in extending their marketing season.
• E-Commerce Strategy Plan for Fresh Market Growers, Carl German, University of Delaware, 2008 - This plan discusses how e-commerce, or the buying and selling of goods on the Internet, can be an effective way to lower costs and to increase sales. Fresh market growers are informed how to determine if e-commerce is feasible for them and how to implement this type of direct marketing.  
• E-Commerce Strategy Plan for Retail Farm Markets, Carl German, University of Delaware, 2008 -The material presented in this plan is designed to assist farm market operators in establishing new or improving existing Internet marketing ventures.
• Farmers Market Coalition - This nonprofit organization serves as an information center for farmers' markets. The resource library features tools and documents to help vendors, market managers and market sponsors.
• Farmers’ Markets, Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA), NCAT, 2002 - This provides information on how to organize or sell at a farmers’ market.
• Farmers' Markets, Small Farm Center, University of California, Davis - This site offers a downloadable series of how to start a market, management skills and how to grow and evaluate a farmers' market.
• Farmers' Markets Offer Different Strokes for Different Folks, University of Illinois, February 2010.
• A Guide to Starting, Operating and Selling in Farmers' Markets, University of Arizona, 1995 - This document reviews location, vendor space, advertising and selling.
• Is Local Food More Expensive? A Consumer Price Perspective on Local and Non-local Foods Purchased in Iowa, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, 2009.
• Local Food Systems: Concepts, Impacts, and Issues; Economic Research Service (ERS), USDA, May 2010 - This comprehensive overview of local food systems explores alternative definitions of local food, estimates market size and reach, describes the characteristics of local consumers and producers, and examines early indications of the economic and health impacts of local food systems.
• LocalHarvest - This site provides a nationwide directory of farmers’ markets.
• Locally Grown Foods & Farmers' Markets: Consumer Attitudes & Behaviors, Michigan State University, March 2010 - This study reports consumers' perceptions and behaviors around local foods and farmers' markets.
• LocalMarketCALC, University of Nebraska-Lincoln - This Excel spreadsheet helps producers estimate all associated marketing costs.
• Meat & Poultry Buying at Farmers' Markets: A Survey of Shoppers at Four Markets in Oregon, Oregon State University, 2009.
• Number of Farmers' Markets, Food Environment Atlas, ERS, USDA.
• Organic Produce, Price Premiums and Eco-Labeling in U.S. Farmers Markets, ERS, USDA, 2004 - This research describes the significance of farmers' markets as outlets for organic farmers.
• Some Thoughts on Selling at Farmers’ Markets, The New Farm, 2004 - This article gives lessons from someone involved in farmers’ markets for about 25 years.

Links checked May 2010.