SUBJECT:
FROM: Kelly O'Neill
DATE: Sept. 16, 1997
___________________________

Question: can farmers successfully manage a farmers market?

Yes. But will they?

To me, managing a farm profitably usually suggests plenty of management talent. If the farmers can agree on what is successful management, hard work is most of what they will need to succeed.

I don't expect the "new management" at the Marin County farmers market will be free from all the hard decisions or differences of opinion past management encountered. The challenge may be to keep the diversity of opinions among the farmers from being dominated by a majority or by those few who have time to do the managing.

Now that it is clear who is running things, I'd consider hiring help for the day to day management activities so the farmers can spend the time needed to make well considered policy decisions.

Good Luck to All,

Kelly O'Neill
Wet Rock Gardens/Habitat Creations
1950 Yolanda AVE
Springfield, Oregon 97477
kellyo@wetrock.com
http://www.wetrock.com

SUBJECT: State Restrictions Hurt New England Agriculture
FROM: Amy Malysa
DATE: Sept. 13, 1997
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We have an unusual situation in Massachusetts, where some markets are run by the dept of ag, some by a private business, the Massachusetts Federation of Farmers Markets, and some by market managers via the city .

The big controversy is out of state farmers selling in some markets. I farm in Vermont, sell in some markets, but can't get into other markets in the same city because a different organization runs it.

My question is, what is the legality of this? Some farmers have mentioned blocking interstate trade. Where is the law behind these decisions? And my other question is how to foster a regional attitude, because New England agriculture is dying and it really pays to pool resources and markets and support each other, instead of bickering over state lines, especially when cities and towns border each other on state lines.

SUBJECT: How Farmers Can Protect Market Integrity
FROM: John Bowdish
DATE: Sept. 11, 1997
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Attention Farmers:

Take these steps towards integrity at your Farmers' Markets:

1. Take control of your market. Does the manager work for you, or is it the other way around?

2. Get rid of commodity restrictions. Product shortages encourage the use of second certificates and questionable lease and partnership agreements. A competitive market place assures a good supply of quality produce at reasonable prices. Peddlers have a hard time competing against farmers in this situation.

3. Don't let new peddlers into your market. See that your manager thoroughly checks out each new producer before admission.

4. Don't count on the State Agriculture Department to clean up your market. Farmers need to be responsible for market integrity.

John Bowdish is a member
of the Santa Barbara Certified
Farmers' Market in California

SUBJECT: Market Managers Must Represent Many Interests
FROM: David Visher
DATE: Sept. 10, 1997
___________________________

Of course farmers can manage a market. Many if not most markets in California were founded by farmers. But the demands of management quickly outstrip the resources and usually the skill sets of a volunteer farmer board. The new manager finds that he or she serves many different interests and serving one exclusively will damage the growth and success of the market. Thus the manager may consider the clientele to be consumer and farmer; craft vendor and chamber of commerce. The best managers balance these interests. Those who don't fail.

A person who can successfully balance the needs of the different clientele groups during the intense hurley burley of a market day tends to be aggressive, intelligent, and decisive. Not an easy person for a board of directors to manage. But a very valuable person to the market and worth paying well and supporting. A good manager is also very entrepreneurial, another challenge for the board. Market managers drive themselves and their staff hard. Friction can easily develop.

A Farmers' Market Board has the responsibility to dispassionately put their own interests aside and work with the manager in a way that values and understands the skills required and the pressures the manager faces. The board has to realize that the market is not just for the farmers.