Know Your Farmers Market?

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, there were 4685 farmers' markets operating in the U.S. in 2008. That number has grown each year since 1994, when the USDA started keeping track, when there were 1755 farmers' markets.

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This is false, just because of simple economies of scale. If you buy a pint of strawberries that arrived with just a few other pints on the back of your local farmer's truck, the per-berry carbon footprint is higher than if similar strawberries were packed on a larger truck, even if they had to travel further -- see this story in the New York Times to see how the math works out. Does that mean you shouldn't buy local? Absolutely not! But just beware that there are few absolute rules when it comes to eating green.

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According to the USDA, farmers' markets are a very important source of revenue for over 19,000 American farmers, who rely on the markets to help cover their costs, farm their land, and prepare to continue doing so year after year.

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37.8 percent of farmers' market vendors travel fewer than 10 miles to get to their market; 35.5 percent travel 10 - 30 miles (both number according to Farmers' Market Today, so over 73 percent of farmers' market vendors regularly travel fewer than 30 miles to sell their wares at market each week.

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Believe it or not, most farmers' markets -- 37 percent, according to a survey conducted by Farmers' Market Today--have been in business for a decade or more. So, even though the markets have really come to prominence and increased in popularity over the past few years, many have been in business a long time.

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According to Zachary Lyons, director of the Washington State Farmers Market Association, "Profitability is the primary benefit to farmers who sell at a farmer's market. By selling through this avenue, the farmer has direct access to the retail dollar. The farmer is still paying market fees, but generally speaking, a grower can expect to take home 90 percent of the retail dollar." Contrast that to the 10 percent on each dollar a farmer might expect to see when selling to a packing house, and it's easy to see how good farmers' markets can be for your local economy.

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The USDA survey, which took data from 210 markets around the country, found that 82 percent of the markets had organically grown produce for sale; in most cases, organic growers were reportedly successful at their markets and were likely to continue participating. At some markets where limited stall space was preventing the addition of other vendors, managers were planning to make room for organic growers to help meet strong customer demand.

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Market managers reported that demand for organic products was strong in nearly 40 percent of the markets that had organic farmers, medium in 47 percent of these markets, and low in only 13 percent. So, even though a few more report "medium" than "high," almost nine out of ten markets were experiencing pretty solid demand for organic foods.

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According to the Agricultural Marketing Report at the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at Colorado State University, 30 percent of U.S. shoppers prefer to get their fresh produce directly from those who grew or otherwise produced it; about 25 percent at the farmers' market, and about 5 percent directly from the farmer. 56 percent of respondents indicated that the supermarket was their first choice for produce.

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According to the USDA, total farmers' markets sales exceeded $1 billion dollars in 2005, compared with $888 million in 2000, an average annual growth rate of 2.5 percent.

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