2004 NH Farmers Market Survey Summary

 

 

Surveys returned       18

 

 

Geographic areas covered    Bristol, Franklin, Belmont         Milford, Amherst, Wilton, Brookline, Mont Vernon            primarily Sullivan County           Upper  CT River Valley            western White Mountains to the CT River            Monadnock      Wilton, Lyndeborough  Hancock to Antrim, Stoddard, Peterborough, Greenfield           Merrimack County Farmington, Rochester, New Durham   Bedford, Manchester, Merrimack         Carroll County  Gilmanton, Laconia, Alton, New Durham, Wolfeboro           Lakes Region   Wilmot, New London, Andover, Brownfield, ME, Conway, Glen, Bartlett, Jackson, Gorham, Randolph    Upper CT River Valley

 

Years of operation     30        25        7          1          1          3          13        3          10+      10        9          2          2            1          3          1          3          1

 

Average buyer attendance    200-500           100-150           don’t know       100?    less than 50      40-50   50            300?    200+/- 75-100 200-250           100      75        50+      125-140

 

Name Registered with State I believe so       I think so          no        yes       no        no        probably           yes       I think so            yes       no        no        yes       no        no, but parent organization is

 

Total number of market members    8          8          33        82 (on mailing list)         20        5          varies 3-6         13            18        15        7          20-25   8          7          21        15        17        23

Regular members      6          8          25        15        12        2-3       3          8          10        8-10     7          18        4            6          20        7          10        15-20

 

Products available     

 

Baked goods    1          10        9          1          1          1          2          3          2          1          4          1          6          1            3

Crafts   1          29        4          1          1          5          1          1          7          1          13

Dairy products              2          5          1          1          1          3          1          1          3          2

Eggs     3          4          2          1          2          1          2          1          1          4          1          1

Fiber goods and crafts              2          1          3          1          1          1          2

Fresh flowers                1          10        7          2          1          1          2          2          1          1          4          1          4            1          3

Fruit     1          9          5          2          1          3          1          3          2          5          1          1          6          1          1            2

Herbs   1          3          1          2          1          1          1          3          4          2          6          1          5          1          1            3

Honey 2          1          1          1          1          1          1          1          1          1          1

Maple              1          4          2          1          1          1          3          1          2          1          1          1

Meat    1          4          1          1          1          4          1          1          1

Potted Plants    1          6          5          2          1          1          1          2          3          2          5          1          2          1            1          3

Poultry 1          2          1          1          1          1          1          1

Processed foods                       1          8          5          3          1          1          3          2          1          4          1          2            1          1          1

Seeds   1          1          1

Soap    2          1          2          2          2          1          2          1          1          2          x

Vegetables                   1          14        10        3          1          1          4          3          14        2          7          1          1            8          1          1          5

Wood products and crafts        2          1          1          1          1          1          1          1

Other   2 (pottery, coffee/cold drinks);x Wine and coffee          10 ( blacksmith items, bottled water, candy, coffee, cookbooks, garden statues, post cards & photos, pot pies, quiche, slush, stained glass)

 

Does your market have enough vendors      no        yes       yes       no        no        no        no        no        almost  yes            yes       yes       no        no        almost  no        no        no

What would you like to add   honey, soap, organic vegetables, eggs, poultry, wood crafts       more farmers (anything ag), but especially food staples (veg, fruit, eggs, meat, cheese, bread, etc.)    we are losing a farmer—we would like 4 solid farmer vendors produce, crafts honey, dairy & egg, vegetable   any but vegetable          berries, stable bakery people            strawberries, honey (we have limited vendor parking)    some quality crafters     more bakers, vegetables, jams & jellies, meat       meat and meat products, cut flowers, breads     fresh fish and seafood, meat, wine         more of all categories plus crafts     local fruit and vegetables           vegetables, fruits, eggs, poultry, goat cheese and other cheese

Would you look to the NHFMA to help locate vendors      yes       no        no        yes       sure      yes       yes       yes            not yet  probably not as we have almost reached our limit          no        yes       yes       yes       yes       yes       yes            yes       yes

 

Does market have a manager           yes       yes       not at this time  yes       yes       yes       yes       yes       yes       yes            yes       yes       yes       yes       yes       yes       yes       yes

Paid position   no        no        yes       no        no        no        no        no        I wish   no        yes       no        no        no            no        no        no

Manager is also a vendor      yes       yes       no        yes       yes       no        yes       yes       yes       yes       no        yes            yes       yes       no        at times no

 

What will encourage new vendor participation         awareness of what a nice market we have         success of present members and products to sell    getting the word out that there are vending opportunities, developing  a larger customer base            consistent, reliable, full-- farmers with fruit & veg., encourage more people to do this     increased customer support            bigger crowds, more vendors    interest in buyers, support of town, merchants    word of mouth, more income for farmers low set up fees, not being scared by all the regulations, ease of setting up           promise of $1 million each season            successful history of vendor advertising, organization of family events     they need to be encouraged and guaranteed they will make money    location with good foot traffic and slow vehicle traffic     active recruiting by the market   vendor participation will increase with customer increase           positive feedback from other vendors, time/day convenient and “free”, willingness to allow shared spaces

 

Does market have an annual meeting          yes       yes       yes       no        yes       yes       yes       yes       yes       yes            yes       no        yes       yes       yes       no        no        no

How are market decisions made       vote      vote      Board of Directors        at present we have an advisory committee making decisions           consensus, or by market manager, as appropriate          vote      group committee           we are all in agreement         consensus         vote, majority rules       group consensus           steering committee of 7 people  by a few people who volunteer their time and by the market vendors        regularly scheduled market meetings and an active advisory board that can make decisions as needed          group forum      manager meets with asst. manager and a few core vendors            informal gathering of vendors and manager in January, questionnaire in fall

 

Does market have bylaws     yes       yes       no        no        yes       yes       yes       yes       yes       yes       yes       yes            yes       no        no        yes       no        yes

Share  yes       yes       yes       yes       yes       ok        yes (on the internet already)      yes       yes       yes       yes

 

Does market have membership criteria       yes       yes (part of bylaws)      yes       yes       yes       yes       yes       no            yes       yes       yes       yes       no        no        yes       no        yes       sort of

Share  yes       yes       yes       yes       ok        yes       yes       yes       yes       yes       yes

 

Does market have product guidelines          somewhat         yes       yes       yes       yes       yes       yes       yes       yes            yes       yes       yes       no        yes       no        yes       yes

Non-agricultural products allowed    no        no        limited—must be juried in          yes with restrictions       yes, must be vendor produced          yes       only if contains product, food/garden oriented    yes—have to be made or produced in NH            yes, only if produced by seller   no—only agricultural products (and agricultural crafts, i.e. natural fibers)            maybe  yes       all products have to come from the farm            yes       yes       yes       yes       yes—aim is for no more than 30% non-ag crafts

 

Does market have insurance            yes       no        no        yes, covered by the city of Lebanon policy        general liability through town, some vendors carry their own      yes       yes       yes       yes, town          not at this location         yes            yes       yes       no        yes       yes       our market has been covered by the Jackson Chamber of Commerce            covered under parent organization

Includes what liability  product liability, site liability       general liability  Wilton Main St. Association pays for lot liability and we are under them        customer liability           property damage, comprehensive general liability           liability  general liability  liability

Would market be willing to participate in an affordable insurance program under NHFMA       not unless you can get it for less than $100/season  perhaps            possibly            ?          maybe  no        yes, if cheaper  yes       maybe  n/a at this time        I doubt it          yes!      maybe  yes       yes       yes       maybe

 

Is each vendor required to carry liability coverage to participate in market         no, but they are encourage to    yes            not required, but recommended no, but encouraged to do so      varies by product          no        no        yes            no—we dislike the intrusion of insurance and non-farm agencies into a local, community, interpersonal market    they are encouraged to cover their insurance needs as necessary for their particular business  yes       no and they sign a waiver releasing the market and property owner from any liability          yes       no        yes       we highly suggest it       yes, to comply with state regs, but I do not police this issue

Specific requirements            off farm liability no        we do not share this information            500000 general liability and must name both the town and the market

Would vendors be willing to participate in affordable insurance program under NHFMA           possibly            probably           maybe  maybe  no        no        yes       possibly, we all enjoy paying taxes to the non-producing sector   I don’t know    I don’t know    yes, I think so   maybe  perhaps, depends on the cost and coverage       some may            yes

 

What types of promotion activities does market participate in:

Newspaper      1          1          1          1          1          1          1          1          1          1          1          1          1          1            1          1          1

Radio   1          1          1          1          1          1          1

TV       1          1          1          1          1

Roadside signs/posters  1          1          1          1          1          1          1          1          1          1          1          1          1            1          1          1          1

Special events/entertainment/demonstrations      1          1          1          1          1          1          1          1          1          1

Direct mail flyers           1          1          1          1

Website            1          1          1          1          1

Other x (banner over Main St.) x (picking up flyers in stores/ campsites)            x(yearly brochures, opening day flyers)  x (flyers are passed out at town meetings)

 

What promotion activity has been most successful Roadside sign for new or special priced items    special events            newspaper ads and posters       live music seems to make a big difference—people come to hear it and tend to stay longer   ?          newspaper, radio & roadside signs        n/a        free ear of  sweet corn  signs/posters     word of mouth, signs—permanent sign reminds people about our hours and day word of mouth works best        special holiday events—4th of July, Halloween, mucsic, etc. newspapers and weekly events word of mouth, road side signs, newspaper advertising            newspapers and signs   Kid’s Day        music

Why    our market provides a festive environment for the community    free to customers          people come out for free food and they buy more at vendors       increases immediate visibility and flyers work     brings in children, families            people checked the newspaper to see what our weekly event was         favorable comments from satisfied customers bring more customers, constant visibility from the signs, newspapers reach customers not in the local vicinity            locally read       atmosphere it creates

 

Do you feel your community is supportive of market          yes       yes       yes       yes       yes       not enough        yes, it could be more supportive       the town and merchants are very supportive.  I feel that townspeople easily forget about us unless we actively remind them  yes       yes, very much so.  We have to have community support in our farmers’ market for us to be success            yes       yes       yes, year round and summer residents supportive           yes       yes       yes       yes            yes, very much so

 

Do local regulations support your market    yes       yes       yes       yes       yes       yes       yes, but no cooking on premises           yes       yes       yes       yes, but we should do away with NH DOT Bureau of Outdoor Advertising       yes            for the most part—we really had to look for a site that was not on town property because the town did not want it on public property        yes       yes       yes       yes       yes, weare changing shopping patterns—it takes time

 

Do state regulations support your market   yes       yes       yes       not sure            ?          yes       non-issue            mostly—the state could have voted to add markets to PYO and farm stands to limit liability       possibly, again, could insurance/fees/paperwork/questionnaires, etc., etc., be supported at real costs to farmers—time, postage, fear of recrimination for writing this       yes       no, do away with NH DOT Bureau of Outdoor Advertising       yes       so far we have not had any problems with the state           yes       yes       yes       ?

 

What do you believe your market contributes to the collective economic impact on participating vendors and the community      Hard to quantify but we bring a lot of people to the downtown area       we provide a market for small to mid-sized farms and we provide consumers with a quality grown product           for some vendors it  is 100% of  their effort            provides opportunities for local producers to sell directly to customers and for consumers to buy directly from producers         not much          due to attraction of vendors it has become less and less and is in danger of closing.  Could have significant impact   it is the primary selling point for most of the small growers. The market brings people into town and they window shop and buy things from local merchants  this is a pleasant social outlet for town and vendors—pizza money and hobby repayment for vendors         as a community supported endeavor, we sure do not get rich, but it is very rewarding and can help make ends meet for many         we help people live better         fresh produce, meat, fish, place for community to come together, children’s activity, live animals      there is more beneficial economic impact to the vendor.  The amount of money made at the market is so small that it does not effect the community.  Educating the community to eat locally and support local farmers is the greater impact to the community we help draw buyers into the area, allowing the chance to see the other businesses and visit them           brings a desired shopping opportunity to the customers.  As a result of the market’s existence, several small farmers built a broader customer base that afforded them the economic opportunity to expand their farming operations.  In several cases, their market visibility brought additional customers to their farm stands            excellent revenue for ag vendors, less for crafts. Nice community event—people are looking forward to it each week                              

 

Estimated gross revenue generated by the market 32,000 20,000 35000  8000    30,000 15000  15,000 15000            1000    33,000 5000    400      22,000

 

Does FMNP contribute to your market       yes       yes       yes       yes, a lot           one farmer participates, not much customer participation   yes       yes       yes       yes       yes       yes       some vendors accept WIC       yes       no        yes            no        yes       yes

Any changes for FMNP         some vendors have complained about the length of time before checks are received            please allow vendors to enroll at any point in the season, rather than having deadlines     redemption of FMNP coupons in NH only      shorter application time they might pay a small premium for the time and effort  of coupon collection            cover more seniors       the WIC recipients need to get all their coupons by July 1. There were a lot of people who did not get them until September—Big problem would like it to include other foods like cheese and meat            more federal dollars available to the state

 

Would your market be willing to redeem food stamps         yes       no        not sure            possibly            ?, if possible, yes     yes       possible, if made extremely simple         yes       possibly            we voted 6 years ago that each vendor can take apply—not the market we do   no, not yet an issue       yes       yes       yes       yes       yes       yes       yes            if it is no more trouble that FMNP, then it should be ok

What problems would you anticipate with redeeming food stamps at the market electronic or redeeming cash cards            I believe we would need a phone line and we don’t have one on site      just social stigma, I suppose—small town            none     fast turnaround?            we don’t know the program yet, how much more paperwork will it require?            banks to not like dealing with them, vendors with business accounts don’t seem to be interested hard to use due to phone verification at sale           we would need a terminal to access the accounts quickly and efficiently  the present program requires an EBT terminal to ensure that food stamp funds are available in a customers account.  Using the present manual process leaves the vendor at risk that there will not be funds available in the account       what would vendors do with them?            training

Attend workshop at Farm & Forest Expo about redeeming food stamps at farmers market       yes       yes       no            possibly            if possible         possibly            yes       yes       maybe  someone from our market should attend—we did 6 years ago       no        possibly            as long as farmers are reimbursed dollar for dollar, there should be no problem            can’t attend      yes       yes       yes       yes

 

NHFMA educational workshop topics suggested    signage, clean stands, pricing     don’t know       vendor recruitment, understanding and complying with regulations, marketing, reaching out to customers       how to find farmer vendors, how to encourage more community involvement/shoppers         ?          we just need more vendors      how to increase sales, how to advertise/market successfully with little money           safety and liability actions to take without increasing costs            dealing with people skills, getting community support for a struggling market, finding new vendors and preventing regulation scare off        not have too much government or outside intervention—KISS   how to draw people in at end of day (it’s slow)         educating market managers about the regulations on processed food—cheese, jams, pickles, baked goods. What can/can’t be sold with/without a licensed kitchen  proper display, keeping veggies fresh throughout market            workshops on marketing, promotion, rules and regulation          growing the market       promotion and recruiting

 

Desired structure for NHFMA annual meeting       open forum       all above           open meeting    educational sessions            education and open forum         educational sessions      education is good, forum useful invitation to all market administrators, let administrators invite vendors, open forum, 1 hour business meeting     standard—Roberts Rules            educational sessions would be most useful         business meeting followed by educational sessions with an open forum for information exchange business meeting

 

What would draw members to NHFMA annual meeting     educational topics, marketing    don’t know, but time and location would be factors          hard to say—in general it seems very challenging to get folks to attend meetings close by, inexpensive       ?          convenient timing, educational content, food      free food?, evening in March for better road conditions         pay us  held in Bedford, food and wine and samples      information that would directly help them put money in their pockets, not information on regulations   educational topics that are directly applicable to the market vendors.  Door prizes would help, too!  Perhaps a prize given to the market with the most attendees.  Develop a “market of the year” award            location closer to the Upper Valley

 

What are top three issues for market in upcoming year     advertising        increased sales via marketing, special events, signage  being successful and increasing customer base   solidify our presence in the community, attract more vendors, especially ag vendors, attract more customers/increase sales    attracting farmers, attracting farmers, attracting farmers more customer participation, more vendor participation vendor participation      promotion of the market, attracting new vendors, attracting local families     how and whether to limit vendors in categories already represented, producer liability, increasing participation by events          keeping our site nice looking     increase sales, increase production, increase profit margin     expand outreach, children’s events, entertainment, credit card purchasing           signage, getting a few more vendors, getting out flyers and advertisements    advertising, vendor selection, grounds maintenance and enhancement            growth in vendors and customers          more vendors, increased money for advertising, shirts    Expanding ag vendors, promotion to expand attendance, oversight on market days (I am busy sometimes)

 

If NHFMA focused on one project for 2004, what would most help your market  newspaper or TV ads for farmers’ market  marketing, specifically TV promotion     cooperative marketing efforts    encouraging more people to look into small farming ?          general promotion of farmers markets, and/or insurances           free produce bags for members, t-shirts “I shop at the…farmers market”, or “Support NH Agriculture”      do away with the DOT Bureau of Outdoor Advertising  not sure      educate the customer to eat locally, support local farmers and educate farmers that you can make money at a farmers market advertising        finding vendors for markets, statewide promotions         developing a guide to operating a farmers’ market            grant money      advertising, vendor recruitment

 

Would market participate in a “certified market” program            yes       unsure  not sure what this means—possibly            possibly, why?  ?          cost? Gain?      yes       =more paperwork?       please define     not, sounds like too much government       yes       yes       yes       yes       yes       yes       possible

 

Would your vendors participate in a “certified vendor” program   ?;unsure           possibly—not sure what this means            ? many are participating for fun or extra money—not professionally        ?          Can ask—doubt it        not familiar with it   when do we manage the farm?  please define     no sounds like too much government     yes possibly      probably not       yes       yes       yes       not familiar        need info

 

Would market find a “how to operate a farmers’ market” book helpful    yes       yes       no        yes       sure      yes            no        yes       yes       regulations must be specific to NH        maybe, but all this is already available    yes       yes            yes       yes       yes       yes       yes

 

Comments      We have a very successful market, but our vendors run their own tables completely independently.  That’s why I don’t know about revenues or if they are interested in more participation—my thinking now is they would not            Many of our answers should be considered preliminary as 2003 was our first season      this form has been filled out on a yearly basis, mainly asking for help for us to recruit vendors with no response forthcoming.  Is this an exercise in futility?            I deny all legal liability for actions resulting from answers to these questions. Thank you for your efforts  the farmers’ market program runs just fine the way it is.  We should not try to fix things that are not broken.  If people are not up to running a market in the true tradition of farmers markets, go do something else.  Farming is a very disciplined profession.  All farmers are well-educated and able to run a farmers’ market, hence the name.  The name says it all! It is not a craft fair, bake sale, garage sale, etc. The name says it all!            thank you for doing this—please send results     I have found it confusing to figure out how to start this market and have taken a few years to do so.  It’s hard to find vendors for a new market when there is not cash for any of the items necessary to increase traffic flow.  It’s the same old problem of “no vendors because customer attendance is low and customer attendance is low because the vendors are few”.